So-called sectarian disturbances have been a constant feature of Belfast’s history, but probably the most concentrated outburst of violence occurred in the 1920s. Nearly 500 people lost their lives, thousands more were injured and considerable damage was inflicted upon the city’s commercial centre. Numerous incidents are recalled, as is the political setting of the time: the meetings of Michael Collins and Sir James Craig; the Belfast Boycott; the human tragedies that unfolded and the ultimate creation of a northern state.
Explanations of the conflict tend to centre on its alleged ‘pogrom’ nature and the suggestion of state collusion in several atrocities. This book challenges such one-dimensional interpretations of the violence.
Alan F. Parkinson is senior lecturer in history and education at South Bank U, London. He is the author of Ulster loyalism and the British media (1998).
