Dislocation, unsettledness and the long-term consequences of forced displacement in Northern Ireland’s ‘troubles’

ABSTRACT

Based on in-depth interviews, this article explores the long-term consequences of forced displacement during Northern Ireland's 30-year conflict. Despite the many successes of the peace process, the legacy of forced movement continues to manifest in a profound sense of dislocation and unsettledness in the present with regards to identity, place and belonging. It argues the neglect of displacement as a category of violence and harm within the peace process, bequeaths a large cohort of marginalized victims and survivors whose conflict-related losses have yet to be recognized, much less acknowledged and addressed.

KEYWORDS:

• Displacement
• Northern Ireland
• the troubles
• ontological security
• refugees

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to express his sincere gratitude to all those participants who generously gave their time to share their stories for this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 International law makes a distinction between refugees as those who cross an international, sovereign border to escape war and persecution, and IDPs as those seeking refuge but remain within their country or state of origin.

2 The armed conflict which engulfed Northern Ireland from 1968 until its peace accord of 1998 claimed over 3700 lives and injured over 22,000 people, and is euphemistically dubbed the ‘Troubles’, a term widely used in academic and non-academic accounts.

3 Some violence of the Troubles occurred in the Republic of Ireland, England and mainland Europe.

4 The author rejects foundational understandings of identities as fixed, durable and immutable. The use of ‘Protestant’ and ‘Catholic’ therefore does not signify or suggest the existence of homogenous, unified communities; differences of class, gender, location and political affiliation all contribute to the complexity of identification in Northern Ireland. ‘Catholic’ and ‘Protestant’ are a means of using a common category of identity while simultaneously respecting the diversity within and across them.

5 Forced displacement was not unique to the ‘Troubles’ but in fact is a historical feature at the very root of division in Ireland. More than any other historical event, the Ulster plantation in early seventeenth century copper fastened the tenacious links between land, identity and power. Ethno-sectarian violence and forced displacement were recorded throughout the 1800s and again during the partition of Ireland in 1921 and the early years following the creation of the Northern Ireland state.

6 Although the city council changed its name from Londonderry City Council to Derry City Council in 1984, (after a change in council boundaries in 2015, it is now Derry City & Strabane District Council) the official title of the city remains Londonderry. Broadly, Protestant interviewees referred to the city as Londonderry while Catholics used Derry. To reflect this diversity, the article uses both terms.

7 Mary McAleese was elected the eighth President of Ireland in November 1997 and served two terms until November 2011. Growing up near Ardoyne in north Belfast, her family and many of her friends were adversely impacted by the Troubles. Additionally, her then boyfriend and future husband Martin McAleese and his family were also forced from their homes in east Belfast in 1971 and Rathcoole in 1972 respectively. After graduating in Law from Queens University, Belfast (QUB) in 1973, she undertook roles including barrister, Professor of Law at Trinity College Dublin, the first female Pro-Vice Chancellor at QUB, and a broadcaster and journalist. Mary was the first and to date, the only person born in Northern Ireland to be elected President of Ireland.

Additional information

Funding

This research is funded by the Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme and the Busteed Postdoctoral Fellowship, Institute of Irish Studies, at the University of Liverpool.

Notes on contributors

Niall Gilmartin

Niall Gilmartin is a lecturer in Sociology.