Ireland in the 1990s

The Path to Peace

By: Ed Lengel, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Ed Lengel

The period between Bloody Sunday in 1972 and Good Friday in 1998 was one of the most troubled, turbulent, and triumphant periods for the Irish. The island went from financial depression to quietly becoming an economic powerhouse, while at the same time, bridging the violent divide between past and present, Catholic and Protestant, Unionist and Republicans, North and South.

Join famed historian and master storyteller Edward Lengel to trace the roots and evolution of the Irish Troubles. Dipping into the start of the unrest in the early 20th century, Professor Lengel spends 10 eye-opening lectures focusing primarily on the pivotal decade of the 1990s, highlighting important insurrections, brutal battles, and acts of terror.

Through this illuminating journey, you’ll come to better understand the goals behind the disruptive and violent actions of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and its various forms, as well as the role of Sinn Féin, the Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP), and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). You’ll also meet key players in history, such as Ian Paisley, Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness, Mary Robinson, John Hume, and Bertie Ahern, in order to see how it took efforts from around the world to establish peace in a troubled land.

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I liked it.

The topic was very interesting. The narrator seemed to be unbiased and thoughtful. I enjoyed the fact that the course went through to modern day.

Engaging discussion of interesting topic

I thought this was quite good for one of the "included" Great Courses - probably one of the best ones for that category. If you are buying it, you might want to consider one of the longer and more traditional offerings.

Pricing aside, I enjoyed the lecturer and the topic was fascinating - it is always interesting to hear a scholarly take on something I remember as current events. I thought he was even-handed in his approach.

I will listen again with my family on an upcoming trip to Ireland. I think it will have broad appeal even to those of my family who aren't quite the Great Courses nerd I am.

Interesting

A brief but interesting overview of this era in time in Ireland. I’m not very educated on the subject so appreciated this introduction.

Very good brief history

Very good job giving a brief and unbiased account of the troubles in Northern Ireland

Surprising number of mispronunciations

Content very good but hard to appreciate at times due to the number of words pronounced incorrectly.

Good inside look at Irish politics.

Overall good synopsis of the recent Irish peace process. However as an Irish American I’m left to reflect on our own independence from Britain. What if the British had held on to a couple of the colonies. Inside there would be “loyalists” and “nationalists.”Would we on this side have accepted that arrangement? How would the relationship be between America and let’s say NE America?

What would our reaction be if those who had helped us achieve our independence were now discriminated against in employment, housing etc? Then the British who had turned a blind eye to all of it send the red coats in to maintain order and restore the peace! Apparently these two groups just cannot get along!

My point being the British are not the referee keeping two warring factions apart but clearly are an integral part of the creation of the situation as would have been the case in my hypothetical case above. Yet somehow we sympathize with them having to help resolve the very situation they in fact created.

In any case perhaps the solution would be a vote at the ballot box some several hundred or so years later. Maybe that’s the lesson from this course that in order to move forward we need to as best we can forget the past. But I know we Americans on this side of the divide may have wanted another shot at getting those colonies back.

Thought provoking read !

A Great Guide to a Crazy Time

As an Irish-American whose great grandfather (by family legend) was murdered by the Black and Tans, I always enjoy learning more about Irish history. This Great Courses text by Ed Lengel walks the reader through one of the most difficult times in Irish history and does so with a depth of understanding for the many sides in the conflict. (That’s actually one of the things Lengel does very well—continually illustrate how this was so much more than Irish vs. English, or Catholic vs. Protestant. There were a very large number of interest groups complicating everything. So if you want to understand how a completely intractable problem shockingly transformed into the relatively peaceful and stable situation enjoyed today, this book is a great guide.

Good Information but Not as Well Structured

This was a good audiobook but not as well structured or as well edited as most of the Great courses series.

Good overview of a complex topic.

A history of The Troubles and the peace process explained very succinctly. Easy to listen to. I learned a lot.

Very Through Balanced Analysis of a Turbulent Time

Having lived in this period of time (in the US), but being very young when The Troubles started and only catching snippets of TV news or seeing a front page photo when something really horrific happened, it made no sense to me as a child/teenager. I couldn't grasp why people who lived in the same country were fighting each other due mainly to religious issues, especially since both religions were Christian. Time moves on and I have to admit, I didn't really follow the Ireland saga during the 80s and 90s as I was in the prime of my life and, well, had other things on my mind. Fast forward to the 21st century and suddenly I am working (remotely) with people from Northern Ireland. I just assumed that somewhere along the line their issues had been resolved and I missed the news. Didn't ask them about it, as I figured they wouldn't feel comfortable speaking about it.

When I saw this lecture series by The Great Courses, I immediately put it in my queue as I wanted to find out what happened, and since I've had very good experiences with The Great Courses, I trusted them to give me a balanced and thorough explanation. And, they did. As life normally goes, the situation was far more complex than I thought and this series addressed all angles of the situation, nationally and internationally. It is a bit difficult to get into as initially there is a bit of date hopping back and forward which, if reading a book is a little easier to follow as you see the numerical dates and your eyes can flick up and down the page if you lost your orientation. Hearing and having to keep all those dates in your head is a bit more difficult and numerous times I had to ask Alexa to reread certain passages. Also, a lot of players so a lot of names to keep straight. But, it was worth sticking with.

I found my answers and can now feel more comfortable about going on my upcoming trip to Ireland. If you are at all curious about this time in Irish history, please listen to this. The thing I was most shocked about was this really did not completely resolve itself until this century. There are even some references to the 2010s and even 2020. My point is that there are still people out there bearing wounds (physical and/or emotional), Again, good to know before traveling there.