Ireland has long been a country of conflict. More than 400 years ago, the occupying English planted pre-Celtic Scots in the northern province of Ulster and divested the native Irish Celts of the land their ancestors owned for 2,000 years. This created a deep-seated enmity between the English and Irish, Protestant and Catholicand it finally exploded in the Troubles. Author Alan M. Wilson was on the front lines for the bloodbath that tore Northern Ireland apart from the late 1960s through the first years of the twenty-first century. Policing Irelands Twisted History reveals Wilsons remarkable, true story of growing up in Belfast and serving in the Royal Ulster Constabulary as an inspector and as a member of an elite anti-terrorism unit. Wilsons only goal was to help protect the innocent on both sides. Unfortunately, he became a target himself. Brutally honest and unflinching, Wilson traces his experiences serving Irelands divided society for nearly ten years. From watching friends die to the tit-for-tat murders occurring on the streets to staring death in the eye more than once, Wilson reveals the deep, gut-wrenching search for the meaning of it all in the midst of the worlds longest-running terrorist situation. A firsthand look at the Northern Ireland conflict, Policing Irelands Twisted History offers an eye-opening, intimate examination of this devastating struggle.

The first detailed description of when and how the police may use force under the international law of law enforcement.

The twentieth century was a time of rapid social change in Ireland: from colonial rule to independence, civil war and later the Troubles; from poverty to globalisation and the Celtic Tiger; and from the rise to the fall of the Catholic Church. Policing in Ireland has been shaped by all of these changes. This book critically evaluates the creation of the new police force, an Garda Síochána, in the 1920s and analyses how this institution was influenced by and responded to these substantial changes. Beginning with an overview of policing in pre-independence Ireland, this book chronologically charts the history of policing in Ireland. It presents data from oral history interviews with retired gardaí who served between the 1950s and 1990s, giving unique insight into the experience of policing Ireland, the first study of its kind in Ireland. Particular attention is paid to the difficulties of transition, the early encounters with the IRA, the policing of the Blueshirts, the world wars, gangs in Dublin and the growth of drugs and crime. Particularly noteworthy is the analysis of policing the Troubles and the immense difficulties that generated. This book is essential reading for those interested in policing or Irish history, but is equally important for those concerned with the legacy of colonialism and transition.

An introduction to European history between 1914 and 1945, this text moves beyond the view that it can only be understood in terms of catastrophe, arguing that political stability and regime collapse, social progress and mass poverty, the crisis of European civilization and remarkable cultural achievements, existed alongside each other.

The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of the Northern Ireland Conflict provides an accessible and comprehensive study of the conflict and peace process in Northern Ireland from the 1960s to 2016. The second edition of the book expands on the references relating to individuals, organizations and events of the Northern Ireland Troubles and adds material on significant subsequent developments. This the work provides a unique view of developments since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. While widely heralded as the end of the Northern Ireland conflict the agreement instead witnessed the beginning of a new series of political difficulties to be addressed. The Historical Dictionary of the Northern Ireland Conflict is the first significant reference work to examine many of the issues related to political and cultural conflicts and dealing with the past which have grown in intensity since 1998. Many of these themes will be relevant to students of post-conflict societies in other areas of the world. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Historical Dictionary of the Northern Ireland Conflict contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture.

This innovative book offers a comprehensive assessment of policing in late modern Britain. The overall theme is that as we approach the end of the twentieth century, it is an appropriate time to review recent developments in policing and law enforcement and to consider future prospects.The areas covered include equal opportunities and public policework; perspectives on and politics of police policy making; the emergence and consequences of managerialism and privatisation; legitimacy, policing and human rights; crime control and surveillance in Northern Ireland; crime rates, victimisation and the provision of service; risk, late modernity and 'community policing'; regulating virtual communities and policing cybercrime; and the insights to be gained from comparative analysis. Thought-provoking and incisive, Policing Futures is an invaluable source of information, and will be essential reading for students, lecturers, researchers and practitioners in the fields of police studies, criminology, socio-legal studies, law, sociology, social policy, social work and related disciplines.

This is a comprehensive and nuanced historical survey of the death penalty in Ireland from the immediate post-civil war period through to its complete abolition. Using original archival material, this book sheds light on the various social, legal and political contexts in which the death penalty operated and was discussed. In Ireland the death penalty served a dual function: as an instrument of punishment in the civilian criminal justice system, and as a weapon to combat periodic threats to the security of the state posed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Through close examination of cases dealt with in the ordinary criminal courts, this study elucidates ideas of class, gender, community and sanity and explores their impact on the administration of justice. The application of the death penalty also had a strong political dimension, most evident in the enactment of emergency legislation and the setting up of military courts specifically aimed at the IRA. As the book demonstrates, the civilian and the political strands converged in the story of the abolition of the death penalty in Ireland. Long after decision-makers accepted that the death penalty was no longer an acceptable punishment for 'ordinary' cases of murder, lingering anxieties about the threat of subversives dictated the pace of abolition and the scope of the relevant legislation.

All places undergo change, but in few has this change been quite as sweeping as Ireland – both the independent Republic of Ireland and dependent Northern Ireland – so it is good to see where it is heading at present. Obviously, that has to be judged on the background of where it is coming from, not only over the past decade or so but over centuries and, indeed, millennia. This new edition of Historical Dictionary of Ireland is an excellent resource for discovering the history of Ireland. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The cross-referenced dictionary section has over 600 entries on significant persons, places and events, political parties and institutions (including the Catholic church) with period forays into literature, music and the arts. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Ireland.