Northern Ireland Conflict on the Margins of History
Assessing the impact of paramilitary violence on border Protestants in Northern Ireland remains a critically overlooked part of the region’s history. Remembered through a framework of memory that blurs the boundary between victim and perpetrator, existing scholarship often disempowers border Protestants by obscuring their experience under the Provisional IRA’s campaign. This re-examination of the conflict illuminates how the Troubles impacted the Protestant community’s physical, economic, and cultural presence in the border counties. Combining oral history with a broader assessment of the Provisional campaign, this book presents a compelling case study for viewing this violence as a form of ethnic cleansing.
Kenneth Funston gained his doctorate in 2020 from Ulster University, with a thesis focusing on the minority Protestant population of County Fermanagh and republican violence. He has worked with victims of terrorism, speaking at many conferences and debates in order to highlight victims’ issues. His research examining the effects of republican violence on the border has appeared in publications such as the Financial Times and the Belfast News Letter.He has also worked collaboratively with Spanish representatives of victims of ETA terror, highlighting the similarity of issues faced by victims and survivors.