The role of quartz in Neolithic lithic traditions: a case study from the Thornhill Early Neolithic palisaded enclosure, Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland

2016 ◽  
Vol 116C (1) ◽  
pp. 3-29
Author(s):  
Killian Driscoll
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Early Neolithic

Religion and Politics: The Case of Northern Ireland

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Walker
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Religion And Politics ◽  
Independent Factor ◽  
Considerable Influence ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Role Of Religion

This article looks at the role of religion in politics. Northern Ireland provides not only a good case study for this issue but also an opportunity to see how the subject has been approached in academic literature over the last forty years. It is argued here that religion can be a modern day, independent factor of considerable influence in politics. This has been important not only in Northern Ireland but also elsewhere in Western Europe in the twentieth century. This reality has been largely ignored until recently, partly because the situation in Northern Ireland has often been studied in a limited comparative context, and partly because of restrictive intellectual assumptions about the role of religion in politics.

REACHING ACROSS THE DIVIDE – THE ROLE OF CULTURAL EVENTS IN PEACEBUILDING

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Devine ◽  
Bernadette Quinn ◽  
Frances Devine
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Cross Culture ◽  
Cultural Expression ◽  
Shared Experiences ◽  
Cultural Event ◽  
Community Dialogue ◽  
The City

This paper assesses whether or not a cultural event can play a peacebuilding role during the post violence phase of conflict. Cultural expression has long been a contentious issue in Northern Ireland, no more so than in Derry/Londonderry, the city at the centre of this study. Adopting a qualitative approach, the authors used the city’s Fleadh Cheoil (2013) event as a case study and found that it served three of the seven-peacebuilding functions outlined by Paffenholz and Spurk (2010): social cohesion, in-group socialisation and intermediation/facilitation. The findings suggest that the event enabled positive change by building ‘bridges’ and developing intercommunal trust and cross culture understanding. This did not happen by chance and nor was it unproblematic. However, inclusivity was a core objective and the event was planned and managed accordingly. This required strong leadership, risk taking, sensitivity and a willingness to negotiate and compromise. In turn, this created the conditions for cross community dialogue that had ramifications beyond the cultural realm. Whilst this paper has demonstrated how a cultural event can play a role in peacebuilding, it does not suggest that culture events are a panacea for sectarianism, bias or conflict in Northern Ireland or elsewhere. However, if planned properly they can contribute to the peacebuilding process by providing an opportunity for people to navigate difficulties and develop shared experiences in complex and challenging conditions. These can help build trust, tolerance, understanding and confidence that enable divided societies to co-exist more peacefully.

scholarly journals Investigating Neolithic caprine husbandry in the Central Pyrenees: Insights from a multi-proxy study at Els Trocs cave (Bisaurri, Spain)

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0244139
Author(s):  
Cristina Tejedor-Rodríguez ◽  
Marta Moreno-García ◽  
Carlos Tornero ◽  
Alizé Hoffmann ◽  
Íñigo García-Martínez de Lagrán ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Mountain ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Progressive Decline ◽  
Faunal Assemblages ◽  
First Time ◽  
Central Pyrenees ◽  
Vertical Mobility

Sheep remains constitute the main archaeozoological evidence for the presence of Early Neolithic human groups in the highlands of the Southern Pyrenees but understanding the role of herding activities in the Neolithisation process of this mountain ecosystem calls for the analysis of large and well-dated faunal assemblages. Cova de Els Trocs (Bisaurri, Huesca, Spain), a cave located at 1564 m a.s.l on the southern slopes of the Central Pyrenees, is an excellent case study since it was seasonally occupied throughout the Neolithic (ca. 5312–2913 cal. BC) and more than 4000 caprine remains were recovered inside. The multi-proxy analytical approach here presented has allowed us to offer new data elaborating on vertical mobility practices and herd management dynamics as has not been attempted up until now within Neolithic high-mountain sites in the Iberian Peninsula. For the first time, δ18O and δ13C stable isotope analyses offer direct evidence on both the regular practice of altitudinal movements of sheep flocks and the extended breeding season of sheep. Autumn births are recorded from the second half of the fifth millennium cal. BC onwards. Age-at-death distributions illustrate the progressive decline in caprine perinatal mortality together with the rising survival rate of individuals older than six months of age and the larger frequency of adults. This trend alongside the ‘off-season’ lambing signal at the implementation of husbandry techniques over time, probably aiming to increase the size of the flocks and their productivity. Palaeoparasitological analyses of sediment samples document also the growing reliance on herding activities of the human groups visiting the Els Trocs cave throughout the Neolithic sequence. In sum, our work provides substantial arguments to conclude that the advanced herding management skills of the Early Neolithic communities arriving in Iberia facilitated the anthropisation process of the subalpine areas of the Central Pyrenees.

scholarly journals Beyond identity lines: women building peace in Northern Ireland and the Korean peninsula

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Jin Kim
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Building Relationships ◽  
Peace Processes ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
High Level

Abstract This article explores the challenges and contributions of women in building and sustaining peace in protracted conflicts by conducting a comparative case study on Northern Ireland and Korea. Similarities in the histories of the conflicts and the concurrences in the peace processes have been attracting policy makers and researchers to share lessons between the Northern Ireland and Korean peace processes. However, the peacebuilding role of women and their transversal perspective have not yet received significant attention compared to the high-level agreements, signed predominantly by male politicians. This article identifies the similarities in the peacebuilding activities of women in Northern Ireland and Korea, in terms of their recognition of the interconnection between identity politics and patriarchy, building relationships across the divide through transversal dialogue, and initiating nonviolent peace movements against the militarism of their societies. The comparative case study also shows dissimilarities between the two cases, with regard to the freedom of women to move beyond boundaries, and being part of the official peace process. This article concludes the role of women in both contexts is a key element in sustainable peacebuilding; however, it appears that women’s peacebuilding would not be able to reach its full potential to break down violent structures in conflict-affected societies, as long as their transversal perspective remains at the level of social movement, not part of peacebuilding at all levels of societies, including high-level negotiations.

The Catholic Church and the Northern Ireland Troubles, 1968-1998

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret M. Scull
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
The Troubles ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Community Organizers ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Catholic Church

This book evaluates the role of the Catholic Church in mediating conflict situations, with the Northern Ireland ‘Troubles’ acting as a case study. Until surprisingly recently the only accounts of the Irish Catholic Church during this period were written by Irish priests and bishops and were commemorative, rather than analytical, in intent. During the conflict, these individuals often worked behind the scenes, acting as go-betweens for the British government and republican paramilitaries, with the aim of bringing about a peaceful solution. In addition, this study explores the impact of the English Catholic Church on the conflict and provides a broad analysis of key themes in the history of the Catholic Church during the ‘Troubles’. It argues for an entangled approach to this history, maintaining that we must study the actions of the American, Irish, and English Catholic Churches, as well as that of the Vatican, to uncover the full impact of the Church on the conflict. A critical analysis of previously neglected state documents alongside Irish and English Catholic Church archival material changes our perspective on the role of a religious institution in a modern conflict. Author-conducted interviews with leading priests, women religious, bishops, former paramilitaries, community organizers, and politicians add colour and nuance to the debate.

scholarly journals The Role of the European Union as a Peace Builder: Northern Ireland as a Case Study

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Arthur
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Communal Conflict ◽  
Essential Contribution ◽  
Joint Membership ◽  
Deviant Case ◽  
The Eu

The United Kingdom and Ireland joined the European Economic Community in 1973 at a time when bitter communal conflict engulfed Northern Ireland. It appeared to be a deviant case in a modernising Europe anxious to unleash the shackles of the first half of the twentieth century. In fact the unusual conjunction of conflict within a disputed region of the British/Irish archipelago and joint membership of the European Community offered an opportunity to move beyond the excessive intimacy of an ancient quarrel through different temporal and spatial lenses. This article addresses the issue of dealing with minority grievances in an inter- and intra-state dispute by analysing the role of functional regimes and the deliverance of “peace in parts” through the changing context of statehood within Europe where sovereignty may be divisible and borders more permeable. It will conclude that the EU has made an essential contribution to the changing relations between Britain and Ireland and to conflict management within Northern Ireland.

scholarly journals The Role of Intra-Group Consensus-Building in Disarming Militant Groups in Northern Ireland

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 232-241
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Consensus Building ◽  
Northern Irish ◽  
Armed Struggle ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Faith Leaders ◽  
Building Process ◽  
Militant Groups

This study examines the internal process that led combatant groups in Northern Ireland, focusing on the Loyalist camp, to relinquish armed struggle as a viable strategy to accomplish their political goals. The study focuses on internal dynamics, i.e. intra-group negotiations and consensus-building mechanisms that Loyalist militant organisations employed to switch from violence to non-violence and from confrontation to engagement with their enemies. The paper underlines how the consensus-building process was multi-layered and included a combination of carefully structured internal consultations amongst combatants, together with the crafting and implementation of targeted programs to empower and transform militant organisations and their role within society. The chapter also focuses on the specific roles both ex-prisoners and key faith leaders played in shaping this monumental transformation. Finally, through in-depth case study analysis, the authors examine the main lessons that can be learned from the consensus-building process among Northern Irish Loyalist combatants and discuss its relevance to other intractable conflicts. This paper is based on the chapter "Disarming Militant Groups from Within: Building Support for Peace amongst Combatants in Northern Ireland,” in: Negotiations in Times of Conflict, Sher, G., Kurz, A., (eds.); Tel Aviv: Institute for National Security Studies, forthcoming.

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