Marie-Therese Fay & Mike Morrissey 
Northern Ireland’s Troubles 
The Human Costs

This work provides a background to the Northern Ireland conflict. The authors investigate the human effect of the violence, looking at the geographical, religious, gender and age distribution of deaths due to the ‘troubles’. They analyse the impact of the activities of the various armed participants, and examine the relationship between deprivation and levels of violence. Looking at suicide rates, levels of prescribed drug use, and mental health admissions, they examine the social impact of the conflict. They then compare this with the impact on the economy – GDP, unemployment levels, and public expenditure, putting forward a positive agenda for dealing with the effects of conflict, and for moving away from violence, towards peace.

Table of Content

Introduction

Part One CONTEXT

1 Northern Ireland, a state in conflict

2 Understanding Political Violence in Northern Ireland

3 Economic and Social Aspects of the Troubles

Appendix 1: Pen Pictures of the Protagonists

Appendix 2: A Chronology of Key Events

Part Two THE HUMAN COST OF THE TROUBLES

4 Profiling Those Who Died in Northern Ireland’s Troubles

5 Patterns of Violence

6 Victims and Perpetrators

7 Half the Battle: the Impact of the Troubles on Children

8 Conclusions and Next Stops

References

Index

About the author

Marie Smyth is an author and academic, who previously held the post of Chair in International Relations at the University of Surrey. An expert on political violence, she is the author of Truth and justice after violent conflict: managing violent pasts (Routledge, 2007), Inside the U D A: Volunteers and Violence (Pluto, 2003), Northern Ireland After the Good Friday Agreement (Pluto, 2002) and Personal Accounts of Northern Ireland’s Troubles (Pluto, 2000).