Merrion Press 🔖has just published a new book by Denis Bradley.
OUT NOW
Peace Comes Dropping Slow: My Life in the Troubles
€18.99 Paperback Description Denis Bradley was born and raised in Buncrana, just 12 miles from the border with Northern Ireland. On joining the priesthood he found himself assigned to the cathedral parish in Derry city, arriving in the summer of 1970 as the streets were descending into chaos with the outbreak of the Troubles.
An eyewitness to the wanton violence of Bloody Sunday, Bradley was spurred to become involved in the ‘backchannel’ as one of three men who would provide a secret link between the IRA and the British government for thirty years.
Fervent in their belief that dialogue would bring peace, they brokered the crucial 1993 meeting between IRA men Martin McGuinness and Gerry Kelly and a British Intelligence agent codenamed ‘Fred’. This was a vital step on the road to negotiations which would lead to the ceasefire and the Good Friday Agreement.
Throughout it all, Bradley worked to combat addiction and homelessness in his adopted community, and made the difficult decision to leave the priesthood to marry.
Once played out in the shadows, Bradley’s pivotal role in Northern Ireland’s peace process is finally illuminated in this engrossing memoir.
About the Author
Denis Bradley was born in Buncrana, County Donegal, but has spent most of his adult life in Derry city. He is a former priest, who has also worked as a counsellor and set up shelters for the homeless and treatment centres for alcohol and drug addiction. He was the first vice chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, set up to oversee the actions of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and as a member of the so-called ‘backchannel’, who acted as go-betweens for the IRA and the British government, was instrumental in helping bring about the Good Friday Agreement.
Contents 1. Beginnings 2. A New Parish 3. Adapting to the Times 4. The Awfulness of Violence 5. Bloody Sunday 6. Conversations 7. A Kaleidoscope of Tragedy 8. The Bogside Association 9. The Backchannel 10. Changing Times 11. A Crucial Meeting 12. Disappointment 13. Driving the Peace Process Forward 14. A Seemingly Impossible Vision 15. New Challenges 16. A New Beginning for Policing 17. Legacy 18. Apologia
Merrion Press 🔖has just published a new book by Denis Bradley.
OUT NOW
Peace Comes Dropping Slow: My Life in the Troubles
€18.99 Paperback Description Denis Bradley was born and raised in Buncrana, just 12 miles from the border with Northern Ireland. On joining the priesthood he found himself assigned to the cathedral parish in Derry city, arriving in the summer of 1970 as the streets were descending into chaos with the outbreak of the Troubles.
An eyewitness to the wanton violence of Bloody Sunday, Bradley was spurred to become involved in the ‘backchannel’ as one of three men who would provide a secret link between the IRA and the British government for thirty years.
Fervent in their belief that dialogue would bring peace, they brokered the crucial 1993 meeting between IRA men Martin McGuinness and Gerry Kelly and a British Intelligence agent codenamed ‘Fred’. This was a vital step on the road to negotiations which would lead to the ceasefire and the Good Friday Agreement.
Throughout it all, Bradley worked to combat addiction and homelessness in his adopted community, and made the difficult decision to leave the priesthood to marry.
Once played out in the shadows, Bradley’s pivotal role in Northern Ireland’s peace process is finally illuminated in this engrossing memoir.
About the Author
Denis Bradley was born in Buncrana, County Donegal, but has spent most of his adult life in Derry city. He is a former priest, who has also worked as a counsellor and set up shelters for the homeless and treatment centres for alcohol and drug addiction. He was the first vice chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, set up to oversee the actions of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and as a member of the so-called ‘backchannel’, who acted as go-betweens for the IRA and the British government, was instrumental in helping bring about the Good Friday Agreement.
Contents 1. Beginnings 2. A New Parish 3. Adapting to the Times 4. The Awfulness of Violence 5. Bloody Sunday 6. Conversations 7. A Kaleidoscope of Tragedy 8. The Bogside Association 9. The Backchannel 10. Changing Times 11. A Crucial Meeting 12. Disappointment 13. Driving the Peace Process Forward 14. A Seemingly Impossible Vision 15. New Challenges 16. A New Beginning for Policing 17. Legacy 18. Apologia
Former IRA volunteer and ex-prisoner, spent 18 years in Long Kesh, 4 years on the blanket and no-wash/no work protests which led to the hunger strikes of the 80s. Completed PhD at Queens upon release from prison. Left the Republican Movement at the endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement, and went on to become a journalist. Co-founder of The Blanket, an online magazine that critically analyzed the Irish peace process. Lead researcher for the Belfast Project, an oral history of the Troubles.
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