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These two memoirs illuminate the experience of living in Belfast and highlight as well the differences in the politics of that troubled province. Devlin, born in 1925 and a political leader in Socialist labor politics, was 44 years old when the "new" troubles broke out in Ulster in 1969. Adams was 21 at the time and in 1983 would become the president of Sinn Fein. Their political lives crossed in the period from 1969 to 1979. A member of the Social Democratic and Labor Party, Devlin rejected violence and sought to change the situation for the Catholic minority community through democratic and legal means. Adams chose the militant nationalist politics of the Sinn Fein party, which served as the political arm of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. The books of these two political figures also reflect their difference in writing autobiography. Adams's work, originally written in 1983, is a childhood recollection of Belfast interspersed with the history of the city and cast in the perspective of Catholic nationalism. Devlin, on the other hand, devotes the bulk of his book to the period that encompassed the most violent and volatile politics of Northern Ireland. These were events of great moment in Ulster, and Devlin provides us with insight into the political cut and thrust, the dangers, the injustices, and most of all his continuing contempt for the Provisional IRA and its violence. For readers interested in the politics of Northern Ireland, Devlin's book is undoubtedly the more valuable to read. For readers interested specifically in Adams and in the Belfast of his youth, Adams's memoir would be the best choice. For serious Northern Ireland collections, both are highly recommended.-Richard Finnegan, Stonehill Coll., North Easton, Mass.
Straight Left: An Autobiography
by Paddy DevlinAn insider's view of political events in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, the autobiography of the Belfast socialist and founder-member of the Social Democrat and Labour Party. Devlin was one of the most fearless and colorful characters ever to grace the Northern Ireland political stage; his book should be essential reading for students of modern Irish history. Devlin… See more details below
Overview
An insider's view of political events in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, the autobiography of the Belfast socialist and founder-member of the Social Democrat and Labour Party. Devlin was one of the most fearless and colorful characters ever to grace the Northern Ireland political stage; his book should be essential reading for students of modern Irish history. Devlin grew up in poverty - stricken Belfast in the '20s and '30s. He was born into a highly politicized family, his mother a nationalist, his father a socialist. He soon found himself interned for IRA membership, an experience that radically transformed his life. Turning his back on violence, he became one of Belfast's most committed and hard-working union activists. During the maelstrom of the Troubles he was at the center of many key events that shaped Northern Ireland's destiny.
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Product Details
- ISBN-13:
- 9780856405143
- Publisher:
- Blackstaff Press, The
- Publication date:
- 07/01/1994
- Pages:
- 303
- Product dimensions:
- 5.87(w) x 8.27(h) x 1.01(d)
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