Book
The bloody red hand : a journey through truth, myth, and terror in Northern Ireland
Record details
- ISBN: 9780676976496
-
Physical Description:
print
p. ; cm. - Publisher: Toronto : Knopf Canada, 2006.
Content descriptions
| General Note: | Includes bibliographical references and index |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Lundy, Robert, fl. 1688 Steel, William Dickson, 1744-1824 Lundy, William, b. 1890 Northern Ireland -- History Protestants -- Northern Ireland -- Biography Lundy, Derek -- Family |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Salt Spring Island Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Spring Island Public Library | 941.6 LUN (Text) | 056877 | Non-fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Random House, Inc.
A bestselling chronicler of the sea turns to a trio of his own ancestors to see what memory and the selective plundering of history has made of the truth in Northern Ireland.
The name âLundyâ is synonymous with traitor in Ulster. Derek Lundyâs first ancestral subject was the Protestant governor of Derry in 1688, just before it came under siege by the Catholic Irish army of James II. For reasons that remain ambiguous, Robert ordered the gates of the city opened in surrender. Protestant hard-liners staged a coup de ville and drove him away in disgrace, a traitor to the cause. But Robert is more memorable for his peace-seeking moderation than for the treachery the standard history attributes to him. William Steel Dicksonâs legacy is a little different: a Presbyterian minister born in the late 18th century, he preached with famous eloquence in favour of using whatever means necessary to resist the tyranny of the English, including joining forces with the Catholics in armed rebellion. Finally, there is âBillyâ Lundy, born in 1890, the antithesis of the ecumenical William, and the embodiment of what the Ulster Protestants had become by the beginning of World War I â a tribe united in their hostility to Catholics and to the project of an independent Ireland.
The lives of Robert Lundy, William Steel Dickson and Billy Lundy encapsulate many themes in the Ulster past. In telling their stories, Derek Lundy lays bare the harsh and murderous mythologies of Northern Ireland and gives us a revision of its history that seems particularly relevant in todayâs world.
Excerpt from The Bloody Red Hand:
The other thing I remember is the look the young man gave me, after he had taken the cash, put his pistol away and was standing with his hands in his jacket pockets. It wasnât the expression of someone who was thinking of shooting me too; I never had that feeling. But the way he looked at me was so familiar â wary and calculating. Many people in Belfast had stared in the same way since Iâd arrived for a visit. For a long time, I couldnât understand what it meant. Eventually, I knew. They were trying to decide âwhat foot I kicked withâ â what religion I was. There were supposed ways to tell, subtle indicators. Was I someone they should fear? Or was I one of them? That was what the armed robber was doing, too. He had just shot a man who knew him by his first name. But he was looking at me, the stranger, and trying to figure out whether I was a Prod or a Taig.
