John Hume and the SDLP: Impact and Survival in Northern Ireland

352 Pages·1998·43.05 MB·English

by  Gerard Murray

Hume
John
SDLP
and the
Impact and Survival in
Northern Ireland
GERARD MURRAY
T
SDLP
he has consistently defined
the Northern Ireland problem as
one of a divided people, rather than a
territorial issue. Therefore, it raises the
important question: how much revision
from the traditional nationalist
SDLP
perspective does the portray, if at
from the mid-70s onwards? The
all,
major objective of this study is to
investigate the tensions within the party
over its political identity.
The party survived the political
vacuum which existed during the mid- LIBRARY
70s in Northern Ireland and attained its Square
ultimate objective of getting the British
government to recognise the validity of
PUBLIC
the Irish dimension (expressed through
the Anglo-Irish agreement in 1985). It
Copley
unveils how the party’s earliest analysis of
the Northern Ireland conflict and BOSTON
strategy for resolving the problem was
eventually adopted by the British and
Irish governments during the eighties.
Additionally, the book raises serious
Hume/Adams
questions about the
dialogue, indicating that the Anglo-Irish
Agreement failed in its attempt to
address minority alienation within
Northern Ireland. Does it give validity
to the Sinn Fein contention, that
Northern Ireland irreformable? More
is
importantly, does demonstrate that the
it
SDLP
has failed in its attempts to bring
about real equality for the minority
community in Northern Ireland?
continued on backflap/
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HUME
JOHN
SDLP
and the
Impact and Survival in Northern Ireland

HUME
JOHN
SDLP
and
the
Impact and Survival Northern Ireland
in
GERARD MURRAY
IRISH ACADEMIC PRESS
DUBLIN: PORTLAND, OR
——
First published in 1998 by
IRISH ACADEMIC PRESS
Northumberland Road, Dublin Ireland
44, 4,
and in North America by
IRISH ACADEMIC PRESS
NE OR
c/o ISBS, 5804 Hassalo Street, Portland, 97213
website: http://www.iap.ie
© Gerard Murray 1998
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Murray, Gerard
John Hume and the SDLP: Impact and Survival in Northern Ireland.
(New directions in Irish history)
—
SDLP
1. 2. Political parties—Northern Ireland History
—
20th century 3. Northern Ireland Politics and government
1969-1994
I. Title
324.2,4i09,72,09047
ISBN o 7165 6441
ISSN 1393-5356 New Directions in Irish History
A cataloguing record is available from the Library of Congress
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved
alone, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced
into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise),
.out the prior written permision of both the copyright
I owner and the above publisher of this book.
Typeset in 11 pt on 13 pt Sabon
by Artwerk, Dublin.
Printed by Colour Books Ltd., Dublin