Children of the Revolution: The Lives of Sons and Daughters of Activists in Northern Ireland

Children of the Revolution contains the stories of twenty people who had a parent politically active in Northern Ireland’s recent conflict, the majority deeply involved in non-state combatant groups. Sons and daughters of republicans and loyalists, as adults now, they recount their experiences of childhood and how their mother’s or father’s activities impacted on their lives.

They tell of police and army raids, prison visits, absent or deceased parents with honesty and emotion. Some reject the parent and the events that led to their own suffering, while others are completely supportive of the parent and his or her politics; many are ambivalent. In the end, some individuals were clearly traumatised by their experience, but all display a remarkable level of resilience in the face of what violent conflict brought their way.

"Little is harder to bear than the suffering of children. This sensitive and thoughtful account of their memories in times of trouble is a powerful call for non-violence and sympathetic understanding, given special resonance by the hopeful outcome, a lesson that others should take to heart."
Noam Chomsky, writer, linguist, and lifelong critic of US foreign policy.

"Bill Rolston has filled a lacuna in the troubled history of Northern Ireland in getting the children of the combatants to tell us what it was like growing up in the vortex of the Troubles, and how, despite the fractured relationships and constant dislocations, they were able to build other lives and communities of hope."
A Sivanandan, editor of the journal 'Race and Class'

"Woven through these beautifully rendered different experiences are the rage and the shame, the pride and the love, and, above all, the sacrifice that was demanded of the children of activists. A heart-wrenching, clear-headed, painful account that, saying much about the costs of struggle, makes riveting reading."
Gillian Slovo, author of 'Every Secret Thing'

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