What is the story behind the book?
My name is Ryan Conner, and I am the author of “One Man, One Vote”: Northern Ireland’s Civil Rights Movement, 1963-1972. Using published interviews and video footage, the book examines how Catholic and Protestant civilians, who lived primarily in Belfast and Derry, experienced the movement, which began in the early 1960s in response to the Northern Irish government's discrimination against Catholics in areas such as housing, jobs, and voting. Many grassroots activists aspired to and insisted on using non-violent methods to pursue their goals. Yet violence broke out when the Northern Irish police led baton charges, as is now well-documented, against civil rights activists at their first major demonstration in Derry in autumn 1968.
Civil rights activists continued organizing demonstrations well into 1969. Yet there now was frequent violence among marchers, counter-protesters, and the police. Traditional cultural parades soon became sites of violence in August 1969, and British troops intervened to restore "law and order"--a phrase frequently used by observers in 1969. Many Catholic civilians cautiously welcomed the troops to protect them from the Northern Irish police forces, which were largely Protestant. The troops were supposed to stay only temporarily.
Yet within three years, British snipers shot and killed thirteen civilians at a civil rights protest in Derry in January 1972, turning many previously optimistic Catholics toward the paramilitary Provisional Irish Republican Army. This Bloody Sunday, as it became known, escalated the then-ongoing armed conflict between the Irish paramilitaries and British security forces.
The dynamics of the civil rights movement and the armed conflict are complex: how and why did violence unfold and escalate in the late 1960s and early 1970s? Did structural conditions in Northern Ireland make conflict inevitable? Or was conflict the result of particular decisions made by a variety of political and social actors? What are the legacies today?
I have been developing this book through a popular open program at Georgetown University and with the support of professional editors and publishers at New Degree Press. I selected this topic to explore Northern Ireland’s history, having both traveled to the Republic of Ireland last year and developed research interests in twentieth-century international history. Although the COVID-19 crisis has led many libraries and archives to close and made travel to Northern Ireland impossible, many Northern Irish institutions have resources available online. I have also turned to an outstanding, trans-Atlantic network of independent bookstores and sellers. Both have been invaluable for my research. I intend to travel to Northern Ireland as soon as possible.
Today’s landscape in the United States is beyond the scope of this book, yet it is imperative to acknowledge that the protests and the response have had some remarkable echoes, as I hope you’ll realize, of Northern Ireland’s 1960s civil rights movement and the landscape of memorials there today. There are important similarities, but also very notable differences, as with all historical analogies. Nevertheless, the past can illuminate the present across time and across societies in sometimes unexpected, yet welcome, ways.
So what?
I hope that the book will attune you to the power of the stories that are told about the past not only in Northern Ireland, but anywhere around the world, especially today in the United States. The ultimate purpose of the book is to persuade you that studying history is valuable to making sense of the present, especially in the aftermath of conflict.
Why should you pre-order the book?
I need to pre-sell 120 paperback copies of the book in order to publish it. If you would like to pre-order it, please know that your funds will help cover the following costs:
- working with a team of editors to revise and publish the manuscript in December 2020;
- selecting the book’s final cover design and interior layout design for both the physical copy and e-book formats;
- copy-editing the book for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and consistency; and
- staging the launch and promotion efforts this winter.
Please refer to the "perks" tabs on this page for the rewards you'll receive if you pre-order the book!
Are there any risks?
The greatest challenge of publishing a book is sending it to you. New Degree Press has built the mailing and shipping costs into the pre-sale campaign in order to reduce any delivery-related risks. These risks fall on the publisher. I will be working carefully with New Degree Press to make sure we ship you the signed copy as soon as possible. We will update you on critical milestones in the publication process. Most importantly, we will notify you when we expect to ship you your copy.
How else can you help?
I appreciate any support you can give. If you decide not to pre-order the book, please feel free to share the link to this Indiegogo page with your friends, family members, and professional contacts. Whichever option you choose, your support would be extremely helpful!
Thank you!
Ryan
About the Author
Ryan P. Conner is an early career researcher and writer. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History & Public Policy, summa cum laude, at William & Mary, with particular interests in historical studies of conflict, diplomacy, and peace in North America, Europe, and Latin America. He has published research on early nineteenth-century U.S. political history in the U.S. Capitol Historical Society's scholarly journal. Aside from writing, he has enjoyed watching "Derry Girls" on Netflix and sharing stories with friends old and new over digital calls.
For more information, you can connect with Ryan:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-p-conner-26675...
email: ryanconner200@gmail.com
