Comparing Revolutionary Narratives: Irish Republican self-presentation and considerations for the study of Communist life-histories

This article is based on the belief that Northern Ireland’s movement towards a ‘post-conflict’ environment has given fresh impetus to the long-established tradition of political autobiography associ- ated with the historical evolution of Anglo-Irish relations. Many protagonists (or ex-protagonists) of the ‘Troubles’, whether Irish republican/nationalist, Ulster unionist/loyalist or British, now feel the time is ripe to tell their ‘stories’ to a wider public, to explain their motivations, and to try and shape the historical debate over the rights and wrongs of the conflict. [Taken from opening paragraph]