The Year of Chaos

Description

In the eleven months between August 1971 and July 1972, Northern Ireland experienced its worst year of violence. No future year of the Troubles experienced such death and destruction. The 'year of chaos' began with the introduction of internment of IRA suspects without trial, which created huge disaffection in the Catholic communities and provoked an escalation of violence. This led to the British government taking full control of Northern Ireland and negotiating directly with the IRA leadership. Operation Motorman, the invasion of barricaded no-go areas in Belfast and Derry, then dampened down the violence a year later.
During this whole period, Malachi O'Doherty was a young reporter in Belfast, working in the city and returning home at night to a no-go area behind the barricades where the streets were patrolled by armed IRA men.
Drawing on interviews, personal recollections and archival research, O'Doherty takes readers on a journey through the events of that terrible year – from the devastation of Bloody Sunday and Bloody Friday to the talks between leaders that failed to break the deadlock. "A haunting portrait of a vanished place and time… written with such grace, tenderness, anger and, most of all, sorrow. The Year of Chaos is a gripping and brilliant imaginative reconstruction of that "strange kind of war, if it was a war at all." Every word is suffused with humanity. – Irish Independent "Frank and incisive – an insightful look at the most tumultuous period of the Troubles." – Ian Cobain, author of Anatomy of a Killing "O'Doherty is a literary surgeon who uses his pen like a scalpel, cutting through the cancerous tissue of propaganda that has served all sides during "The Troubles". This excellent book is a must-read for all who want to understand what happened during the first years of the conflict." – Richard O’Rawe, author, Northern Heist "Essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of a past frequently distorted by rival sectarian myths and attempts to rewrite history. We need more of this kind of pragmatic history if we are to move forward into a more peaceful future." – Aaron Edwards, author, The Northern Ireland Conflict "This is an important book which reminds us of the reality and brutality of Belfast in 1971-72. The narrowness between living and dying is laid bare by someone who lived through the "heat of that crazy time", and is a totally authentic account as a result." – Arlene Foster, former DUP First Minister of Northern Ireland
"An impressive, rounded review of a turbulent and formative year, looking at state failures and paramilitary roots with thoughtfulness but not indulgence." – Claire Hanna MP, SDLP Malachi O'Doherty is a writer and broadcaster based in Belfast. He is a regular contributor to the Belfast Telegraph and to several BBC radio programs. He covered the Troubles and the peace process as a journalist and has written for several Irish and British newspapers and magazines, including the Irish Times, the New Statesman, the Scotsman and the Guardian.

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