In 2008 I visited Ireland for the first time.  I had been working on and off on my manuscript about The Troubles for eight years based on newspaper accounts about the Provisional Irish Republican Army.  I wanted to see, taste, feel, hear and experience Ireland so that my manuscript would be authentic.  After landing in Dublin we found our way to the tour bus area where we met our driver and waited for everyone in the tour to arrive. 

My first lesson was that the Irish detest silence.  We were tired and recovering from the claustrophobic Aer Lingus flight from Chicago.  The driver entered the bus with a bounce, picked up a microphone and greeted us, saying:   “Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to Ireland.  We are two countries, the 6 counties of the north and the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland.”

His simple, straightforward greeting contained two lessons and eloquently expressed the reality of Ireland.  First, the driver couldn’t even say Northern Ireland, the legal name of the country carved out of the northeast of the island.  Second, this small island is still divided – 10 years after the 1998 Good Friday Peace agreement that was approved in referendum by more than 70%.  Division, both politically and culturally runs deep in Ireland.

MURPHY’S TROUBLES tells the story of one man’s role in the terrorist activities of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and his struggle to justify his actions.

“Story” in History

We can study the “facts” of any historical event, time period, or persons but knowing the sequence of events doesn’t help us to understand why things happen or what motivates people to behave as they do.  In order to have a “feel” for history requires story.

Local Madison, Wisconsin author Margaret George has developed her talent for telling the story part of history by selecting larger than life historical characters and they writing about their lives.  One of my favorites is Henry VIII.  From studying English history in college my impression of the king was as someone so desperate to have an heir he would and did do anything from a series of beheaded wives and colleagues to breaking with the Catholic Church to create the Church of England. 

Margaret George successfully gives us a holistic picture of Henry and within the context of his character and the mores of the time period, his actions were understandable although not necessarily acceptable.

In Murphy’s Troubles the protagonist, Ian Murphy, struggles with understanding and accepting the role he took in the Irish Troubles.  Alcohol and depression drive him to attempt a failed suicide.  Having his secret life in the Provisional Irish Republican Army exposed forces him to examine his life.  It is through Ian Murphy that I tell the story of the period known as the Troubles that lasted 30 years.