Provisional Irish Republican Army
One page on my website provides a brief chronology of the Provisional Irish Republican Army from its’ creation in 1969 to the final Peace Agreement in April, 1998.  This is also the time period for the story of Ian Murphy.

The creation of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provos) in Murphy’s Troubles is completely fictional; however, the background is historical.    My source for IRA history is the definitive work by Tim Pat Coogan, The IRA, PALGRAVE, New York 2002.  The Provos were the result of a split in the traditional Irish Republican Army (IRA) by leaders who wanted a direct assault on British rule in Northern Ireland. They implemented a strategy of urban guerrilla warfare.  In 1969 the world hadn’t experienced car bombing and Daithi O’Connell, a Provo leader, is credited with introducing the car bomb as an offensive weapon.  

The Provos didn’t recruit but relied on volunteers to fill their ranks.  Most of the volunteers were working class Catholics.  The volunteers shared the belief that British rule was evil which justified the use of any activity to rid Ireland of the British.  They also shared a historical perspective they their activities honored patriots who had died in the past for the cause. 

One unintended outcome for the Provos is that they were the first identified terrorist organization by the international community.  The roots of terrorist today can be found in Ireland.

A Story is a Journey Quest

At a recent writer’s conference one of the participants I met recommended a historical fiction book about Ireland because my historical fiction is set in Ireland from 1968-98.  The book recommended was published in 2010 so I thought it would be a good example of a comparable book in the same genre and historical topic (The Troubles in Ireland) as my book.

I believe that the reader has the right to know what is at stake or what the protagonist must have or die in the first chapter of a novel.  It is the author’s way of setting the hook and enticing the read to turn the page, then another, then another.  As a novice writer the first 10 or so versions of my story started with a kid growing up in Cork, Ireland who goes to college and joins the IRA.  While this information is important to the story, frankly it was boring.  I wanted the reader to trust me that the good stuff was right around the corner.

The book I’m reading that was recommended to me suffers from this problem.  According to my Kindle I’ve read 25% of the book and I don’t have a clue what the protagonist wants.  Worse, the protagonist is changing and developing a real chip on their shoulder, being both unkind and rude to nearly everyone.  The result is I don’t know what the protagonist wants and I’m beginning to dislike the protagonist.  Yet, the writing is often very good but plot and story structure could use some improvement.    

Stories are about journeys that the characters make through life.  We all want something, I want to be a published author and my story, in part,  is about my journey to achieve that goal.  For us to expect readers to buy our books, we must give them a story – a journey – a quest.