Loyalists in the Conflict: A study from Pittsburgh with Tony Novosel

Loyalists in the Conflict

Tony Novosel is no stranger to these pages and through his recently published–Northern Ireland’s Lost Opportunity: The Frustrated Promise of Political Loyalism–has shown that he has a consummate grasp of the conflict here and in particular the working class Loyalist perspective.  Tony currently is a History professor at Pittsburgh University and his present class are studying all aspects of the past conflict.  Here are the first two of a list of questions posed by the class.  The hope is that the questions provoke a response and help those”outsiders” garner a better unsderstanding of “The Troubles”.

1.  Looking      back on their prison experience, was it worth it? Was their involvement in      the violence worth the time spent in Longkesh?
2. How were the tensions in both Crumlin Road and Long Kesh when      they were first sent to the prison with the members of the IRA.  What      led loyalists to a “non aggression” pact with republicans in      prison.  Did the loyalists resent in not being allowed to      act out against the IRA in prison?

Northern Ireland’s Lost Opportunity: The Frustrated Promise of Political Loyalism by Tony Novosel  (7 Jan 2013)