Manchester University Press - Template for peace

At no time in Northern Ireland's history did so many significant political initiatives occur as between 1972 and 1975, the most violent and polarised years of the region's conflict.

Using archival sources, this book analyses the political events and processes that informed the British government's Northern Ireland policy at the time, the complex interactions between Northern Ireland political parties, and the importance of the British-Irish diplomatic relationship to the search for a solution to the Northern Ireland conflict.

Focusing on the rise and fall of the power-sharing Executive and the Sunningdale Agreement, the book challenges a number of persistent myths, including those concerning the role of the Irish government in the Northern Ireland conflict.

It contests the notion that the years 1972 to 1975 represent a 'lost peace process', but demonstrates that the policies established during this period provided the template for Northern Ireland's current, ongoing peace settlement.

Reviews

In Template for Peace: Northern
Ireland 1972-75 Dr McDaid
examines the influence of an
assembly combining nationalists
and unionists., Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 4 September 2013|McDaid provides a comprehensive assessment of the position of several different parties in terms of political, social and economic policies through archival research. His book is recommended to researchers who work on the Northern Ireland peace process as it provides background information on the resolution efforts between the British and Irish governments and political parties., L Aytac Kadioglu, University of Nottingham, Political Studies Review, 1 August 2015

Introduction
1. From direct rule to power-sharing, 1972-1974
2. The security problem
3. The Sunningdale Council of Ireland
4. Social and economic policy and the Executive in office
5. The UWC strike and its aftermath
6. Government policy after the UWC strike and British-Irish relations, 1974-75
Conclusion
Bibliography