Books, Music, Politics

The Troubles with music
As the Northern Ireland ‘Troubles’ passed eight years and over 2,000 deaths, punk music allowed catholic and protestant youths to transcend the communal, political and sectarian conflict. Following on American and British groups (such as The Clash, the Ramones and the Sex Pistols), Ulster bands made their mark on Northern Irish society and the British music scene. Rudi, Ruefrex, Stiff Little Fingers and The Undertones were just four of hundreds who worked alongside Terri Hooley and his Good Vibrations label, to create a vibrant provincial scene, which influenced independent music and its distribution throughout the British Isles.

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An autobiographical story of independent music (Americana) and the world of academia, as seen through the life of a small entrepreneur and published scholar. Includes: alcohol, world travel and alternative bands, graduate school and research in Northern Ireland.
This book examines the Northern Ireland civil rights movement and the Reverend Ian Paisley’s opposition. Although street demonstrations began in the summer of 1968 and lasted a year, activism to advance Ulster’s catholic community originated in the late 1950s. During this period, Paisley crusaded against Protestant apostasy and the liberalization of the Unionist government, and asserted a Calvinist response for protestants. Paisley formed a political and theological association with North Americans who professed militant fundamentalism and fought the integration of American society. Between 1965 and 1968, Paisley made three visits to the United States and Canada. During these extensive speaking tours, he witnessed the consequence to a successful campaign. The relationship, religiosity and first-hand knowledge of current events helped to shape Paisley’s counter-demonstrations in Northern Ireland, and create an atmosphere for sectarian strife and the “Troubles.”

The Second Coming of Paisley is the first book to examine the relationship between the Reverend Ian Paisley and leaders of the militant wing of evangelical fundamentalism in the United States in the period immediately preceding the outbreak of the Northern Ireland “Troubles” in the late 1960s. Jordan convincingly demonstrates that it was exposure to the ideas and principles of leaders of the Christian right such as Carl McIntire and Billy James Hargis that enabled Paisley to develop a militant brand of politicized religious fundamentalism that he used successfully to block the advance of civil rights for Northern Ireland’s Catholic population.

This cross-fertilization happened not in a historical vacuum but in the context of several centuries of interaction and exchange between Ulster and North America. Drawing upon extensive archival research, Jordan provides a full background analysis and establishes a framework for understanding the extraordinary force with which Reverend Paisley used a religious culture imported from the United States to affect a radical shake-up of religion and politics in Northern Ireland. Shedding new light on the influence of evangelical fundamentalism, The Second Coming of Paisley will be indispensable for scholars interested in the influence of religion on politics.