May 1999

An Ulster Voice: In Search of Common Ground in Northern Ireland
by Gary McMichael
(Paperback; 10.99 IRP / 14.99 USD)

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The groundbreaking peace accord in Northern Ireland is a story of disparate political factions coming together to work out a blueprint for peace in a country beset by political and sectarian violence since the 1960s. An important development within the talks came from the Ulster Democratic Party, moderate Unionists whose flexible and pragmatic views are a radical change from the extreme views of more traditional Unionists. Their leader, Gary McMichael, a signatory to the Good Friday Agreement, gives an insider's perspective on the Loyalists' search for peace, a view often ignored in the media.

McMichael's thoughtful accounts of visits to the White House and meetings with British, Irish and American politicians, as well as his insightful analyses of the ceasefires, the resumption of IRA violence, orange parades, and Unionist culture reveal a crucial part of the complex puzzle that is Northern Ireland today and the momentous events now taking place.