# Looking for a book on Northern Ireland history

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-book-on-northern-ireland-history/827389>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 8, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-book-on-northern-ireland-history/827389 "2019-01-08T04:00:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-book-on-northern-ireland-history/827389/1 "2019-01-08T04:00:12Z")

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I’m writing a story that takes place in Northern Ireland in the early 1920s. My main character lives in Belfast and is Catholic. He is arrested for sedition and sent to Crumlin Road Prison where he is beaten until he confesses.

Can someone recommend a book, or books that would describe what that might have been like, and under what law he would have been arrested, or how long he would likely be in imprisoned for?

Any help or pointers on this subject would be greatly appreciated!

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**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-book-on-northern-ireland-history/827389/2 "2019-01-14T01:32:04Z")

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Hi Dolphinboy,  
no idea of how aware you are of early 1920s Belfast history but I reckon it would be worth taking a look at the publication linked below housed at [archive.org](http://archive.org). There was a lot of communal violence in Belfast during the early 1920s with Catholics mainly bearing the brunt in terms of lives lost and home displacement. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

> **[Facts & figures of the Belfast pogrom, 1920-1922 : Kenna, G. B : Free...](https://archive.org/details/factsfiguresofbe00kenn/page/n7)**
>
> OCLC number: ocm08274194

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**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-book-on-northern-ireland-history/827389/3 "2019-01-14T15:21:15Z")

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“The Twelve Apostles” and many others by Tim Pat Coogan will give you an excellent perspective from the point of view of a Pro-IRA Irish Catholic historian.