Performing Paramilitarism
Loyalist Songs, Conflict, and Culture War in Northern Ireland
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Product details:
- Publisher OUP USA
- Date of Publication 30 September 2026
- ISBN 9780197686430
- Binding Paperback
- No. of pages232 pages
- Size 234x157x14 mm
- Weight 345 g
- Language English
- Illustrations 40 illustrations 700
Categories
Short description:
Performing Paramilitarism examines the role that loyalist songs played during the Troubles and why musicians and audiences still produce and consume these songs today. The book shines a light on the ways in which these songs feed into a broader 'culture war' in Northern Ireland where, in the absence of intercommunal violence, the commemoration of paramilitary groups is used to continue the conflict by other means.
MoreLong description:
During Northern Ireland's 'Troubles' (1969-98), paramilitary groups were supported and sustained by a sociocultural apparatus that helped legitimise their position within the community and disseminate their political message. From the use of flags and murals to loyalist and republican parades, working-class vernacular culture revealed who controlled various districts of the Province. For many working-class Protestants, loyalist songs were a key component of this culture, connecting the past and the present. Unlike the better-known loyalist marching band scene, the loyalist song scene was--and continues to be--much more private. Performances take place in closed settings such as local loyalist pubs and clubs, where songs are reproduced for internal consumption rather than outward expression.
Performing Paramilitarism examines the role that loyalist songs played during the Troubles and why musicians and audiences still produce and consume these songs today. By tracing the connection between loyalist songs and loyalist paramilitaries, the book highlights how these songs feed into a broader 'culture war' in Northern Ireland where, in the absence of intercommunal violence, the commemoration of paramilitary groups is used to continue the conflict by other means. Stephen R. Millar argues that in the wake of Brexit, such songs form part of a cultural nostalgia for multiple and intersecting imagined pasts. These pasts in turn resonate with the rise of populism in other parts of the world and are weaponized to defend against the looming existential threat of a United Ireland.
This is an excellent book, moving beyond mainstream views of Ulster loyalist politics to provide a detailed and nuanced understanding of the roles played by popular culture and song in creating and enhancing group identity and solidarity. It should be read by anyone seeking to more fully understand the worldview of loyalists and their engagement in a contemporary 'culture war' across Northern Ireland.
Table of Contents:
Introduction: Locating Loyalism, Performing Paramilitarism
Let Us Entertain You: Loyalist Songs, the Troubles, and the Politics of Cultural Reproduction
Men Behind the Wire: Loyalist Prisoners and their Soundscapes
Echo, Violence, and Reverberation: The Case of Billy McFadzean
Hands Across the Water: Music, Loyalism, and Sectarianism in Scotland
'Time for Some Bigotry': Culture War and the Politics of Irony
Epilogue: War Without End
