Eureka Street: Irish History

Robert Wilson writes a fictional story of Belfast in a post IRA and Unionist cease-fire. Eureka Street offers a look into what the social and political scene is like after the cease-fire in Northern Ireland. The Story gives a glimpse into continuing struggles between Catholics and Protestants and how some people try to look beyond religious differences. The main characters in the story come from different religious backgrounds but they find themselves being close friends despite the political cloud tearing Northern Ireland apart. Thought a fictional story, Eureka Street offers up a real life feel that anyone could believe might happen in a post war environment like Northern Ireland and Belfast specifically.

Set in the 1990’s this book touches on some of the realities of a post war environment and the issues that still plague the country after peace agreements have been reached. The peace process was first put into action through an IRA cease-fire in 1994 but the original talks of the process had started possibly in 1988 when Adams met with Hume. The leaders would meet many other times between 1988 and 1993 showing signs of progress in the peace agreements. The talks would break o

Civil rights are brought up in the book through hateful slang by angry Protestants. One man blames the loss of his job on a new Commission that made sure that Catholics were represented fairly. He says, “I was at Shorts for ten years. Laid me off four months ago. They’re letting fucking Taigs in now (p.9).” The anti-catholic sentiment is expressed throughout the book and even a fear by Protestants. “Catholics were moving in everywhere, including across the table from them if they but knew. The Fair Employment Commission was putting them into the workplace. They were then getting enough money to buy property in good protestant areas where the houses had no shit on the walls (p.163).” Catholics had gained some equality as a result of the Civil Rights movement but they had been so badly intimidated before the cease fire that none of them actually got to capitalize on equal opportunity. Even though Northern Ireland was trying to change and trying to make efforts for peace many of the people have a tough time adjusting to new ways. People that are set in their ways are clearly shown in the book through slang and religiously charged comments. In the book the bar called the Ashley was a place that Protestants drank, “many of the men who drank there had done time for chasing, beating, baiting, or just killing the Catholics of the city (p.155).” Chuckie and Luke also noticed a “poster for the ANC over the bar…this puzzled Luke until one of the more cosmopolitan drinkers informed him that the poster was there because of an unshakable belief amongst the regulars that ANC stood for Absolutely No Catholics (p.155).” These religiously charged difference cause some problems throughout the book and Jake receives death threats from his former co-workers because of the fact that he is Catholic. Robert Wilson makes it clear in the book that not everyone in Belfast thinks as openly as Jake and Chuckie. After all they must have to

Some topics in this essay:
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