Commemorating the Troubles in County Fermanagh

: remembrance in rural spaces

Abstract

Commemoration of the Conflict in and about Northern Ireland has become a focus for ongoing political division in the post-peace agreement state. Despite this, commemorations in rural areas have remained relatively understudied when compared to the urban centres of Belfast and Derry/Londonderry. This thesis explores commemoration and memory in County Fermanagh, one of the most rural parts of Northern Ireland. It will investigate the role narratives and the symbolic landscape play in creating a social map of Fermanagh and interrogate Fermanagh as a rural case study to see how existing theories of symbolic landscapes work beyond urban contexts. It primarily focuses on the commemorations of the ‘innocent victims’ constituency, represented mostly by the South East Fermanagh Foundation, and the non-mainstream Republican groups involved with the 1916 Societies. The 2017 controversy over the placement of a new memorial to the 1987 Enniskillen Remembrance Day Bombing reinvigorated the debate around memorialisation and public space in Fermanagh and drew national media attention to local contestations over the legacy and narratives of the past. To assess claims about the numbers of memorials, a map and database of memorials throughout the county has been created. Through ethnographic research, interviewing, and participant observation, this thesis examines how narratives of victimhood, innocence, and responsibility are constructed, the role and use of storytelling in shaping identities and spreading narratives, how commemorations are utilised as a tool of resistance and as a critique of the peace process, issues of memorialisation and the Legacy of the Past, and the process of reconciliation within County Fermanagh. Histories in Fermanagh are not set in time, rather they are linked to places, and, through storytelling and ritual engagement, these histories are kept in the present and provide motivation and justification for group’s actions in the future. The research shows that rural groups feel a disconnect from the peace process, believing it is working for other interests and suggests that attention to the rural experience is necessary for a more inclusive and lasting transition from armed violence.

Thesis is embargoed until 31 July 2025.

Date of Award	Jul 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Queen's University Belfast
Supervisor	Dominic Bryan (Supervisor), Raluca Roman (Supervisor) & Hastings Donnan (Supervisor)