The Narrative Inheritance of the “Ceasefire Babies”: An Oral History of Conflict-Era Family Storytelling is an AHRC-funded PhD project that started out at the University of Brighton and is now based at Birkbeck College, University of London.
The research explores what stories about the Troubles young people in Northern Ireland have been told by their families. It seeks to understand how those young people feel about the stories they have heard, and what impact that narrative inheritance has on their understanding of the conflict past. It also asks whether they would pass the stories on to the next generation and, if so, in what way. Finally, interviewees were asked to reflect on their experience of belonging to the ‘ceasefire generation’ and to share their thoughts on life in ‘post-conflict’ Northern Ireland.
In 2023 and 2024, I conducted 24 interviews with 22 participants aged between 20 and 37 years old. The interviewees were drawn from a wide range of backgrounds and I conducted interviews in a variety of locations in England, Scotland, Ireland, and even Belgium.
Many themes emerged in the stories that participants retold in their interviews, ranging from injustice and defiance, through to shame and loss. Other important themes were social class, gender, humour, and even elements of the supernatural.
I am currently in the writing up phase of my PhD, but I am open to conducting further interviews, so if you are interested in getting involved do get in touch. I am especially keen to hear from women and individuals from Protestant/ Unionist/ Loyalist backgrounds. For more information email kgomez01@student.bbk.ac.uk
Narrative Inheritance 