DEDICATION

“Let us firmly resolve to respect our differing views of freedom, culture and aspiration and never again permit our political circumstances to degenerate into bloody warfare.”             

This course is dedicated to all the people in Northern Ireland in the hope that this course may bring some understanding to what they lived through during the “Troubles.”  It is also dedicated to all the friends I have made over the past thirty + years in Northern Ireland who mean so much to me and who inspired me to do this course.   

I particularly want to thank Monica McWilliams and David Ervine,(click to watch tribute) who unfortunately died much too young, and an unnamed Republican, who helped me in the development of this course and who provided suggestions, criticisms and their valuable time and opinions.  I am forever indebted to Michelle and Tony Marken for providing me with a “home” in Northern Ireland and for providing insights, opinions and valuable information over the years that also helped with the development of this course.  I thank John Morrison, Patsy and Eilis Hennessey for their friendship, their valuable time and their open discussions on Northern Ireland and Irish politics and History over the years.  Their insights were invaluable in providing a framework for writing this course.  Barbara Mellix deserves great thanks.  Without hers and the University’s support of my work in Northern Ireland I would not have been able to travel to Northern Ireland and do the work I do there.  I cannot thank Barbara Frey enough for her untiring and patient work in helping me format and organize this Study Guide and her colleagues, John Shaw and Tim Kyle, who did a great deal of  the production and editing work on the Study Guide.  Their time and efforts made this Study Guide possible.

 I have to give very special thanks to Stephanie Hanville for her support over the years.  She has put up with my obsessive work on this topic, tolerated my frequent trips to Northern Ireland and verbal ramblings and provided great support in my efforts. 

Finally, my eternal gratitude goes to the Business Education Initiative for providing me with the opportunity to travel to Northern Ireland regularly and to work with the next generation to build a new and better society.