Reading Northern Ireland: Part One, 'Anatomy of a Killing: Life and Death on a Divided Island' by Ian Cobain
I have long been interested in Northern Ireland*, largely due to more general interests in UK politics and the study of peacemaking. This attitude has been turbocharged in recent years by a combination of factors: my first trip there, back in 2019; the Brexit process, which brought Northern Ireland to the forefront of British politics in a manner that had not been seen for some years; and the 2020 Lockdown, during which I began reading books on The Troubles. Though Northern Ireland is undoubtedly different, it is certainly not alien to, nor disconnected from, the rest of the United Kingdom. Its history is our history. My goal this year is to read more books concerning Northern Ireland, in an effort to increase my understanding of its past, present and future. I am starting this process with Anatomy of a Killing: Life and Death on a Divided Island (2020) by Ian Cobain.
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In his most recent book, Cobain takes an original approach
to The Troubles that tells an important and intimate story of violence, conflict,
and what happens after the guns fall silent. The Troubles claimed thousands of
lives, injured tens of thousands, and lasted for thirty years. Yet Cobain
focuses on a single death: the murder of Laird Millar McAllister, a
photographer for the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), on April 22nd
1978, at the hands of the IRA. By concentrating on this single event, Cobain
provides deep insight that reverberates far beyond Millar’s death, shedding
light on the causes, course and consequences of the conflict.
An award-winning investigative reporter, Cobain divides his
book into six chapters. The opening three are dedicated to providing background
information on Millar’s death. “Chapter 1: The People” features biographies for the victim, his killers and the key figures involved in the conflict at the
time of Millar’s death, as well as a more general discussion of the sort of
people who joined the IRA. “Chapter 2: The Time” considers the wider cultural,
political and strategic context of the Northern Ireland Conflict in the
late-1970s. “Chapter 3: The Place”
begins with a detailed description of Lisburn, the city to the southwest of Belfast
where Millar was killed, and then goes on to recount day-to-day events and
experiences during The Troubles. “Chapter 4: The Killing” opens
with a few examples of how the IRA operated and a couple more biographies,
before providing a full account of the titular killing. The final two chapters
consider the murder’s aftermath. “Chapter 5: The Consequences” looks at the
arrest, interrogation, trial and incarceration of the killers. Finally,
“Chapter 6: The Far Side of Revenge” considers what has happened to those
involved in Millar’s death in more recent years, and how they now reflect on
their role in the conflict.
What stands out is how Cobain uses a diverse pool of
evidence to paint an accurate picture of The Troubles, despite the challenges
the topic presents. For example, the
events of Chapter 5 are largely informed by interviews with the murderers, and
police reports. As Cobain himself notes, these often contradict one another.
Unsurprisingly, IRA terrorists describe their treatment during “interrogations”
by members of RUC as heavy handed, whilst police reports make no reference to any
ill treatment. Cobain responds to issues around “truth” by bringing in a
considerable amount of supplementary, comparative and even interdisciplinary
evidence. Regarding the above-mentioned issue, he highlights an Amnesty
International report into the RUC’s interrogation practices, which concluded
that prisoners were being abused ‘with sufficient frequency to warrant the
establishment of a public inquiry to investigate it.’ Elsewhere, he makes
reference to cultural sources, such as poems, tv shows and even the Belfast
punk music scene, in an effort to outline the attitudes of ordinary people to
The Troubles and wider politics. At the other end of the spectrum, Cobain reflects
on the conclusions of reports produced by psychologists studying why people
commit political murders, and what they can tell us about the IRA’s membership.
Given the nature of this topic, a 100% “true” description of the all the events
is impossible, but Cobain’s comprehensive source base allows the reader to obtain
an unquestionably accurate sense of what life in 1970s Northern Ireland was
like, whilst also helping them make an informed judgement whenever there is any
debate to be had.
There is a lot of emphasis on the importance of
architecture and the stories it can tell. Cobain contrasts
the narrow alleyways of the Lower Falls that favoured IRA operations, with the wide-open
parks and avenues of Andersontown, Lenadoon and Twinbook, where it was far
harder for the terrorists to operate covertly. Similarly, when the Poleglass
Estate was built in the late 1970s/early 80s to house Catholics from overcrowded
areas of Belfast, we are told that the footpaths were reinforced so that they
could support the weight of military vehicles.
Perhaps the most engaging part of the story is the section
focused on the day of Millar’s death. It plays out like a multi-point of view thriller,
as we follow the victim and his killers going about their day, before they eventually
collide, and the gruesome outcome ensues. The murder is inevitable: we know
that as soon as we open the book. Yet the tension is high. Having spent 154 pages
learning all the reasons, both societal and personal, why the killer decided to
point a gun at Millar, the reader is fully invested in learning how it
happened. It speaks to the strength of Cobain’s writing that he managed to keep
me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Like a great detective novel, Anatomy
of a Killing kept me wondering whether there would there would be a surprise
twist in the tale, right up until the trigger is pulled.
Although it seems a shame to criticise such a powerful piece
of work, there are a few areas for improvement. Whilst the members of the IRA
cell responsible for the assassination are largely introduced in Chapter 1,
they are barely mentioned again until the chapter on Millar’s death. This
large gap made remembering who was who slightly difficult, and I found myself frequently
flicking back to the start to refresh my memory. A few more mentions of them in
the intermediate chapters, or maybe some pictures, might have encouraged their names
to stick in my head.
The final chapter is the book’s weakest one. Much
ink is spent on how the killers view and rationalise their actions, but there is
next to nothing on how the victim’s family reflects on his death. This is the
understandable consequence of Millar’s family refusing to discuss his death
with the author. Cobain does his best to present an alternative to the arguments made by the IRA men, who are all seemingly unrepentant, at surface level at
least. He notes changes in their body
language when they discuss the murder, which perhaps hint at deeper internal
conflicts, and he includes interviews with other members of the security forces
who survived the sort attack that claimed Millar’s life. But none of this is
quite strong enough to balance out, or even offer a retort to, the killers’ justifications. The pluralism that is largely a mainstay of the book, is less visibly
apparent here. When the man who shot Millar says it is not for him to speculate
on how the death might have impacted the policeman’s sons, aged eleven and
seven at the time, the narrative is undeniably crying out for the victims’ views.
Perhaps, it is the family’s refusal to speak about what happened that says the
most about the damage caused by political violence?
On the whole, I would enthusiastically recommend Cobain’s engaging book to anyone with a basic knowledge of The Troubles, which they are looking to develop. It is maybe not ideal for a complete newcomer to the topic, since Cobain’s laser like focus on the 1970s means the structural roots of the conflict, dating back to partition and beyond, only get an occasional cursory look in. He does, however, go out of his way to explain any Troubles’ terms whenever they are mentioned, such as Diplock Courts, so a novice could probably keep up well enough. If you are looking for a captivating study, that provides a multi-layered reconstruction of life and death in Northern Ireland during 1970s, then Anatomy of a Killing is for you.
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If you would like to buy Anatomy of a Killing, here is a link to it on the Waterstones website:https://www.waterstones.com/book/anatomy-of-a-killing/ian-cobain/9781846276408#:~:text=Anatomy%20of%20a%20Killing%3A%20Life,on%20a%20Divided%20Island%20(Hardback)&text=An%20arresting%20analysis%20of%20a,tragedies%20that%20permeated%20the%20Troubles.
Next, I am going to read Eamonn McCann’s classic, War and an Irish Town. First published in 1974, a new edition was released in 2018. I hope to see you then.
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