Stormclouds
Page 16
The conflict in Northern Ireland, widely known as ‘The Troubles’, claimed over three thousand lives and continued for almost thirty years. In 1997 the IRA called a ceasefire, and The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 paved the way for intensive negotiations that eventually led to the disbandment of the IRA, which was followed by the loyalist UDA and UVF also ending their armed campaigns. Both sides agreed to share power, with Northern Ireland governed from Stormont by a power-sharing executive.
Stormclouds is a work of fiction, and the families of Maeve, Sammy, Dylan and Emma are figments of my imagination. However, the historical elements from 1969 are real, with the bombing of the water reservoirs, the moon landing, and the burning of people from their homes all being actual events.
The Mourne Wall, visited during the picnic scene, is a real structure, still standing to this day. The wall passes over fifteen mountains, including Slieve Donard, the highest mountain in Ulster, and took eighteen years to complete.
Ardara Running Club and Wanderers Soccer Club are both fictitious, but Bombay Street, where Maeve lived, the Malone Road where the Goldmans rented the house and Ebor Street, where Sammy lived, are all actual places that still exist in Belfast, although they have changed since 1969.
Brian Gallagher
Dublin 2013
About the Author
BRIAN GALLAGHER is a full-time writer whose
plays and short stories have been produced
in Ireland, Britain and Canada. He has worked
extensively in radio and television, writing many
dramas and documentaries. He collaborated with
composer Shaun Purcell on the musical, Larkin, for
which he wrote the book and lyrics, and on Winds of
Change for RTÉ’s Lyric FM.
His first book of historical fiction for young readers
was Across the Divide, set in the 1913 Dublin
Lockout, followed by Taking Sides, set against
the background of the Civil War, and Secrets and
Shadows, an exciting spy novel that begins with the
North Strand bombings during World War II. Brian lives with his family in Dublin.
Other books by Brian Gallagher
ACROSS THE DIVIDE
Liam and Nora form an unlikely friendship when he helps her out during a music competition. Liam’s father, a mechanic, is a proud trade union member, while Nora’s father is a prosperous wine importer. When Jim Larkin takes on the might of the employers in 1913, resulting in strikes, riots and lockouts, Liam and Nora’s loyalties are torn and their friendship challenged.
TAKING SIDES
Annie Reilly wins a scholarship to Eccles Street School. There she makes friends with Susie O’Neill, and, through her, Peter Scanlon, a boy from a wealthy family who goes to school at Belvedere. But civil war is brewing in Ireland and hotheaded Peter has become involved in running messages for the rebels. When Annie is kidnapped, Peter is forced to make a terrible choice. Should he risk his life and betray his cause for Annie? And can they ever be friends again after this?
SECRETS AND SHADOWS
When her home is destroyed in the Luftwaff e bombing of the North Strand, Dublin in 1941, Grace Ryan has to move to a different part of the city. There she meets Barry Malone, sent to Ireland from Liverpool to escape the air raids there. They both join a summer sports club run by Barry’s teacher, Mr Pawlek. However, they begin to suspect Pawlek of spying for the Nazis. When Grace and Barry attempt to find proof, an exciting challenge soon turns into a highly dangerous mission, with their very lives at stake.
Copyright
This eBook edition first published 2013 by The O’Brien Press Ltd,
12 Terenure Road East, Rathgar, Dublin 6, Ireland.
Tel: +353 1 4923333; Fax: +353 1 4922777
E-mail: books@obrien.ie
Website: www.obrien.ie
First published 2013
eBook ISBN: 978–1–84717–617–2
Copyright for text © Brian Gallagher 2013
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© The O’Brien Press Ltd
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