Laying it on the Line

A collection of interviews with diverse stakeholders, Laying it on the Line: Opinions on the Border gives voice to a wide range of views on the line across Ireland that everyone forgot. Established a century ago, it has re-emerged as central to relations, turning into not just the border between the Republic of Ireland and the UK, but between the EU and the UK. In this book we hear from those living in border communities, where social and economic life has flourished since the Good Friday Agreement. With Brexit, their lives and livelihoods risk serious damage. Interviewees include former Taoiseach John Bruton, historian Diarmuid Ferriter, MEP Martina Anderson, Derry footballer and barrister Joe Brolly, former RUC officers and British soldiers, and a wide range of other politicians, journalists, experts and people affected in Northern Ireland. Economically and politically, we are entering uncharted waters where dangerous winds blow.

Jude Collins is a retired university lecturer. He has broadcast extensively on CBC (Canada), BBC Radio Newcastle, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Radio Five Live, as well as appearing on BBC NI, BBC World News, RTÉ and PRESS TV. He has written four works of fiction: Booing the Bishop and other stories (1995), Only Human and other stories (1998), The Garden of Eden All Over Again (2001) and Leave of Absence (2006), as well as three collections of interviews: Tales Out of School: St Columb's College Derry in the 1950s (The History Press, 2010), Whose Past Is It Anyway? (The History Press, 2013) and Martin McGuinness: The Man I Knew (Mercier Press, 2018). Jude writes a weekly column for The Andersonstown News and blogs at www.judecollins.com