Voices from the Grave - by Ed Moloney (Paperback)

About the Book

Originally published: London: Faber and Faber, 2010.

Book Synopsis

The dawning of peace in Northern Ireland has not brought with it much truth about what happened during 'the long war'. Very few of the paramilitary leaders on either side have ever spoken candidly about their role in that bloody conflict. But here, in a dramatic break with the unwritten laws of paramilitary omertà, two leading figures from opposing sides reveal their involvement in bombings, shootings and killings and speak frankly about how differently their wars came to an end.

Brendan Hughes was a legend in the Republican movement. An 'operator', a gun-runner and mastermind of some of the most savage IRA violence of the Troubles, he was a friend and close ally of Gerry Adams and was by his side during the most brutal years of the conflict. David Ervine was the most substantial political figure to emerge from the world of Loyalist paramilitaries. A former Ulster Volunteer Force bomber and confidante of its long-time leader Gusty Spence, Ervine helped steer Loyalism's gunmen towards peace, persuading the UVF's leaders to target IRA and Sinn Fein activists and push them down the road to a ceasefire.

In extensive interviews given to researchers from Boston College on condition that their stories be kept secret until after their deaths, these men spoke with astonishing openness about their turbulent, violent lives. Now their stories have been woven into a vivid narrative which provides compelling insight into a secret world and events long hidden from history.

Voices from the Grave is the inaugural publication. of the Boston College IRA/UVF Oral History Project of which Professor Thomas E. Hachey and Dr Robert O'Neill are the General Editors.

Review Quotes

[A] moving new book, which traces the conflict from [Hughes' and Erskine's] often diametrically opposed perspectives ... Moloney's book expertly interweaves the two men's recollections with a detailed narrative of the conflict.--Telegraph

How do you document the history of a conflict in which illegal organisations are among the central players? Voices from the Grave, by the veteran Northern Ireland correspondent Ed Moloney, is an intriguing attempt to answer that question.--Open Democracy

The first and more gripping half of this fascinating, important book by Ed Moloney recreates Hughes's IRA career through his later reflections on it.--Irish Times

This candid analysis of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, as seen through the eyes of two men of violence, is full of revelations ... The memories of both men are vivid, gossipy and informed by an intense moral passion.--Daily Express

About the Author

Ed Moloney is the author of A Secret History of the IRA and a former Northern Ireland editor of the Irish Times and Sunday Tribune. He lives in New York.