Books by Tim Pat Coogan
On The Blanket
The The Inside Story of the IRA Prisoners' "Dirty" Protest
The H Block protest is one of the strangest and most controversial issues in the tragic history of Northern Ireland. Republican prisoners, convicted of grave crimes through special courts and ruthless interrogation procedures, campaigned for political status by refusing to wear prison clothes and daubing their cell with excrement.Were they properly convicted criminals, or martyrs to political injustice?
A masterpiece of investigative journalism, this book provides us with the only first-hand account of the protest. The investigation leads deep into the social, cultural, and economic maze of Northern Ireland's history to give readers an unmatched analysis of a troubled place and its sorrowful history.
Irish/British edition published by Arrow Books (Out of Print)
US edition (cover illustrated) published by Palgrave Macmillan
Reviews
"From the very first sentence, it grips as it horrifies. One would have to be extremely insensitive or extremely prejudiced to fail to be moved by it." - The Irish Times
"A must for anyone interested in the contemporary history of Anglo-Irish relations." - Sean MacBride, Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
"This book chronicles it all in unrelenting detail; a real eye-opener." - Library Journal