James Timothy Palmer

The Awakened Sleeper James Timothy Palmer

This historical novel covers the conflicts in Ireland from the period of independence to the Troubles in the 1970's. All the politicians and military leaders existed and did as narrated, the central family characters are, however, purely fictional. The central family's name, FitzGerald was taken from the Anglo-Norman Lords who ruled much of Munster, as Earls of Desmond, from the time of their invasion in the 12th Century, and it is still a common surname in Ireland. What prompted me to write this novel is that it is 50 years since the Troubles began in Northern Ireland in 1969. Furthermore, there has been a great deal of publicity regarding the coroner's inquest into the 1974 IRA pub bombings, in my place of birth, Birmingham, UK. The coroner ruled that the act was, unlawful killing. Somewhat belatedly, a monument has been erected in the City Centre to those who lost their lives. I am three quarters Irish and as such have been exposed through my relations to the views and feeling of people who lived through this turbulent period. I have never believed that this conflict was about religion. Winston Churchill, in his role as Colonial Secretary in 1921, drew a lot of lines on the map of the world, where conflicts still exist, e.g. Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and of course he was instrumental in the partition of the island of Ireland.