Brian Rowan Book order

In Living With Ghosts renowned veteran journalist Brian Rowan retraces his steps through Northern Ireland's conflict years, as he bravely delves into the darkness of those times. His story takes us beyond the often strict boundaries of the news into the very real dilemmas and fears behind its scenes. In his journalistic career Rowan walked the thinnest of lines, where morals and principles were blurred, and as a result his mind became tortured. This book is an explanation, not a confession. He goes deep into his contacts with the IRA, the loyalist organisations, MI5, Special Branch, the army and the many other players in the conflict period. And he joins the dots on a path out of ' war' in a place that has not yet found peace of mind. Rowan thinks and writes inside a moral maze, and in this book he invites us into his nightmares of remembering and to times he will never forget. Living with Ghosts is a moving and deeply personal account of one man's doubts and decisions, and the challenges of reporting a war on his doorstep.

This is a book about political stasis; the purgatory that Stormont became, and the sins of that long standoff. The story begins in January 2017, with Martin McGuinness's dramatic resignation as Deputy First Minister, and chronicles all the behind-the-scenes negotiations that ultimately resulted in the restoration of the Executive in January 2020, with the 'New Decade New Approach' agreement. Then, that new fight with a fearsome and unknowable foe: Coronavirus. Political Purgatory charts the three years from the collapse and restoration of the northern Executive to Covid-19 in the wider frame of building peace after conflict, and we turn the next corner into the centenary of Northern Ireland and that louder call for Irish unity, since Brexit, like a piece of heavy machinery on fragile ground, has left cracks across the Union. Spanning several decades, some of the biggest names on the inside of Irish and British politics and policing, including Gerry Adams, Peter Robinson, Julian Smith and Simon Coveney, help veteran journalist Brian Rowan turn the pages in what President Clinton has called the 'long war for peace'.

In Northern Ireland, former adversaries are now sharing power, with Ian Paisley and Peter Robinson leading a devolved administration alongside IRA hawk Martin McGuinness as Deputy First Minister. This remarkable political transformation raises questions about how such a deal was achieved and how war turned into peace. Award-winning journalist Brian Rowan takes readers behind the scenes, examining the path from the Stormontgate spying scandal to the establishment of the Executive. His analysis of the Stormontgate affair challenges the notion that it was merely a plot by securocrats. Rowan traces the origins of the Peace Process back to the Hume-Adams talks of the late 1980s, focusing primarily on the last five years. He provides insights into the negotiations, speaking with key figures involved in the endgame and drawing on his extensive reporting experience. The book delves into the complexities of reporting on a conflict while living through it, exploring how Adams and McGuinness shifted the dynamics and what prompted Paisley to agree to the deal. It also addresses how Northern Ireland confronts its past. In this work, the most challenging questions are posed and answered. Brian Rowan, a former BBC Security Editor in Belfast, has received multiple awards for his journalism and is now a freelance writer and broadcaster, contributing regularly to the Belfast Telegraph. This is his fourth book on the peace process.