Derry author Peter Mullan releases new book

Did you know, when the Battle of the Boyne (1690) was won by William of Orange, Pope Alexander III, ordered celebrations in Rome? He also asked all Catholics in Ireland to light bonfires on hilltops to celebrate the victory.

In fact, Pope Alexander gave William and his wife, Mary II, 200 ducats, the equivalent of £34 million in today’s money, to come to Ireland.

These are just a couple of the, perhaps, surprising nuggets of information, contained in Peter Mullan’s fascinating new book: ‘Struggle: A Walk Through Irish History and Rebellion’.

Speaking to Derry Now, Peter, who is originally from Derry but now lives in Inishowen via Dublin, made some pertinent points about how Irish history has been revised to suit contemporary narratives.

He said: “We are now in the middle of the ‘marching season’ and the whole commemoration of 1689 / 1690. But actually, what happened in Ireland had more to do with the European war, the War of the Grand Alliance, against the expansion of France. It had very little to do with religion and religion is what is highlighted today.

“The truth of history is not being told. In reality, Catholics and Protestants fought on both sides. James II had a great connection to France because his father and grandfather had been protected by France after Cromwell.”

It is clear Peter is fascinated by history, however, he sees it as something which could enhance the tourist offering in the North West, in Derry and Inishowen.

“I would like to partner with others, including accommodation and transport providers,  to boost tourism here,” he said.

“I was in Donegal Town recently and I was impressed by the number of visitors there,  in contrast to what we see in the likes of Derry and Inishowen.”

Peter was motivated to write ‘Struggle’ because he felt strongly, Irish history was not being taught or told from an Irish perspective.

“Take, for example, the Martello Towers,” he said. “We are all told the Martello Towers were there to protect us from the French.

“They were built to protect the Irish from the French, they were built to protect the British from the French. The French were the friends of the Irish. They were our allies.

“We are told the Spanish Armada of 1588 came to invade us. This is wrong. The Spanish came to help the Irish. We should tell Irish history from the Irish perspective.”

Peter’s passion for history took off following a serious car accident in 2009 which left him severely injured and unable to continue working in his retail business.

“That is when I decided to go back to college,” he said. “I went to Killybegs and studied History and Tourism.

“Although I gained my qualification, I found it ironic, when we went into the history class, we were fed this history that was not our history, it was English history. In addition, the history only went up to the 1940s and we were not allowed to talk about anything past that, it didn’t exist.

“I am a firm believer in the idea that if you want to do something, make a change, you have to do it yourself, so I started investigating and looking at our history. I read up and informed myself and I came up with the idea of writing a book and complementing it with a tour.

“I felt there are so many of our diaspora out there worldwide and this was an opportunity to bring them to the North West. That is where I want to focus.

“I wrote ‘Struggle’ because no-one else had done it. It was something I felt I had to do. I had to tell the story. I had to put it right. Now that I have completed it, it is a weight off my shoulders. If it goes anywhere else that’s fine and if it doesn’t that’s fine too.”

‘Struggle: A Walk Through Irish History and Rebellion’ tells the story of Ireland from the first English king of Ireland, Henry VIII, up to today.

Peter pointed out, there were other English kings but Henry VIII was the first one anointed King of Ireland, by the Pope.

“The Pope of the day sent the first English king, Henry II, here. He was here under licence. The pope claimed Ireland and all the English kings were granted licences. The Pope wanted the Irish church ‘brought into line’ because they were rebels. They were operating on their own, doing their own thing,” said Peter.

“The Pope was not getting to appoint bishops and he wasn’t getting any coin, so he sent Henry in, although Strongbow had been here before that.

“However, Henry’s licence was revoked and he effectively had no legitimacy when he broke from the Catholic Church. Henry then had to go to the Irish Parliament and request it anoint him king. He was the first anointed English king of Ireland.

“I take it from there and I try to tell the story simply,” said Peter. “There is nothing complicated. I have tried to make ‘Struggle’ readable. It is a book designed to get people to enquire and ask more and go and look about it themselves. I am really trying to point people in the right direction.

“I think we get tunnel vision when we look at this story. We need to open our eyes and ask, ‘What was happening in the rest of Europe?’

“The Spanish were our friends. The French were our friends. The treaty of Dingle made all Irish people Spanish Citizens. It was in effect  right up until the Twentieth Century.

“As a people, the Irish have got to stop looking down. We need to raise our eyes, look up and see ourselves, see what has made us. It is not by accident Ireland is a European nation, as opposed to Britain, which is not. It is not just something that has happened within the last 50 years. Ireland has always been more connected to Europe than England.

“What I would like to do initially is to work with partners in the US. I would like to facilitate midweek tours, where I would interpret historical sites within Derry and Inishowen, using ‘Struggle’.

“The book tells the story from an Irish perspective, so whenever I look at the Martello Towers, the Cooley Cross, Cloncha, Straid other historical sites, I will be telling what happened there. In popular Irish history, you would think nothing existed here before the Plantation. For example, the Derry Walls were built from 1613 to 1618, to protect the English from us. They were built because Cahir Ó Dochartaigh raided Derry.

“I don’t think we should look back in anger at history. History is ours. Everybody has their history but I feel the Irish haven’t settled on their version, they are embarrassed.”