The AOH/LAOH along with USGAA and Merrion Press are hosting a 10 city Book Launch Tour for Lost Gaels.
Chicago is last stop, Tuesday March 4, 7PM, at the Irish American Heritage Center. The event is
The first book to record the total number of GAA members killed in the conflict in the North, Lost Gaels provides a vital platform for families and friends to remember those they lost. Beautifully presented and featuring a foreword from GAA President Jarlath Burns, it serves as a testament to the profound impact of the GAA as a uniting force for communities enduring unrest and violence.
LOST GAELS
Remembering the Members of the GAA Killed During the Conflict in Ireland
by PEADAR THOMPSON
‘After the massacre, the GAA became even more important to us as a real sense of identity. It’s difficult to explain but we could
cling to it in a sense, and say this is ours, this is us.’
- Clare Rogan, wife of Adrian Rogan, killed by the UVF in the 1994
Loughinisland massacre
The GAA has long been at the heart of Irish life, nurturing our culture and communities and fostering powerful social bonds.
However, as sectarian conflict intensified in the North, the GAA became the object of animosity and surveillance by loyalist
paramilitaries and Crown forces. Clubhouses and pitches were occupied by British forces, fans were security checked and harrassed on their way to and from games, and over 150 members were killed.
Lost Gaels is the first comprehensive account of the devastating impact of the Troubles on the GAA, providing a platform for bereaved family and friends to pay homage to their lost loved ones. Capturing the deep connection between the GAA and the everyday lives of Irish people, this is a poignant and powerful tribute to the lives of lost Gaels.
‘Every now and then a project of significance and importance crosses our bow and makes us sit up and take notice. It piques our curiosity, demands our attention and focuses our minds in a way that so much else of what essentially constitutes white noise in modern society does not. This body of work is one such example.’
- Jarlath Burns, GAA President
HARDBACK
368pp €29.99/£24.99. ISBN: 9781785375354
About the Author:
Peadar Thompson is a lifelong Gael from West Belfast. He is a fluent gaeilgeoir, and member of
Naomh Eoin CLG. Strongly motivated by his own family’s campaigning for truth and justice, Peadar
has read law at both Newcastle University and Leiden University, and has worked in the fields of
human rights, law and victim advocacy, including at Relatives for Justice. Peadar is named after
his paternal uncle, Peter, who was killed on 13 January 1990 by undercover British Army Intelligence Officers.