How tour guides help processing the ’Troubles’ in Northern Ireland

Image: Alessandra Barbieri via Pixabay - Tour guides help opening the conversation about the former conflict in Northern Ireland, shows research of Emily Mannheimer at Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC). For her dissertation she participated in many tours and held interviews with tour guides. "How to talk about the past is really in the hands of tour guides and that is unique for a post-conflict country." When talking about Northern Ireland many people will mention Bloody Sunday and the deadly attacks of the IRA. During the conflict between nationalists and loyalists, tourism declined significantly, but as soon as the peace agreement was signed in 1998 the country started to increase its efforts to attract tourists. The official tourism bodies didn't want anything to do with what is often referred to as 'the Troubles', says researcher Emily Mannheimer. "The government does not want to be accused of picking a side as it is still a very sensitive topic. The focus lies on pre-Troubles industrial heritage or live entertainment and the arts.