ABSTRACT
It is clear that remembered and current geographical insecurities play a significant part in the Northern Irish conflict. There are severe problems in imagining the six counties as a coherent place; it fits neatly neither into the dominant visions of Ireland as a whole, nor those of Britain, and each of these larger entities is itself increasingly fragmented. The ways in which both unionism and nationalism traditionally construct their claims to the territory of Northern Ireland are centred on absolute ownership and mutual exclusion. Unionist and Protestant narratives of belonging on the land have been couched in terms of suffering and hard work, while nationalist and Catholic narratives have focused on prior settlement and use. This chapter aims to uncover alternative means of establishing belonging in place in Northern Ireland. Nuances exist, suspended between and around the simplified narratives; taking into account the ongoing failure of the concept of 'nation' to provide an inclusive or complex ground for belonging in Northern Ireland, the chapter focuses on the potential of the locality to do so. Rather than arguing for localities as inherently inclusive of cultural, political and religious diversity in themselves, the concern is with inclusive uses and understandings of localized space. Unfortunately, many people in Northern Ireland do not regard inclusion as being a positive; although these uses of locality could be defined as progressive, that view is not universally shared among unionists and nationalists in the North. It seems obvious, however, that some kind of shared belonging needs to be negotiated between the two communities laying claim to the six counties, despite their evident reluctance to do so.
