Introduction

Added to the fraught political context created by Brexit and the ongoing sensitivities of commemorating divisive centenaries, there have been evolving controversies related to how the authors deal with so-called legacies of the more recent Northern Irish conflict. The realisation that there is a new audience outside of Northern Ireland specialists means they have aimed for the contents of this handbook to address both general and specific readers and a broad range of disciplinary audiences. The authors have selected themes that promote the diverse and disparate nature of current research in this vibrant field of research and many of our chapters could have been placed in more than one section. The three themes of the handbook allow for more creative, artistic, and reflective ways of exploring the conflict and peace process and include contributions from cultural producers as well as academic researchers who utilise a variety of sources and methods to understand the past and present in Northern Ireland.