1.
When the Troubles began in Northern
Ireland, Rosemary Lawlor was a
newlywed. She and her husband had just
bought a house in Belfast. They had a
baby. It was the summer of 1969, and
Catholics and Protestants—the two
religious communities that have lived
uneasily alongside each other throughout
the country’s history—were at each
other’s throats. There were bombings
and riots. Gangs of Protestant militants
—Loyalists, as they were called—
roamed the streets, burning down
houses. The Lawlors were Catholic, and
Catholics have always been a minority