By 
A STRABANE academic currently in the process of researching a book on the Troubles, has been invited to present a paper on his project at a prestigious symposium in Germany.
Dr Paul French, a criminology lecturer at the University of Chester who is researching a new book on the impact the Troubles had on his home town, will be attending the UK-German Frontiers of Humanity Symposium in Bonn, hosted by the British Academy and the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation.
The conference brings together about 30 young outstanding researchers based in both the UK and Germany from across a range of disciplines to share knowledge and potentially collaborate in the future.
Paul was encouraged to apply to be a part of the symposium on behalf of the British Academy. He detailed his current research string and how it feeds into his June talk.
He said, “I’ve been working on the project since last year about how the Troubles affected people in Strabane and the surrounding district, going back some 60years.
“I put a call out for anyone affected by the Troubles in any way; be they innocent victims, paramilitaries or indirect witnesses to events during that time in our history.
“When people hear about the Troubles, stories coming out of that narrative usually focus on bigger places like Derry or Belfast and Strabane gets drowned out but, coming from a border town, I wanted my research to focus on what I call the ‘forgotten frontier’.
“Strabane has endured a lot during the Troubles which need explored; the town was unique in the respect of being a central location to events, being a border town. So far my research has led me to speak to individuals such as former paramilitaries and both ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ victims with a multitude of different stories, most of which are obviously tragic but some contain hints of humour as well.”
To date, Paul has completed 20 interviews but is hoping to expand that to 50 or more.
He continued, “Since beginning this project I’ve found a real appetite for it from people willing to share. By the time I sit down and actually write I would hope 50 or more people of all backgrounds and experiences will have contributed.
“Strabane is a largely nationalist town but I’m also very keen to get perspectives from the Protestant and unionist background as well; it’s important to never limit the pool of resources and there is a collective voice that needs to be heard.”
Ideally, Paul wants to begin writing the book by summer time, having enough material collated and interpreted by then so that he can create something of a narrative to deliver talks on the subject in England and Germany.
“I hope to have something structurally locked in by then, with interviews completed and time to consider some the analysis, finding themes and commonality within the interviews; so, by the time I got to Germany, I can deliver something coherent that says ‘this is my project and these are my findings to date.”
When all is finally said and done Paul would hope to see the book on shelves sometime next year.
“I’m aiming to have the book ready for some time in 2027 although admittedly with lecturing and a young family, it might be hard to find a spare moment to write!
“I also need to consider book proposals as I’m without a publisher and that takes time.
“The aim is put the finished product in bookshops rather than sitting on some dusty college bookshop shelf.”
