New Documentary About Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’ Warns Against Political Violence

Given the rise in political polarization in the United States, some pundits believe that the nation could be coming apart at the seams. A new documentary uses a recent example from overseas to demonstrate in vivid detail what that would entail.

“Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland,” a five-part documentary released by the BBC this spring, gives an oral history of what euphemistically became known as “The Troubles” in the six counties that comprise Northern Ireland. The series, which is premiering in America on PBS, shows the deep and lasting scars that the slow-motion civil war had on generations of Ulster residents.

From Civil Rights to Civil War

The series’ first episode focuses on the roots of the conflict, between Protestant loyalists aligned with

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