Keeping your head down: Border Protestant experiences during the Troubles is the title of a public lecture being given next Monday, January 15, at 8pm, in the city’s Harbour Hotel.

The speaker is Dr Cillian McGrattan who lectures in politics at Ulster University, and the talk is being hosted by the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society (GAHS).

Histories of the Troubles tend to focus on political elites or political groupings, while an under-researched and under-appreciated dimension of the conflict has been the experiences of the border Protestant community, according to John Cunningham of GAHS.

While incidents such as the Remembrance Day bombing of 1987 are well-known, other experiences are not. For many border Protestants in geographically isolated areas, ‘keeping your head down’ was a constant necessity.

In his talk, Dr McGrattan will draw primarily on interview and newspaper material and will argue that the study of border Protestants is worthy of greater attention in its own right, and also because it acts as a lens through which to view the changing collective memory of the conflict in Northern Ireland.

Dr McGrattan is the author of several books, including Peacebuilding and the Politics of Trauma: Lessons from Northern Ireland.

■ Admission to Monday night’s lecture is free and all are welcome.

Pictured: Dr Cillian McGrattan