This is the second part in the true stories behind the book, April in the Back of Beyond. Part
1 can be found here: https://pmterrell.blogspot.com/2019/08/behind-book-part-1-april-in-back-of.html
Watch the video below for the inside story, or skip below to read it. The video can also be viewed on YouTube at https://youtu.be/-jsmYf4osR8.
Throughout April in the Back of Beyond is another story inspired by fact. The main character, Hayley Hunter,
is a writer that is researching her family’s history, beginning with her
ancestor’s migration to Ulster from Scotland who became involved in O’Doherty’s
Rebellion.
These scenes are based on my creative nonfiction book, Checkmate: Clans and Castles, which was
released in 2017 by Drake Valley Press. In Checkmate,
my own ancestor, William Neely, arrived in Ulster with William Stewart. Their
land bordered on Cahir O’Doherty’s Inishowen Peninsula, separated only by the
lough. When Cahir set fire to Derry and began O’Doherty’s Rebellion, it would
require my ancestor to make a choice: whether to fight for King James against
the uprising or side with the Irish that had lived and ruled that region for
over a thousand years. Checkmate was
the result of years of painstaking research and I attempted to remain faithful
to the facts.
Though
the battle of Derry depicted in Checkmate
occurred in 1608, it would not be the first and far from the last. The city was
rebuilt through London private donations and renamed Londonderry. Today, more
than 400 years later, it continues to be a city divided between those loyal to
Britain and largely Protestant (unionists or loyalists) versus those fighting
for a united Ireland that are largely Catholic (republicans or nationalists).
The ideological war between the two factions was originally those loyal to
Britain versus those loyal to Ireland, but it became a religious war as well,
fueled by zealous ministers and priests. The city is often referred to as the
“slash city” Londonderry/Derry because the republican/nationalist Irish do not
recognize the name “London” in their city, it having been named Derry centuries
earlier, prior to England’s invasion.
During
the writing of this book, tensions increased in Ulster—most notably Derry and
Belfast. A journalist was killed covering a violent uprising in Derry and
several Catholic churches were burned. The increase in violence was attributed
to Brexit, which could possibly lead to checkpoints and guard posts between
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which had unfairly targeted
Catholics in decades before the Good Friday Agreement and the removal of those
border walls.
Check out the book trailers below for April in the Back of Beyond and Checkmate: Clans and Castles:
