[.ca] The Shankill Butchers: The Real Story of Cold-Blooded ... (ISBN 0415922313)

Indictment of the times:
A sad and disturbing book that gives an insight into the period of "civil conflict" misnamed "the Troubles". Murphy and his accomplices committed awful crimes against innocent Roman Catholics,quite stomach churning. I think this book has to be read with a view of the situation that was going on in Northern Ireland at the time. These Shankill Butchers felt that they were reacting to the murderous activities of the IRA who were shooting/bombing/maiming/torturing policemen,soldiers. As during this period the IRA and its allies the INLA were murdering people everyday.

Enter life in Belfast in the 1970's:
Want to understand the "Troubles"? How about delving deep into what it means to hate for hate's sake, to police that hate with little more than detective wits, and to strive to restore order to the seventh circle of Hell. Cops with hands tied and bound, criminals with nothing but blood on their minds, the logic of US Gangster crime fades in comparison to the ancient blood feud that finds no place or meaning today, yet policemen with distractions from politics and low pay and strained home lives push on in hopes of the beucholic Irish fireside of their childhood. Take sides if you want, everyone's a loser when the aim is simply death.

Vey Informative But Very Violent:
Martin Dillon deserves great credit for writing this informative account of Lenny Murphy and his band of murdering thugs. It details the rise of Murphy as a school bully who`d rob classmates at knifepoint , how the Irish " Troubles " led to Murphy forming The Shankhill Butchers , the atrocities they commited , and The Butchers eventual downfall . There is nothing to admire about secterian murder in Northern Ireland and reading this book it becomes quite clear that- Unlike consuming large amounts of alcohol- politics and religion did NOT play a big part in The Butchers lives , it was only an excuse to torture , mutilate and murder people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Courage also had no place in The Butchers lives , wait till you read about hardman William Moore trying to blame his accomplances for the murders. My only complaint is that my edition is from 1990 and I`ve no idea if the author is planning to do a revised book. THE SHANKHILL BUTCHERS` possibly needs to be updated : Can the likes of Mr A , Mr B , etc now be named ? What happened to the likes of Moore after their release under the Good Friday agreement ? How are The Butchers regarded by people in Belfast nowadays ? As a footnote Robert " Basher " Bates was executed by the Ulster Freedom Fighters in the Summer of 1997

Response to Mr. Perry:
This is a well written book that tells the story of loyalist murderers in the north of Ireland. Mr. Perry obviously has loyalist sympathies and can't seem to leave his biased opinions of Ireland's freedom fighters out of any of his book reviews. The IRA, INLA, etc. were protecting their communities from protestant invasion in the first place. The British army was sent in to protect Irish Catholic neighborhoods from being destroyed by protestants (of course that turned out to work against the Catholics too). How easily you forget to include the UVF, RHC, UDA, UFF, PAF, LVF and their intimidation and terror tactics (including beatings, burning houses, maiming, murders supported by selling cocaine and heroine). You criticise books because you say the authors demonise one side and support the other- well what do you think you are doing in your so called book reviews? You basically blame the IRA for the attrocities committed by the shankill butchers! Give me a break! You are just typical of any loyalist and have no way of comprehending the Irish Catholic experience in Ulster. In another one of your reviews you say that the Catholics aren't the only ones who have it hard in Ulster and you use the Shankill in West Belfast as your support. Well I agree that the prods in the Shankill aren't living in luxury, but you cannot say that the prods throughout Ulster have had suffered as much discrimination and abuse as the Catholics have. Try and prove that one. I have no problem with admitting my bias and I will not even try to hide it. Regardless, Ulster will be united with the other Irish provinces one day and things will be all good. 26 + 6 = 1 Do yourself a favour and check out the BBC Northern Ireland website on almost any day and you will see examples of how great your beloved loyalist gangsters and thugs are. People should read this book and see for themselves that the butchers were extreme examples of hate and not even the IRA is an excuse to slaughter innocent civilians. Well worth the read. Erin go bragh!

Belfast in a Time of Turmoil:
This is one of those books which one finds hard to put down, but on the other hand many time has to stop and take a deep breath, during the reading!! It is written well with a great understanding of the issues in Belfast and The North. After one is finished it leaves a memory which is hard to erase. This is a must read for anyone on either side who is interested in the Irish/Ulster question.