Abstract

Set against a volatile political landscape, Irish republican culture has struggled to maintain continuity with the past, affirm legitimacy in the present, and generate a sense of community for the future. Lullabies and Battle Cries explores the relationship between music, emotion, memory, and identity in republican parading bands, with a focus on how this music continues to be utilized in a post-conflict climate. As author Jaime Rollins shows, rebel parade music provides a foundational idiom of national and republican expression, acting as a critical medium for shaping new political identities within continually shifting dynamics of republican culture.

“Rollins offers an insightful account of the changing landscape of republican identity politics in post–Peace Process Northern Ireland, illuminating a surprisingly neglected topic and reshaping our thoughts of what the future of Northern Ireland may look like.” • Richard Jenkins, University of Sheffield

Jaime Rollins has a PhD in anthropology from Queen’s University Belfast. She has assisted with a number of research projects, including Public Displays of Flags and Emblems in Northern Ireland, commissioned by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister. She has previously published in Anthropology in Action and in the Irish Journal of Anthropology, where she has also been a guest editor. Her research interests include identity, emotion, memory, political agendas expressed through narratives and song, textiles and art, and medical anthropology. She is currently pursuing a nursing degree.