[LIVE COUNT] founding seats remaining of 100
Claim Your Founding Seat
Belfast Books · North Belfast · Troubles Non-Fiction Since 2014
Founding Cohort · 100 Seats Only
Belfast Books · File Reference BB-TF-001 · Founding Cohort Open
The Troubles
Files
Most people who read
Northern Ireland Troubles books
read them alone.

That ends here.

You find the Northern Ireland Troubles book. You read it. You finish it with questions nobody around you can examine properly. The Troubles Files is the room that has not existed: one carefully selected Northern Ireland Troubles non-fiction title per month, a reading brief before it arrives, and a live examination with serious readers from around the world.

Great Britain and Northern Ireland £99.99 first quarter then £39.99/month
Ireland · EU · USA · Canada £149.99 first quarter then £49.99/month
Cancel any time · 30 days notice · First quarter prepaid
Claim Your Founding Seat
 100 founding seats · strictly limited
Scroll
The Troubles Files · The Problem We Built This To Solve

The history is
serious. The rooms
rarely are.

You have been reading about this conflict for years, possibly decades. You have found the books that matter, tracked down the ones that went out of print, and worked through the ones that were too comfortable with their conclusions. You know what the serious literature looks like and you know when a book is avoiding something.

What you have not found is a room where people read at that level and examine the record with the same rigour. Book clubs share opinions. Academic seminars avoid the dangerous questions. Social media turns every serious discussion into a sectarian scoreboard. The room where serious readers examine this history honestly, without agenda, with people who know the ground: that room has not existed. Until now.

The cost of not having that room is that you read alone. You finish a book like Bandit Country with twenty questions that nobody around you can examine properly. You put it down having done the reading but not having done the work. That is what The Troubles Files is built to fix.

"You read it seriously. You finish it with twenty questions. The Troubles Files is where those questions go."
Belfast Books · The problem we built this to solve
Why Belfast Books

Twelve years.
One question
asked more than any other.

Belfast Books opened in North Belfast in 2012. From the first week, customers came in asking for Troubles non-fiction. Not casual curiosity: serious reading. They wanted the books that went inside the machine, the ones that named names and documented what the official record tried to file away.

Over twelve years, we have built the largest selection of out-of-print Troubles non-fiction in Belfast. We have sourced books that have been unavailable for a decade. We have had conversations with customers who have been reading this history seriously for thirty years and still cannot find a room where people examine it with the same rigour they bring to it themselves.

In twelve years of trading, the single most requested title has been Bandit Country by Toby Harnden. Customers come in asking for it, come back when we are out of stock, ask us to source it, and ask when it will be back in print. It has been the most sought-after Troubles title we have encountered in over a decade of serious bookselling.

The Troubles Files is the answer to what those customers have been asking for. Not just the book, but the room to examine it in, and a private Skool group where the conversation, the recordings, the sourcing alerts, and the first-dibs notifications live between sessions.

12 Years leading the conversation on Troubles non-fiction in North Belfast
01 Book requested more than any other in twelve years of trading: Bandit Country
100 Founding seats. The room that has not existed until now. Strictly limited.
First Dispatch · The Troubles Files · File 001
The most requested book in Belfast Books' history. Now your first dispatch.
Bandit Country
Toby Harnden
File 001 · South Armagh
Belfast Books · Open since 2012 · North BelfastIn twelve years of trading, no book has been requested more often than this one. Customers come in asking for it, come back when we are out of stock, ask us to source it, and ask when it will be back in print. It is the single most sought-after Troubles title we have encountered in over a decade of serious bookselling, and it is the only possible first book for The Troubles Files.
Bandit Country
Toby Harnden · Published 1999 · Hodder and Stoughton

South Armagh was not like the rest of the Troubles: it was a defined piece of ground, a tight republican community, and a brigade of the IRA that operated with a level of tactical sophistication and local knowledge that made it both the most effective and the most feared unit the organisation ever fielded. The British Army lost more soldiers there than anywhere else; the SAS deployed repeatedly; surveillance technology that had never been used in conflict before was trialled on those lanes and fields, and none of it broke the brigade.

Toby Harnden went in with no pre-existing access and no community connection, building sources on every side of the conflict over years of patient, persistent reporting. What came back was the most granular account of how the South Armagh Brigade actually operated that has ever been published: the intelligence networks, the internal command structure, the planning of specific operations, the names, the losses, and the cost to the state and the community on both sides of every engagement.

This was not a safe book to write, nor a comfortable one to publish, and it has been out of print, intermittently unavailable, and the most requested title at Belfast Books for twelve consecutive years. The question customers ask is not whether it is good (they know it is), but where to find a copy.

We have secured the full allocation, which is sitting in our fulfilment warehouse right now. Your reading brief arrives before the book. Read it first, then open the book, and the Armchair Council will do the rest.

Subject
The South Armagh IRA Brigade · The most operationally effective unit of the Provisional IRA · 1969 to 1997
Author Access
British journalist · External sourcing · RUC intelligence · British Army · Republican community contacts
Why It Matters
The operational record of the brigade the British state chose ultimately to negotiate with rather than defeat militarily
Reading Brief Covers
Harnden's sourcing · The silences · His position · Five passages to carry into the Armchair Council
Bandit Country is your first book. Your reading brief arrives before it does.
Claim Your Founding Seat
How It Works

The Troubles Files.
Three things. Built
around the book.

The membership is built around three core elements. Every other benefit exists to support them.

01
Every Month
The Book

One carefully selected, in-print Troubles non-fiction title per month, curated by Belfast Books from all angles of the conflict: republican, loyalist, state, journalistic. We purchase the full allocation the moment we select the title to secure the stock before it disappears, fulfilled through Gardners and delivered by Tracked Royal Mail.

02
Before It Arrives
The Reading Brief

Before your book leaves the warehouse, you receive a reading brief from Belfast Books covering the sourcing, the silences, the author's position and access, and exactly what to look for on the way through. Most readers of this history have never had this kind of context available to them.

03
Live · Monthly
The Armchair Council

A live 90-minute session on Zoom led by Mr Books from Belfast Books, with occasional invited expert guests. Not a discussion, but a determination. We examine the book, its claims, its gaps, and where it stands in the permanent record. Every session is recorded and drops in the private Skool group where active members also receive sourcing alerts, first-dibs notifications, the quarterly read list, and everything else between sessions.

What Changes
The Troubles Files
By the end of your
first quarter.
You will have read

The most important book on South Armagh ever written, with a reading brief that gives you the context, sourcing, and silences most readers never have access to.

You will have examined

The book's claims, gaps, and position in the permanent record, in a live room of serious readers who held it to account with you, led by Mr Books from Belfast Books.

You will have found

The room that has not existed, and a private Skool group where the recordings, the sourcing alerts, the read list, and the first-dibs notifications live between every session.

The Offer

The Troubles Files.
Available to GB, Ireland,
EU, USA and Canada.

The Troubles Files is a physical book membership dispatched monthly from our GB fulfilment partner. All books are confirmed in print at point of dispatch.

Great Britain and NI
Great Britain and Northern Ireland
£99.99
First quarter · Prepaid · Covers 3 months
Then £39.99 per month · Cancel any time
Physical book by Royal Mail Tracked 48
Reading brief before every dispatch
Live Armchair Council · 7:30pm GMT
Members-only session recordings
All 8 member benefits from day one
Founding member status · permanent
Claim Your GB Seat · £99.99
Ireland · EU · USA · Canada
£149.99
First quarter · Prepaid · Covers 3 months
Then £49.99 per month · Cancel any time
Physical book by International Tracked Mail
EU: DDP shipping · no customs charges
USA and Canada: books duty-free under HTSUS Chapter 49
Reading brief before every dispatch
Live Armchair Council · 1:00am GMT / 8:00pm EST
Members-only session recordings
All 8 member benefits from day one
Founding member status · permanent
Claim Your International Seat · £149.99

Physical membership: GB · Northern Ireland · Republic of Ireland · EU member states · United States · Canada only
Outside these territories? [email protected]
Prices reviewed annually · Any increase capped at the published ONS CPI rate · 30 days written notice

Why we ask for a prepaid first quarter

Troubles non-fiction goes out of print without warning, and when Belfast Books selects a title, we purchase the full membership allocation immediately to secure the stock, weeks before the first book reaches your door. By the time you receive your reading brief, the stock is already bought, paid for, and sitting in our fulfilment warehouse, and the prepaid first quarter covers those three purchases.

It also confirms your commitment to the room. The Armchair Council works because everyone in it has read the book, and we cannot hold stock or a founding seat against a payment that has not been made. After your first quarter, membership continues at the monthly rate and you can cancel any time with 30 days notice.

Before You Decide

The questions
worth answering.

£99.99 is a lot for a book subscription.

If you are buying one Troubles non-fiction book per month at retail you are already spending £15 to £20. The Troubles Files gives you the book, a reading brief that most readers of this history have never had access to, and a live 90-minute examination of the text with serious readers from around the world. The book is the entry point. The reading brief and the Armchair Council are what makes it worth £99.99.

I'm worried about anonymity.

Balaclavas are welcome, and no one needs to show their face or use their real name. Set a pseudonym and avatar in both your Skool profile and your Zoom account before you join. Your camera stays off if you choose. You will never be required to identify yourself, and the Zoom link is only ever shared inside the private members Skool group, never publicly.

What if I can't commit to reading every month?

The books Belfast Books selects are chosen partly because they reward a focused read: dense and requiring attention, but not long, and most members finish in a weekend of serious reading. You have 14 days from the day your book arrives. If you miss a session, the recording is in the Skool group and available to watch back at any time while your membership is active.

Will I have to pay customs or import charges?

No. EU members are shipped DDP, meaning all duties and taxes are included in the membership price with no surprise charges at the door. USA and Canada members: printed books are specifically exempt from US import tariffs under HTSUS Chapter 49. Your membership price is your total cost.

Is this relevant to me outside Northern Ireland?

The Troubles reached England, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Gibraltar, the United States and Libya. The IRA drew weapons from Libya and funding from the American diaspora, the conflict shaped British and Irish politics for a generation, and it left consequences that are still being worked through. This history belongs to anyone willing to examine it honestly. Where you are from is not a qualification.

Can I cancel easily?

Yes. After your prepaid first quarter, your membership runs monthly and you can cancel any time with 30 days notice through your Belfast Books account at belfastbooks.co.uk. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current paid month, and once a book has been dispatched in a given month, that month is non-refundable.

The Session

The Armchair
Council.

Once a month, all members convene on Zoom. The book has been read, and now it answers for itself: its claims, its gaps, its courage, and its omissions, examined by serious readers who have done the work.

Not a discussion, but a determination. Every session is led by Mr Books from Belfast Books, with occasional invited expert guests: authors, journalists, researchers, and others with direct knowledge of the subject under examination. The examination follows the reading brief: sourcing, silences, author position, and where the book stands in the permanent record.

Balaclavas are welcome. No one needs to give up their anonymity to participate. Change your Skool profile name and use an avatar before joining if you prefer to remain completely anonymous, and the room is for serious readers, not for identification.

Ground Rules
Leave your sectarian position, religious identity, and political allegiance outside
This is not a place to relitigate the war or score points
Examine the written record: rigorously, honestly, and without agenda
Balaclavas welcome · Pseudonyms welcome · Anonymity fully supported
Sessions recorded for active members only · AI notetakers prohibited except Belfast Books as host
Members who cannot separate their politics from the material will not be invited back
Session Times
GB and Northern Ireland Session
7:30pm GMT · Monthly · Live · Mr Books in the chair
Ireland, EU, USA and Canada Session
8:00pm EST / 5:00pm PST / 1:00am GMT · Same book · Same examination · Mr Books in the chair
If You Miss It
Recordings in the private Skool group within 24 hours · Active members only · Access closes when membership lapses
Member Benefits

Eight benefits.
None of them elsewhere.

The core offer is the book, the brief, and The Armchair Council. These eight benefits are what being inside the membership actually means.

01
The Priority List

When Belfast Books acquires a rare or hard-to-find Troubles title, a private notification drops in the Skool group first. Members get a 48-hour window before it goes anywhere else. No public announcement. Direct to the room.

02
The Members' Rate

20% above World of Books on your buy list titles. One request per quarter, genuinely chased through Belfast Books' network.

03
Merch First Access

Belfast Books produces limited merch in small runs. None of it goes public before members have seen it first and had the chance to buy at the member price.

04
The Members' Read List

Every quarter, a private annotated reading list drops inside the Skool group carrying a one-line verdict on every title: what it gets right, what it gets wrong, and whether it earns a place on the serious reader's shelf. Members only. Never public.

05
The Sourcing Request

Once per quarter, submit one sourcing request through the Skool group. A specific title you have been trying to find. Belfast Books will make a genuine effort to locate it through our network.

06
The Belfast Books Shelf

Every book discussed in the membership is linked inside the Skool group to Belfast Books' pages on Bookshop.org and Libro.fm. You pay the standard price and a portion comes back to the shop that built this reading list.

07
The Commission

From the second quarter, founding members get access to The Commission: a programme of reduced-fee writing events specifically oriented toward writing about the Troubles. Masterclasses led by published authors, workshops on sourcing, testimony, and contested history, and structured courses for members who want to contribute to the written record rather than simply consume it. The founding member rate applies permanently.

08
Founding Member Status

The first 100 members of The Troubles Files are the founding cohort, and that designation is permanent. Your name goes on the founding list, held by Belfast Books, recorded in the shop, and acknowledged in the Skool group. When the first cohort closes, it closes. No one who joins after the first 100 seats are filled will ever hold founding member status.

100
The Troubles Files · The Founding Cohort

When it fills,
it closes.
Permanently.

The founding cohort is 100 members. That number is not a marketing device; it is the size of the room. The Armchair Council works because it is intimate, because the people in it are committed, and because Mr Books knows the room. At 100 members, that is possible. Beyond 100, it changes in kind.

When the 100th founding seat is taken, the founding cohort closes permanently. A second cohort will open at a later date at a higher price, without founding member status and benefits. If you are reading this page and seats remain, you are looking at a decision with a clear expiry.

Extended Membership · By Application Only
There Is More.
But Not For Everyone.

The Troubles Files has membership tiers beyond what is listed on this page, including private sessions, direct access, and elements of this programme that we are not yet in a position to announce publicly. Extended membership is not available to purchase: it is available by application. If you are a researcher, journalist, author, legal professional, or someone with a serious professional or personal engagement with this conflict and its documentation, you can apply below. Belfast Books reviews every application.

Apply for Extended Membership
Terms of Membership

Read these
before you sign up.

01
The Price and What It Covers.

£99.99 (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) or £149.99 (Ireland, EU, USA and Canada) prepaid for the first quarter, covering three books, three live Armchair Council sessions, recordings of every session in the private Skool group, and tracked delivery on every dispatch. After the first quarter, membership continues at £39.99 per month (GB and NI) or £49.99 per month (Ireland, EU, USA and Canada). There is no monthly rolling option for the first quarter: you are committing to the quarter.

02
Cancellation.

You can cancel your monthly membership at any time with 30 days written notice through your Belfast Books account at belfastbooks.co.uk. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current paid month, and once a book has been dispatched in a given month, that month is non-refundable. Your Skool access closes at the end of your final paid period.

03
Price Reviews.

Prices are reviewed annually and any increase will not exceed the most recently published annual CPI rate as published by the Office for National Statistics. Members will receive no less than 30 days written notice before any price change takes effect. You can check the current CPI rate at ons.gov.uk at any time.

04
Recording Consent.

By purchasing this membership you confirm that you understand and agree that Armchair Council sessions are recorded and stored within the private members Skool group, accessible to active members only. Your voice and any image you choose to share on camera may be included in these recordings, and you consent to this as a condition of membership. Recordings are not shared, clipped, or distributed outside the membership. AI notetaking tools are not permitted in sessions except where operated by Belfast Books as host.

05
Anonymity.

Anonymity is fully supported. Members who participate using a pseudonym, an avatar, and without video are not identifiable in session recordings. You will never be required to identify yourself to participate in any element of The Troubles Files.

06
Leave It at the Door.

Your sectarian position, your religious identity, your political allegiance: none of it comes into the Armchair Council. This conflict was fought and endured almost entirely by working class people on every side, who deserve a serious examination of the record rather than a room full of people scoring points. Members who cannot separate their politics from the material will not be invited back. The Troubles Files covers the conflict from every angle: republican, loyalist, state, journalistic, civilian, and what we demand is rigour, not alignment.

07
Founding Member Status.

The first 100 members are the founding cohort, and that designation is permanent and will never be replicated. When the founding cohort fills, it closes, and no subsequent member in any future cohort will hold founding member status. Founding status is held for as long as membership remains active.

Background

The conflict reached England, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Gibraltar, and beyond. The books that document it honestly are harder to find than they should be.

The Northern Ireland Troubles was a political and sectarian conflict that ran from the late 1960s to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. At its heart was the question of whether Northern Ireland should remain part of the United Kingdom or become part of a united Ireland. Over thirty years, more than 3,500 people were killed and tens of thousands more were injured.

The conflict was fought primarily in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, but its reach extended far beyond these islands. Republican paramilitary groups carried out attacks on British military personnel and government targets in England and across mainland Europe, loyalist and state forces were implicated in collusion and killings with international dimensions, and the IRA drew weapons from Libya and funding from the United States.

Belfast Books has held the largest selection of out-of-print Troubles non-fiction in Belfast for over a decade and has led the serious conversation around this literature since 2014. The Troubles Files is what that decade of work has built.

Northern IrelandPrimary theatre · Over 3,500 dead · 30 years
Republic of IrelandCross-border operations · Garda officers killed
EnglandBirmingham · Guildford · Brighton · Manchester · London
GermanyBritish Army bases targeted · Soldiers and civilians killed 1973 to 1996
NetherlandsBritish Ambassador assassinated 1979 · RAF killed 1988
BelgiumBrussels bombing 1979 · Consulate attacks
GibraltarThree IRA members shot dead by SAS 1988
United StatesPrimary IRA funding source · NORAID · Deep diaspora involvement
LibyaMajor IRA weapons supplier under Gaddafi
Canada · AustraliaLarge Irish diaspora · Physical membership not available to Australia or NZ
"This history is not settled. The files are not closed. And most of the books that would tell you that are out of print, out of stock, or out of reach."

The Troubles Files is a reading programme that is also, over time, intended to be something more: a structured support for new Troubles writing from voices from inside the communities the conflict affected most.

If you are a writer, a researcher, a journalist, or someone who was there: this membership is also a signal to you. The market for serious Troubles non-fiction is alive. The readers exist. Belfast Books is where they gather. And we are actively building the conditions for new work to exist.

What They Say
Endorsement from Toby Harnden · Author of Bandit Country · Coming Soon
100 Founding Seats · Strictly Limited
The Troubles Files
Claim Your
Founding Seat.
£99.99
GB and NI · First quarter prepaid
Then £39.99 per month · Cancel any time
Claim Your GB Founding Seat Ireland, EU, USA and Canada · £149.99

No refunds once dispatched · First quarter prepaid · Strictly 100 founding seats
Books confirmed in print at dispatch · Prices reviewed annually against ONS CPI · 30 days notice of any change