Community nostalgia and transgenerational trauma: reconciling dichotomies from women’s oral history of West Belfast, 1975–1995*

Abstract

This essay utilises a series of oral history interviews conducted with women in West Belfast to consider the role of community nostalgia and transgenerational trauma within the post-accord landscape. It argues that nostalgia should not be dismissed as an unreliable assessor of historic communality and instead highlights its importance in understanding post-conflict community atomisation. Equally, it advocates for an understanding that nostalgic sentiments can co-exist alongside traumatic recollections and understandings of generational traumas. The simultaneous expression of these dichotomous feelings reveals the intricacies of women’s collective remembrance, and the continued impact of historic traumas on present-day communities in West Belfast.