A Northerly direction to latest `Force 10'

There is a strong Northern element to the latest issue of Force 10, the annual literary journal published in Sligo

There is a strong Northern element to the latest issue of Force 10, the annual literary journal published in Sligo. The theme of the 11th issue is "borders".

Funding was provided by the EU's programme for peace and reconciliation and the Arts Council. Among more than 50 contributions are pieces from people with very different perspectives on the political situation in the North.

Mr Danny Morrison interviews a British soldier, a Derry Catholic from the Bogside who fought in the second World War but who lived in the nationalist Creggan area throughout most of the Troubles. At the age of 84 and shortly before his death, Mr George McCool spoke to Mr Morrison about his life and views.

Ms Diane Greer, a member of the Women's Coalition and a director of an anti-sectarian project, gives a loyalist perspective on Bloody Sunday.

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People living in Sligo will be interested in an interview with Mr Noel McAuley, known for selling The Big Issue even in the worst weather. He talks about coping with blindness but adds: "I know Sligo so well I can give people directions."

The issue was edited by Frank Galligan, a Donegal writer and broadcaster with BBC Radio Foyle. Assistant editor Ann O'Dea said the journal aimed to explore not just the issue of the political Border but the question of identity. "We did not want it to be all political. The borders can also be ones of age, sex and background and it looks at what gives people their identity."

She said Force 10 was unique in its mixture of material from well-known and unpublished writers and a balance between the rural and traditional, and the urban and contemporary.

She said the editorial team also aimed to publish material that might not be seen elsewhere, such as an interview with a homeless man from Ireland living rough in London.

In addition to stories, poems, interviews and opinion pieces, there are also photographs from professional and amateur photographers.

Force 10 is on sale at specialist bookshops or from the Model Arts Centre (071 - 41405, email: modelart@iol.ie)u6.