As Netflix’s “The Crown” prepares to release its third season on November 17, some Irish critics are concerned about the series’ lack of coverage of the Troubles period in Northern Ireland.
Indeed, season 3 is intended to cover the period coinciding with this important episode in the Northern Irish conflict. Nevertheless, some Irish journalists who had the chance to preview the third season were disappointed, and felt that the conflict had been virtually ignored.
For Northern Ireland, however, this is a major period in history, with the Northern Irish killing each other over a 30-year period from 1969 to 1998. Bombings, shootings… It is estimated that over 3,480 people were killed during the Troubles, which pitted Republican Catholics against Loyalist Protestants.
A journalist working for The Irish Times, Ed Power, criticizes the third season of The Crown for omitting the Northern Irish conflict altogether from this historical saga.
For Irish viewers, the latest instalment in the glamorous portrait of the British monarch’s life, times and domestic difficulties is remarkable for its omissions. Watching “The Crown”, you’d never guess that nationalists were burnt to death in their homes, that 14 unarmed civilians were shot dead by the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment on Bloody Sunday, or that the Provisional IRA bombed Belfast and then carried out its attacks in England.
The journalist is quick to point out that the series has also highlighted other historical events, far removed from the Northern Irish question, such as the miners’ strike in the 1970s, the Cold War, the first steps on the Moon… etc.
But no Ireland on the horizon.
Ed Power suggests that the author of The Crown series, “Peter Morgan”, may have deliberately omitted Ireland (southern and northern) from his series. A self-confessed supporter of the English crown, he may have considered the Troubles episode too delicate to present, wishing to present Elizabeth II in the best possible light…
A damning hypothesis that is already causing a lot of ink to flow… To find out more and make up your own mind, we invite you to tune in to Netflix this November 17.
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