Since the late 1980s, he has reported on all the major developments on Northern Ireland’s journey from war to peace; stories he has told using a range of sources – IRA, loyalist, police, military, intelligence, political, Church and others. The minuscule geography of Northern Ireland is also ever present, the pressure of moving around Belfast – by any measure not a big city – surrounded in the 1980s and 1990s not just by looming hills, but army watchtowers and helicopters.

Ferdinand Mount opens up a fascinating exploration of how and why Caesars seize power and why they fall.In his journalistic career Rowan walked the thinnest of lines, where morals and principles were blurred, and as a result his mind became tortured. I have long respected Brian Rowan’s work and enjoyed this book which explores the unreported world of the troubles; the secrets, the corruption, the lies, and the struggles.

There is no doubt that, in many ways, this is a written form of PTSD, but I suspect Barney recognises that this, and the circumstances that produced it are not, and should not be accepted as normal, even though he might wonder what life would be like without these ghosts. The sense from reading Rowan’s memoir of reporting on the conflict, its resolution and aftermath is that it might never make sense. This is a highly subjective, personal account of his interactions during key events, but as such, is probably interesting to only him. Living with Ghosts : The Inside Story from a 'Troubles' Mind by Brian Rowan ( large paperback Sept 2022) Rs. The final part of this book describes how and why would-be Caesars come to grief, from the Gunpowder Plot to Trump's march on the Capitol and the ejection of Boris Johnson by his own MPs, and ends with a defence of the grubby glories of parliamentary politics and a thought-provoking roadmap of the way back to constitutional government.To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. It includes dramatic moments like Rowan’s transportation, with his eyes taped, to an IRA safe house to be briefed my men in balaclavas about the circumstances surrounding the murders of three men Rowan and his crew had reported on the previous evening, alleged security service informants whose naked bodies were discarded by roadsides in south Armagh. Living with Ghosts is a moving and deeply personal account of one man’s doubts and decisions, and the challenges of reporting a war on his doorstep. In Living With Ghosts renowned veteran journalist Brian Rowan retraces his steps through Northern Ireland's conflict years, as he bravely delves into the darkness of those times. Thoughtful and melancholy … If this book helps to exorcise at least some of their demons, it will certainly have served a valuable purpose.

His story takes us beyond the often strict boundaries of the news into the very real dilemmas and fears behind its scenes. In Living With Ghosts renowned veteran journalist Brian Rowan retraces his steps through Northern Ireland’s conflict years, as he bravely delves into the darkness of those times.Living with Ghosts is a moving and deeply personal account of one man's doubts and decisions, and the challenges of reporting a war on his doorstep. His story takes us beyond the often-strict boundaries of the news into the dilemmas, arguments and fears behind its scenes. His story takes us beyond the often strict boundaries of the news into the very real dilemmas and fears behind its scenes. But his highest profile was during the period covered by this book, one of furtive meetings with a succession of IRA spokesmen dubbed “P O’Neill”, operators from shady reaches of the security services and loyalist brigadiers in Shankill and east Belfast safe houses.