Susan McKay performs a great service in showing that Unionism / Northern Protestantism is far from a monolith. I think it has been very thoughtfully and sensitively put together, to show the northern Protestants as they are, in all their various manifestations, situations, hopes and fears. Susan McKay interviews people from across the North and weaves their stories into the history of the state.

Interviewees include: Eileen Weir, Dee Stitt, Dawn Purvis, Chrissie Quinn, Clare Sugden, Toni Ogle, Kyle Black, Sammy Wilson and others, and ties in to topical debates around identity in the context of Brexit and the centenary of the foundation of Northern Ireland. Well written and just enough author commentary to provide context to the interviewees’ comments but oh what a tale of despair.Having tied themselves to a Tory-driven Brexit during the last half-decade (just as the UK Conservative Party seemed to be jettisoning what remained of their own unionism), they find themselves betrayed by Boris Johnson, with the union of Britain and Northern Ireland apparently weakened by the Protocol agreement.

Ulster Unionists are facing a demographic tipping point, with the likely loss of their long-standing majority status within Northern Ireland. Many feel that, as one interviewee puts it, “social issues have been neglected” in the constant manoeuvring over the national question, while there is a profound frustration with the Stormont assembly’s long, dysfunctional drama of stalemate and standoff. Sure, I knew they existed, and they were identifiable by their different school uniforms as they quickly walked through 'our' estate on their way home.Both have same theme so if you don't read the reviews you might not know this is the up to date book. Maybe the title would be - 'A settled people, on firmer ground', having taken their place in a new Ireland where they had proper representation in parliament, their customs and traditions protected and they weren't subject to the whims of an increasingly weary and hostile westminster government. This updated edition includes a new introduction, and provides the backdrop to her new title ‘Northern Protestants – On Shifting Ground’. The book is largely oral history with a few tidbits of historic background to help the general reader understand some references mentioned by interviewees. The presence of a range of female voices was particularly welcome, though the lack of progressive voices from a male, explicitly loyalist or faith-based perspective doesn't necessarily reflect my experience.