A Co Fermanagh author has published a new book based on people living on the border titled 'Our Shared Way of Life'. A former editor of the Impartial Reporter, Enniskillen man Denzil McDaniel has spent his career sharing the stories and concerns of people living in border regions.
The Fermanagh author worked with the Clones Family Resource Centre on this latest project, with an overall aim to give a voice to border people. Speaking to Northern Sound, Mr McDaniel said that he is “very keen” on the aspect of cross-community personally.
Despite coming from a background in media, he believes that the industry as a whole does not focus enough on the everyday lives of people living on the border, and who despite their differences just want to “get on with their lives and each other.”
Mr McDaniel believes there is a “commonality” of the shared way of border life between people, and he hopes this book will help others understand those key relationships better.
"I think one of the key reasons for doing this book was to give people in the border region a voice," he explained. "I would like people within the border region to try and understand each other better, and I would also like others from outside the region to understand border people better, this book is an opportunity for people to approach it with an open mind and to try understand each other and the area better.
"You look at the two communities in many ways and assume that they all think alike, but when it came down to it, what we had on both sides was a variation of views. We had protestants living along the border who described themselves as nationalist and open to the idea of a United Ireland, however on the other side of the coin we interviewed catholics who said they were not ready for a border poll, without more preparation work."
