‘I just see us being hammered on a daily basis’: ontological discourses and narratives of insecurity within Ulster Loyalism

Drawing on qualitative research and original interview material with activists at the community level, this paper focuses on a range of issues and political developments seen to be affecting Ulster Loyalism and outlines how Loyalists interpret and respond to such events. In so doing, it highlights how Loyalists draw on a core sense of identity that is both ideologically defined and, at times, socially and spatially reinforced. This paper further investigates how feelings of political disconnection and exclusion are articulated within sections of Loyalism and how ideas of political alienation and marginalisation have become significant and are reproduced within identified communities.