Against a Hard-Earned Peace: (De)legitimation Discourses of Political Violence in Online Press Statements of Dissident Republicans in Post-Conflict Northern Ireland

Against the backdrop of Brexit and a growing demand for Irish unity, dissident republican organizations have garnered much (negative) media attention in the wake of a spate of recent bombings and attacks, most notably, the killing of innocent journalist Lyra McKee in April 2019. Employing analytical frameworks from the field of Critical Discourse Studies, this chapter investigates the discursive legitimation and representation strategies employed by dissident republican organizations in their press statements released around the time of the killing. Through its analysis, the chapter aims to demonstrate how an investigation of discourse strategies, topics, and micro-linguistic features can provide insights into the framing and justification of (a continuation or resumption of) conflict in a society predicated on a hard-earned peace.