Norther Ireland: A Nation Divided Essay

The Northern Ireland Assembly should be made up of 108 members being “elected from 18 constituencies” and having both an elected First Minister as well as a Deputy First Minister. While most issues are resolved via a common majority it is possible for members to subscribe a petition of concern which will lead to a decision being made via both a Unionist and a Nationalist assembly members’ majority. In addition to those, the assembly can decide on the legislation in Northern Ireland as long as it is within the limitations set by London. Furthermore, a Civic Forum should be introduced to deal with “social, economic and cultural” matters. Ultimately, “the principles of non-violence and democracy” must be upheld by all members.

In August 1998 the IRA claimed responsibility for a car bomb which killed 28 and injured 220 in the Northern Irish Town of Omagh. The bombing was the worst terrorist activity in nearly three decades for Ireland. While claiming responsibility for the blast an IRA representative anonymously told an Irish newspaper “Despite media reports, it was not our intention at any time to kill any civilians. It was a commercial target, part of the ongoing war against the Brits. We offer our apologies to the civilians,”

Loyalist fears: The Catholics in Northern Ireland had a lot of reasons to make them feel displeased. The Protestants made their lives very miserable, mainly I think because they felt very apprehensive of them. They were afraid that in a United Ireland Catholics would outvote them and they would lose control over the education of their

After the first world war the leaders of europe came together to discuss the boundaries of europe. British rule decided to separate ireland into two sides. North Ireland was created when the british government of Ireland Act in 1920 divided Ireland into two areas; the Irish Free State and the Northern Ireland Roman Catholics, who made up around one-third of the population of Northern Ireland, were largely opposed to the separation. The British took over , but only after many revolts and riots against them from the people of ireland. In 1969 the IRA (Irish Republican Army) was formed. They were a Catholic Irish nationalist group that used guerrilla tactics like bombings and assassinations to oppose British rule and oppression in Ireland. Their main goal was to fight the british that took over their home. The IRA would Fight using guerilla and terrorist tactics including bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, punishment beatings, extortion, smuggling, and robberies. But over time the IRA became more of a dangerous militia then patriots defending their home.

Ireland has always had religious problems between, Pagans, Catholic, Protestant and Jewish people. Ireland has always been a place of interest in English eyes so Ireland was continually concord over and over by the English and the currency, traditions and religions changed with every English King, Queen or Irish Rebel. Between 1641 and 1691 Oliver Cromwell changed everything, Irish Catholics, Pagans and Jews were killed or shipped off to be slaves. The influence to immigrate was very strong, their options were to go to a new world of which they knew no one and had nothing, be killed for your religion, or be gathered up and shipped away as a slave. It was a hard decision they all were forced to

Clearly, a large portion of the turmoil experienced during this type could be put down to the changing government of the period. Though democratically elected and in more direct control of the Irish nation, the Home Rule government what the Irish called the Free State in its first years was not as responsive to the people as some desired (Ferriter, n.d.). An effective civil service providing for many needs was set up, but the ruling party and government experienced internal strife over significant differences of opinion throughout this decade (Ferriter, n.d.). The government was a democracy, but a very young democracy, and with all of the problems that this youth entails in a newly freed and democratically empowered nation and population.

Irish independence has been fought for a long time ever since the British occupied Ireland in 1172. The King of England invaded and controlled Ireland. The invasion led to religious and territorial conflicts. There was an effort to create a church comparable to the Church of England in the 1500s. Catholics who live in Ireland were against the idea and a conflict for independence has emerged (Arena & Arrigo, 2004). The suppression of Irish nationalism by the British in the 20th century led to the creation of martyrs for the cause led by the Irish Republican Army (Combs, 2011).

The troubles emerged as the result of several years of the escalating incidents between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. The troubles have been protracted and costly in every sense of the world. From the first civil rights marches in 1968 till the signing of The Good Friday Agreement in 1998, 3,500 people died and over 35,000 were injured in Northern Ireland as the direct result of the aggressive violence , rebellion, bombings, murders, and terror tactics. The Catholic and Protestant troubles and conflicts had a significantly impact on Ireland. This serious issue had impacted the lives of individuals and families that took place or witness the gruesome events that the troubles had causes, the political change and reform of

The Troubles was a time period of revolt and discrimination in Northern Ireland that lasted from the late 1960s until 1998, beginning with direct British involvement in Northern Ireland and formally ending with the Good Friday Agreement. However, it can be argued that the tension that persisted during The Troubles still exists today. The Troubles stemmed from the dissolution of a long period of peaceful tension between two political groups, the Nationalists and Unionists and by extension two major ethnic groups Irish-Catholic and British-Protestant. The Nationalists were predominantly Catholic and shared their religion with the Irish as such the Nationalists wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of Ireland and felt that Northern Ireland was an affront to their Irish heritage. However, they were a minority in Northern Ireland being about 33% of the population. Alternatively, the Unionists which were predominantly Protestant and were mostly immigrants or children of immigrants from England wanted Northern Ireland to properly establish itself as part of the United Kingdom and saw the Nationalists and Catholics as backwards people against the flow of progress. The Protestant portion of the population was a majority in Northern Ireland and through the Unionist party they established complete control, although not completely through their own efforts which were to simply overwhelm the Catholic minority. The Unionists also came to power because Nationalists became apathetic

Seamus Heaney once said “But that citizen’s perception was also at one with the truth in recognizing that the very brutality of the means by which the IRA were pursuing change was destructive of the trust upon which new possibilities would have to be based.” This quote proves that the IRA is a controversial group. There is dissension whether or not the IRA is a terrorist group or that it was not and became one. This paper will address the history of the IRA, Cumann na mBan, the splinter groups off of the original Irish Republican Army, on how the IRA became a terrorist group, and the opinions about the IRA.

This is exemplified in the modern day conflicts in Northern Ireland, where Catholics and Protestants fight one another, killing each other over differing religious opinions.

It also contributes to international problems about which we may only be able to speculate. The most violent splinter group from the Provisional IRA is named the Real Irish

The main objective of this research article is to explore the effect of long term violence and trauma in Northern Ireland’s on group of individuals using two sets of data. The first data was collected between 1985/86, at the peak of the violence and the other set was collected after the ceasefire period between 2005/06. (Dillenburger, Fargas & Akhonzada, 2008:1312). To achieve this objective, the researchers used an assortment of research techniques and methods of data collections. These includes, but not limited to, qualitative research method, narrative inquiry methodology, case study strategy, longitudinal method, in-depth semi structured interview, contextual analysis framework, participant observation, narrative data analysis, gate keeper approach and snowballing to mention a few. (Dillenburger, et al 2008:1312-1320).

Conflict in Ireland Which of these events has had the biggest impact on the history of the Conflict in Ireland? (a) The Easter Rising, 1916. (b) The deployment of British troops in Northern Ireland, 1969. (c) “Bloody Sunday”, 30th January 1972.

In the book Irish Peasants Violence and Political Unrest 1780 – 1914 editors Samuel Clark and James S. Donnelly Jr. suggest, in the opening paragraph, that poverty related rebellion in Ireland became commonplace during the late 18th and early 19th century that led to the ideas of a separatist republic. These events gave rise to, at first, a constitutional nationalist party called The Society of United Irishmen that sought parliamentary reform and to make this change they worked through parliament before later becoming an armed revolutionary group. Focusing on this time period and going on the writings of Clark and Donnelly it could be argued that the relationship between constitutional and physical force nationalism was, at this time, a unified one