Essay on The History of Conflict in Ireland

Ireland has many famous pieces of poetry that reflect the rich history of the country. Many of these classic poems were written during the period known as, “The Troubles” and during the events leading up to this period. Most notably, the several failed uprisings against the British and World War I. Ireland has a history of being divided about who should rule the country. The division can be divided into two groups, one group being the Unionists and, the other being the Nationalists. These two groups are extremely different in viewpoints regarding religion and most notably opposing views on government issues. In fact, the two groups views on government issues is what gives each group its name. The Unionists believe in having a union with Great Britain while, the Nationalists believe in one united Ireland without British interference. These two viewpoints have representation in classic Irish poetry as well as the events which brought this division amongst the people.

Years of British occupation and oppression led to a sustained campaign to regain freedom from Britain beginning in the early twentieth century. Both the loyalist (supporters of the Union with Britain) and the republicans (supporters of a united Ireland) were willing to use violence for their cause. This took form in the 1916 Easter Rising, where Irish rebels declared the independence of the Irish Republic and fought in Dublin against the British to regain control of their homeland. The rebels were unsuccessful and were forced to surrender. This lead to the later Irish War of Independence, and the introduction of the Government of Ireland Act in 1920 and the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, which resulted in the partitioning of Ireland into six counties in the North ruled by Britain and twenty-six counties in the south, newly named the Irish Free State. However, a significant minority in the North of around forty percent were Irish nationalists who wanted independence from Britain. “Therefore, from its creation in 1920, Northern Ireland was a state whose citizens differed over their national allegiance.” This situation in the North caused a great deal of tension, as the leaders of the Protestant, unionist majority discriminated against the Catholic, nationalist minority. So, by the 1960s, Catholic nationalist frustration was manifested in a campaign for civil rights, to which the state responded with vicious intensity. Those who were

The start of the Irish’ peoples struggles began when the British came and destroyed their way of life. The Penal laws of 1691 stripped Irish Catholics of their freedoms by taking away their rights to become officers

The majority of my research was finding scholarly articles and books that pertained to my research questions and disciplines. Throughout all of the information and sources that I gathered, I selected five articles and one book. The book “Beyond Violence: Conflict Resolution Process” by Mari Fizduff was by far the most inspiring source in my collection of evidence. (Citation) It gave keen insight into the sources of the conflict but most importantly, it presented strategies and solutions to end the violence. With my foundation evidence set in my book, my other evidence allowed me to find more specific patterns of the sources of conflict from a sociological and theological stance. “For God, Ulster or Ireland: Religious Identity and Security in Northern Ireland” by John Bell provided examples of the religious affiliations and how each conserved its own identity. The article focused on the Catholic and Protestant communities and how each contributed to the conflicts. (Citation) My additional evidence provided great background information about certain aspects and patterns that significantly benefited my main research focus.

However, The British government itself was going through a hard time in trying to keep the people of England healthy. It wasn’t until 1916 when a call for reform was widely spread and would create the Irish Republican Army (IRA) that would begin to fight the British army in order to gain independence. The IRA use guerrilla warfare by organizing small attacks that would be widely spread out. Although, the British would see these attacks as terrorist attacks which continued for five years. With no end in sight the British offered on December 6, 1921 the Anglo-Irish treaty which would divide Ireland into two.

What do you think of when you hear the name Ireland? Ireland is a relatively small island off the coast of Great Britain with a land area of 32,424 square miles (Delaney 2). There are several things that you may associate with this country such as St. Patrick’s Day, shamrocks, beer, and strife. The source of the bitterness behind this conflict began centuries ago, when Britain came over and forced Protestantism on the Irish Catholic inhabitants. For this reason there has always been an animosity between the Protestants and the Irish Catholics. The island is broken up into two distinct regions. The Republic of Ireland consists of twenty-six counties, which make up the southern

Why the Irish Catholics and Protestants fought in Northern Ireland for centuries – the conflict started when Ireland was split into two parts, Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom) and the Republic of Ireland (an independent country). In the 16th century, Henry VII turned England in a protestant country, but most of the Irish remained Roman Catholic. James I sent thousands of protestant colonists to take over the Catholic people’s land. The Catholics rebelled but they were defeated by the middle of the 17th century. They were left without land nor power. The conflict between the Protestants and the Catholics have been going on for over 400 years. 50% of Northern Ireland consisted of Protestants, while 40% consisted of Catholics and both groups lived separately.

Irish Nationalists attempted to establish continuity with what they believed to be appropriate or suitable aspects of Irish history and culture. These attempts lead to both the revival and invention of a culturally distinct Irish heritage not associated with British rule in order to justify a sense of nationhood and to support the Irish struggle for Independence (Hobsbawm in Laurence, A p176) (Laurence, A p.160).

During the time after the Jacobite Wars, Ireland began to grow a significant amount of enmity for the Westminster Parliament. The distaste for English presence grew rapidly among the Irish; Irish began to take part and support the colonies in the race for freedom among the British rule. Irish Protestants form militias of “Volunteers”, united Protestants and Catholics form the United Irishmen. During this time the irish cause mayhem and upheavals throughout the land in a yearn for separateness from British Rule.

In 1968, the Northern Ireland parliament had been dominated by unionists for over fifty years. Its attempts to solve social and political ills, such as institutional discrimination against Catholics, were too slow for nationalists and republicans and too quick for many unionists. This gave rise to growing tension and violence between the two communities (www.bbc.co.uk). It included an armed insurgency against the state some forms of the Catholic or nationalist population, which mainly were the Irish Republican Army (IRA), though it also included other republican factions, with the idea focused on creating a united independent Ireland (Dorney, 2015). The Ira were in constant battle with forces of the state.

In 1916, during WW II, there was a rebellion in Dublin. The rebels were defeated and the 16 leaders were executed and many were jailed, even some who were not involved.This lead to the Sinn Fein gaining more popularity and the IRA (Irish Republican Army) also gaining a lot of popularity. The IRA fought the British army whenever they could. But the Protestants believed that they were subjects of Britain, and therefore most likely didn't like the IRA or the Sinn Fein. Later, there were many fights between the two groups. Later in 1997, there was a ceasefire that went into effect and in 1998 a peace accord was

A majority (84.16%) of Irish are Roman Catholics. A small amount (1.07%) are Islamic, 12.06% either don’t have a religion, didn’t state a religion, or have an unmentioned religion, and 2.81% belong to the Church of Ireland. Religion has played a substantial part in Ireland’s relations with England. England tried to quell Roman Catholicism, but parents sent their children to “Hedge Schools” that taught Catholicism. Later Catholics overthrew the English.

On 1916, Easter Monday, Ireland started a Rebellion. The “IRA”, Irish Republican Army, fought Britain for five years to win independence for 26 southern counties. The other 6 counties are still under Britain’s control. This lead to the “Troubles” in the 1960’s which were acts of violence on the United Kingdom Army. The United Kingdom, United States, and Ireland was a part of a process that helped traders and sellers which is know as “The Good Friday Agreement” in 1988, in Northern Ireland. In 1990, Mary Robinson changed Ireland’s history by

This unfair treatment leads the people of Northern Ireland to form their very own civil rights movement, like that of which is going on in the United States. But instead of fighting the strain against the color of their skin, the people of Northern Ireland are fighting for their religion and the equal rights that should go along with it. Instead they are refused rights and blamed for any wrong doings due to their catholic religion, causing them to become livid at the people of the United Kingdom who live under the teachings of the protestant faith. With this anger the Irish begin to form marches and parades that most often quickly turn into riots. Because of these seemingly frequent riotous parades, the United Kingdom feels it must do something to protect the British people; therefore sending British troops to the Irish town by the name of Derry, (“2)How Did the “Troubles” Start in Northern Ireland?”). Here the British military is forced to create barricades to stand against the angry mob of catholic Irish.

Social inequalities are issues that have been occurring for a significant period of time and are continuing to be a serious issue within contemporary society. One of the most significant social inequalities within the North and South of Ireland is religion. Religion is a vital part of Ireland’s history and due to this history, it still very much exists within society and continues to be a social inequality. The Northern Ireland conflict, also known as ‘The Troubles’, was a war based on political violence, low intensity armed conflict and political deadlock within the six north-eastern counties of Ireland that formed part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland which lasted almost 30 years (The Irish Story, 2017). It was a conflict between political actors including the Provisional Irish Republican Army that fought against the British Army, Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Ulster Defence Regiment (The Irish Story, 2017). Dillenburger, K et al, (2007) stated during the early phase of the Troubles, shootings and bombings were nearly daily occurrences, with approximately 3,600 people dying as a result of The Troubles.