Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
History of irish politics
Conflicts that have occurred in Ireland
Conflicts that have occurred in Ireland
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Diplomacy does not happen overnight, and the true tale of hardship and bickering over Northern Ireland is proof of that. Ireland and England failed to agree on who held the power of Northern Ireland for over 30 years until the Good Friday Agreement, a form of diplomacy between the countries, took place. Before that time, many soldiers and innocent citizens of Northern Ireland lost their lives. Religious fights broke out between Catholic and Protestant residents. Political figures from countries like Wales and the United States came together to help put an end to the bitter relations of the European countries (Delaney). After many years of hard feelings and failed attempts at bringing peace to Ireland and England, the countries came together to try to work things out. Slowly, Northern Ireland created its own identity, and the troubles started to fade away.
The troubles refer to the age-old disputes over the control of Northern Ireland. Even though the arguments lasted for several centuries, things did not turn extremely violent until the 1960’s (Delaney). Many terrorists entered Northern Ireland during that time. Terrorists who entered the country were said to be okay, and there was nothing wrong with them. Letting the terrorists slip by without stopping them had very deadly consequences. Thousands of people died because of the terrorists invading Northern Ireland. Very few tried to stop the terrorists from coming into Northern Ireland (Graham). Those who did attempt to stop the terrorists were unsuccessful (De Breadun).
The Irish and British governments fought for many years over the ownership of Northern Ireland. Britain had main control over Northern Ireland, and Ireland did not think that was fair. Be...
... middle of paper ...
...oodshed, Northern Ireland finally received some relief. The Good Friday Agreement brought the diplomacy needed to the country. Northern Ireland is to this day still home to many religious disputes but nothing as severe as the disputes from several decades ago. Residents are now free to be considered citizens of either or both countries, and the countries are able to work together without any deadly and unnecessary controversy. Hundreds of innocent people are spared their lives every year because the preventable religious and governmental fights have dwindled. Ireland may not have the most control over Northern Ireland, and religious disputes still arise, but the country has come a long way from the way things were. Things may never be perfect for the country of Northern Ireland, but there is no doubt that diplomacy was a great decision for the country as a whole.
“Ireland must be governed in the English interest” as Document 1 states. The Irish and English relationship is one of ethnic superiority over the other and geographical divide. The English feel like it is their duty to make the Irish people like themselves and they believe that their religion is the crux of what makes them inferior and the Irish just want to be left alone. The geographical divide between the nations is the mainly protestant, Ulster, and the Catholic rest of the island as Document 9 suggests. This has caused many disputes because of the fact that Irish Nationalists want the whole island unified.
The Main Features of The Good Friday Agreement A remarkable feature of Westminster's approach to the Northern Ireland. Troubles since 1969 have been the extent to which governments and Oppositions down the years set party conflicts aside in search of remedies and solutions to the problem. When Labour came to power in 1997, the outgoing Secretary of State. Sir Patrick Mayhew, was at pains to do all he could to help the poor.
Direct rule from Westminster has been re-instated and power now lies again with the British Northern Ireland Secretary. The path to peace is still nowhere near completed. The reason I think for this are the above reasons but I think most importantly is trust, or the lack of it. None of the groups appear to be able to trust each other and unless something drastic happens, they are not going to be able to trust each other in the near future each other.
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 region. This area is predominantly Roman Catholic. Northern Ireland is made up of the six northern counties, which are under British rule and predominately Protestant. Both sides use propaganda to spread their ideas and gain support. They each have organizations, such as the I.R.A., in the south, and the U.V.F., in the north, which use peaceful methods such as newspapers and murals along with violence to fight for their cause. In Northern Ireland the Protestants used their position in the government to spread anti-Catholic propaganda and persecute the Catholic citizens.
Ireland has a very conflicted history. Just when that history may seem to take a turn for the better, it seems that there is always another event to keep the trend of depression ongoing. The separation of the Protestant and Catholic Church would be the center of these events. However, the two different groups could potentially work together for the betterment of the nation. Through an analysis of why Protestants and Catholics split in the first place, disadvantages that Catholics would face in the coming years and also how these disadvantages were lifted, an argument will be developed in that there is perhaps the chance that they may end up working together in the future for the betterment of Ireland. Although these two groups would fight over the countless decades, they need to join into one entity if they wish to see a better future for Ireland.
From the time of their creation in 1919, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) has always been a fighting force behind the independence of Britain for all of Ireland. The IRA was an organization that was meant to help Ireland in their fight for independence and be the military support going into the future. Nevertheless, did the creation of the IRA really help Ireland in the end, or did it cause more problems than the Irish already had? Although the IRA was created to help aid Ireland in the fight for independence, their brutal tactics and their inability to compromise ultimately led to destruction and problems rather than peace for Ireland. Early on in the Irish kingdom, it was clear that Great Britain wanted to own Ireland.
First off, it is important to understand the political and social whereabouts of Northern Ireland from 1898 to gage the changes that have been made in policy. Before 1921, the North and South of Ireland were under British rule. When the government of Ireland Act 1920 partitioned the island of Ireland into two separate states, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, the North of Ireland remained under British rule while...
Northern Ireland & Peace Process The origins of the Northern Ireland peace process can be traced back to the agreement generally known as the Anglo-Irish Agreement, which was signed in 1985 between the British and Irish governments. According to this agreement, the United Kingdom accepted the condition that the constitutional status of Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom will not be changed without the approval of the majority of Irish citizens. It also recognized the fact that the Irish government will be awarded an active role in the issues and decision-makings related to Northern Ireland. However, it should be noted that the most important influence of this accord was observed in the form of the development of a stable and institutionalized mutual support between the two governments. This aspect is considered to be the most helpful factor in the achievement of a long-lasting settlement in Northern Ireland. One of the most important positive outcomes of this agreement was that it allowed the British as well as Irish administrations to at least develop some progressive and growth oriented policies for the Northern Irish region and its people. This is an important aspect that was ignored by both the governments for a considerable period of time. One of the issues of major focus between both the governments, during the peace process, has been that a mutual understanding should be reached between the two governments so that some level of political and constitutional developments should be made in the region and some political stability should be brought. This will not only help to reach to a peaceful solution to the issue but will discourage the violent elements of Northern Ireland to prolong further. In the coming years, the go...
...likely that anyone reading this article can image "sensible" violence and most of us simply find the lack of civil behavior to be far beyond anything we can understand. It seemed to me that it would be appropriate to try and shed some light on the so-called "troubles" because the situation in Northern Ireland exceeds several lifetimes and yet appears incomprehensible"
Northern Ireland, whom were mostly Protestant, remained part of the UK after controversially being partitioned from the largely Catholic Irish Free State. (Julian) Violence did not end for the south of Ireland. British troops stayed in garrisons until spring of 1922 and the final 6,000 soldiers did not leave until December of that year. There were numbers of killings of serving and former RIC personal, some killing civilians, by the IRA- 13 Protestant civilians around Dunmanway in Cork. The last bit of violence was in Northern Ireland. The IRA fought against Northern Ireland and British forces and most were imprisoned. (John)
Overall, even though it took 35 years to achieve, the British have persisted in bringing peace to the region, in the face of extreme political ideas, and terrorist groups dead set on their goals. In places they made mistakes, moving too quickly in the case of Sunningdale, and misjudging public opinion with the Anglo-Irish agreement, but they learned from these mistakes, and through their gradual withdrawal of control, they have ensured the security and stability of Northern Ireland. And whilst Ireland will always be turbulent, given the amount of violence it has seen, and the huge difference in cultural backgrounds, Britain has been extremely successful in the long run and has brought about a peaceful and safe Ireland for the future.
The island of Ireland is known for many things: St. Patrick’s Day, its green landscape, music, beer, and discord. The heart of this conflict began centuries ago, when Britain came over and forced Protestantism on the Irish Catholic inhabitants. There has always been hatred between the Irish Protestants and Catholics. The island is broken up into to distinct regions. The Republic of Ireland consists of 26 counties, which make up the southern region. This area is predominantly Roman Catholic. Northern Ireland is made up of the 6 northern counties, which are under British rule. This area is predominately Protestant. The conflict between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is based on both religious and political views.
- How did the Protestant maintain almost a century of peace in Ireland during the Protestant Ascendancy?
White, Robert W; White, Terry Falkenberg. “Repression and the Liberal State: The Case of Northern Ireland, 1969-1972”. The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 39, No. 2 (Jun.,
The capital of Ireland is Dublin. Their flag is divided into three equal parts of green, white, and orange. Their population is 4,109,086 (July 2007 est.). The official languages of Ireland are English and Irish, also known as Irish Gaelic. %100 of the population speak English with about %80 speaking Gaelic.