Conflict in Northern Ireland
The purpose of Byrne’s (2000) research was to determine if children’s sociopolitical behaviors and identity changed when attending an integrated school. Byrne narrowly defined his research and chose a small group to evaluate. He framed his research using social identity theory (Pruitt & Kim, 2004). Albeit this theory was a sound basis for the study, the narrow manner in which he used it limited Byrne’s ability to prove his thesis. I will delve deeply into the Northern Ireland conflict to apply theories for further peacebuilding, in an effort to examine Sean Byrne’s study on the effects of historical identity in two groups of Protestant schoolchildren living in Northern Ireland (Byrne, 2000).
Background on the Conflict and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland
In the Beginning: England’s Colonization of Ireland
Conflict between England and Ireland began when England invaded Ireland in 1170 (History of Ireland (1169–1536), n.d.). Accordingly the English monarchy began its troubled and often violent 800-year rule over Ireland and its native people. In the beginning, the English ruled from afar with the British government remaining within and around Dublin. The occupation of Ireland changed drastically in the 1700’s when Protestant Queen Elizabeth I came to power. Catholics remained a majority during Elizabeth’s reign notwithstanding England’s tighter control over Northern Ireland. King James I succeeded Queen Elizabeth I upon her death. After his succession to the throne, King James sent Protestant colonists from England and Scotland to settle in Ireland. In this way, he proposed to bring stability to England’s governmental rule. Protestants of modern Northern Ireland are direct descendants of those ...
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...m http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_Thatcher
McGlynn, C., Niens, U., Cairns, E., & Hewstone, M. (2007). Moving out of conflict: The contribution of integrated schools in Northern Ireland to identity, attitudes, forgiveness and reconciliation. Journal of Peace Education, 1(2), 147-163. doi: 10.1080/1740020042000253712
Northern Ireland Office, (1998). The Belfast agreement: an agreement reached at the multi-party talks on Northern Ireland (Cm 3883). Retrieved from
Pruitt, D. G., & Kim, S. H. (2004). Social conflict: Escalation, stalemate, and settlement. (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Smith, A. (2010). Religious segregation and the emergence of integrated schools in Northern Ireland. Oxford Review of Education, 27(4), 559-575. doi: 10.1080/03054980120086248
The troubles. (n.d.). BBC. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/troubles
“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 Success of the British Government in Trying to Deal with the Irish Troubles in the Years Since 1972
...differences as an ending. Thousands have died regardless of the side they represented. As a reader, this eye witness account in the book brings to life the troubles in Northern Ireland. Walking the streets and living amongst the chaos shows the severity of the situation. This segregation still lives on today in Northern Ireland with no clear end in sight. But one can not expect a four hundred year long feud to end abruptly. Progress has been made in modern time but both sides need full dedication to end the divide. To put aside religion, politics and other blockades in order to truly find what is best for their nation. Just like the old Irish proverb, you've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was. Forget what was in the past and by the elders so one can move on to a new united future whether it be united with Great Britain or Ireland.
Ireland From Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and or Making Them Beneficial to the Public." The Norton Anthology. Eighth Edition. Ed. Greenblatt, Stephen. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006. 1114-1119.
The Good Friday Agreement and Its Help of Progression in Northern Ireland On 10th April 1998 the Good Friday agreement was signed. It was only
The true causes of unrest are sometimes difficult to determine. Frequently, there are a mixture of political alliances, economic differences, ethnic feuds, religious differences and others: This paper looks at the unrest between the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.
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.
Life was very difficult and hopeless in Northern Ireland during the ”Troubles”. People, mainly the Catholics, had to learn to live among riots, murders, bomb raid, discrimination and political violence. Many people did things which they did not want to do but they did because they would be punished if they resisted. They did not know when their families were attacked by hostile groups.
The island was divided into Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland in the 1920s. Northern Ireland was created through demographic compromise, which is a part of the United Kingdom. Many theories have developed over time, but no exact theory has yet to describe the complex struggle of the “Troubles”. The Troubles that broke out in the late 1960s had roots going back many decades lasting until 1998. The society has for many years been strictly divided between Unionists/Protestants, who want Northern Ireland to remain a part of the union with Great Britain and Nationalists/Catholics, who do not want this union.
The division between Northern and Southern Ireland dates back to the 16th century. A succession of English monarchs had used the planting of Protestant English and Scottish people on lands seized from Irish Catholics as a way of increasing loyalty to the British Crown. This is an example of how the British treated the people of Ireland unfairly.
...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.
Hepburn, A.C. "Language, Religion and National Identity in Ireland since 1880." 2001. Perspectives on European Politics and Society Academic Search Premiere. The Netherlands. pp. 198-217. Roesch Library, Dayton, OH. 21 January 2004.
Since the application of the Act of Union at the turn of the nineteenth century until 1923 the whole of Ireland was an integral part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. For a vast majority of this period Ireland was rule by Parliament in Westminster. According to Allen and Unwin the Irish Question was the greatest problem facing the British government in the late ninetieth and early twentieth century, yet the nature of the problem of Ireland meant that it was almost an impossible political issue to resolve as, no one solution would satisfy both the British electorate and the Irish population. Prior to the Irish War of Independence there had been mounting tensions over British rule in Ireland since the act of union in 1800. Throughout the nineteenth century various organisations had slowly been increasing in size and number in response to the rising resentment that had developed because of British rule within Ireland. Resentment was born out of hatred for the alien leadership that the Irish nation had to adhere to, this hatred was heightened due to the poverty
History: Early Days: The first people arrived in Ireland and came from Scandinavia to Scotland and then from Scotland to Ireland. They were a Stone Age people and lived by hunting, farming and fishing. The next groups were the Bronze Age people from southern Europe who skilled metal-workers. The Celts followed around 200 BC coming to Ireland from France and Spain. They brought their own language and iron weapons and tools. The Beginning of Christianity: Saint Patrick was born in Great Britain. In 432 he came to Ireland to teach Christianity. Monks began to build monasteries and wrote many manuscripts in Gaelic and Latin. "The island of saints and scholars". Ireland became an outpost of European civilisation. The Viking Invasion: Sea raiders from Sweden, Denmark and Norway began to establish settlements on the east coast of Ireland. After a time Viking groups settled down and married the local Irish. An Irish king defeated the Vikings militarily at the Battle of Clontarf. Norman Invaders: Anglo-Norman invaded Ireland. Their influence was strong at the beginning. Irish language, lwas ans customs continues as before. Many of the Anglo.Normans, like the Vikings before them married the local Irish and became even more Irish than the Irish themselves. Religious Problems: Henry VIII replaced the Roman Catholic Church in England with the Protestant Church of England in 1536. He attempted to introduce his religious policies into Catholic Ireland by closing down Catholic churches and monasteries. Queen Mary I tried to giving land in Ireland to English, Scottish and Welsh settlers.
Lanka and Northern Ireland demonstrate. David Lake and Donald Rothchild’s argument that a group’s ‘collective fear of the future’ (41) is often the main cause of ethnic conflict remains the most successful framework through which to evaluate the conflict between the Sinhalese and Tamils in Sri Lanka. Fear of disappearing as an ethnic group was the main catalyst for Tamil violence, in response to Sinhalese political acts designed to limit Tamil involvement in business, economics and higher education. Laws introduced to attack Tamil culture added to this fear, and a communal fear of ‘dying out’ thus became reason to fight for an independent nation. However, this was not the case in Northern Ireland: the conflict did not arise as a result of Protestants curbing cultural freedoms of Catholics, instead the issue of civil rights was more prominent. The existence of the Republic of Ireland assured Catholics in Northern Ireland that the Irish Catholic culture would not be lost, in contrast to the Tamil (and formerly Sinhalese) fear of cultural extinction. Instead, the conflict was a result of a prolonged period of Catholics suffering civil injustice and economic disadvantage. As Stefan Wolff argues, ethnic conflicts have both underlying and proximate causes, the former including ‘necessary conditions for the outbreak of inter-ethnic violence’ (68) whilst the latter are needed to act as a catalyst and bring conflict to a head. The ethnic conflicts in Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland had similar underlying causes brought about from structural, economic and social, and cultural and perceptual factors. Ethnic minorities in both cases suffered polit...