Peace in Northern Ireland

Peace in Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland there are two main groups of people with different

views and opinions on Ireland and its future. The two main groups are

the Republican/Nationalists and the Loyalist/ Unionists. Within these

groups there are a wide range of views, some extreme and some

moderate.

The republicans are a mainly Catholic majority and wish to see a

united Ireland in the future. One of the republican political parties

is Sinn Fein. Sinn Fein is an extreme party who has been linked with

the IRA (Irish Republican Army). The IRA is an illegal paramilitary

organisation who uses violence to oppose British presence in Ireland

to make their views clear. From the IRA the splinter group called the

Real IRA has formed and they continue to use illegal weapons even now.

A more moderate Republican Party is the Social Democratic and Labour

Party, who do not use violence to show their views.

The Loyalists have a mainly Protestant majority and wish Northern

Ireland to remain part of the UK. The Ulster Unionists (UUP) is a

non-violent unionist party, which was set up in the late 19th century

to defend the interests of Northern Protestants. The Ulster Defence

Association/ Ulster Volunteer Force (UDA/UVF) are on the other hand

violent Loyalist groups who were set up to fight back against the IRA,

like the IRA the UDA and the UVF are both illegal paramilitary groups.

Part 2

There have been many events in Irelands history, which have helped to

shape the views and opinions of those who live there. The two events

which I have chosen to illustrate this are the Plantations of the 17th

century and the Partition of Irelan...

... middle of paper ...

...releasing of political prisoners has been completed,

although now violence in Northern Ireland has started to increased-

this maybe due to these released prisoners. The reform of the police

force has also been completed, although it has not attracted the

amount of Catholics that was hoped for and is still a Protestant

majority police force.

Another remaining problem is with the assembly. The assembly is not

working together as well as planned and so this part of the agreement,

although fulfilled is not working as well as hoped.

So, the Good Friday Agreement can work if the existing problems are

overcome and any new problems that may arise are dealt with quickly

and efficiently. Although if problems are left and continue, the Good

Friday Agreement will fail and new attempts for peace will have to be

worked upon.