Northern Ireland has been plagued by bloody and virtually ceaseless violence for the better part of the last hundred years. The conflict in Northern Ireland is a combination of religious strife between Catholics and Protestants, nationalism versus colonialism and a search for a true Irish identity that has been elusive since the colonization of Ireland in 1603. Republicans in Ireland seek a unified Ireland, one that is free from the imperialistic hands of the British crown. In hopes of achieving this goal, the Irish Republican Army has waged a violent and bloody campaign against both Protestant unionists in the North and the English themselves. From 1920 until 1998 the IRA methods of terror instilled fear in the people of Northern Ireland while the division within its population grew deeper. The Belfast Agreement of 1998 represents the most promising opportunity for a peaceful political resolution and an end to IRA violence in Northern Ireland because the recent approach towards peace contrasts the approaches taken in previously failed attempts.
The process of politics in Northern Ireland bears the scars of long years of violence. The republicans, unionists and the British have all suffered high casualty rates from political and religiously motivated aggression. During the eighty or so years of violence there have been only two respectable attempts to establish a platform of peace that would satisfy each of the three key actors in this conflict. Each of these moves for peace crumbled because they were constructed on a weak and susceptible foundation. As Irish history demonstrates, reaching a peaceful solution will require a foundation that satisfies the needs of all those involved. "Politics in Northern Ireland ...
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...oducing valid results. Unlike the Treaty of 1921 or the peace process in the 1970's, recent efforts stripe the IRA of it's reasoning in using violence. . Even the Real IRA, which split from the IRA following the Belfast Agreement lack public support when they conduct acts of violence against the British or unionists. Because the Belfast Agreement satisfies unionists for the most part, there has been a decline in sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. As a result the Catholic need for protection by the IRA from Protestants is no longer as relevant. Violence has been replaced by politics in Northern Ireland because both sides are exhausted from eighty years of brutality. History showed that there would be no simple solution to such a complex problem, and that in order to bring about a suitable solution there would have to be an increase in trust on all ends.
The next year the Tories had different periods experienced 5 different prime ministers all whom were of no good, therefore the party became very rocky and unstable. If finding a prime minister who was good for the job was not bad enough, across the waters major conflict was arousing in Ireland. (just give them potatoes.) Daniel O'Connell, with the support of the Catholic Association, won the county Clare election.
"Peacekeeping and Peacemaking." Reading and Remembrance . N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. . (tags: none | edit tags)
The Effectiveness and Success of Parnell as an Irish Nationalist Leader Parnell was a very influential leader and had campaigned for many different causes but most noticeably he campaigned for land reform within Ireland, this was one of his most noticeable achievements as an Irish Nationalist Leader. Parnell was helped to power by the Land League. This was where the end of the Great Famine within Ireland meant that farmer's incomes fell by a large extent and they demanded the reduction of rents due to this. They demanded this because many farmers could not pay the rents so this meant that landlords evicted them.
British- Irish relations over the past three hundred years have been troubled. There have been many tensions caused by religion in Northern Ireland and Britain's unfair rule of Northern Ireland. The British are guilty of many of the indignities suffered by the Irish people. They are also guilty of causing all of the religious and territorial conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.
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.
...ehind leaders such as Wolf Tone, pledging their support in the form of the United Irishmen. Even though the 1798 Uprising would ultimately fail, this milestone in Irish history had the other citizens of Ireland that the Catholics were willing to lay aside their past differences for the betterment of their nation. This begs the question that will they continue to work together in the future. Based off the past evidence, Protestants and Catholics have little to lose in assisting each other and having Ireland progress into a nation that is one unified completely. What needs to happen though is that each side has to lay out the terms with no outside influence. There can be no ambiguous statements surrounding these terms and officials have to free of bias, as much as a person can be, to effectively write equal terms that ensure economic progress and religious tolerance.
Violence, terror, suffering and death. The conflict that has been burning in Northern Ireland seems to be an unstoppable battle and it has flooded over the land of Northern Ireland. The struggle for power and the persistence of greed have fueled the raging fires of the opposing groups. The conflict in Northern Ireland has been discussed continually over the past few decades. Ever since the beginning of the “Troubles,” organizations have been scavenging to find a plan that will cease the violence. Throughout my research for this project, the questions of what are the main sources of conflict in Northern Ireland and why have they continued today guided me to many fascinating pieces of evidence that provided me with a more compassionate view of the situation of Northern Ireland. My research topic was very broad and to get down into a more explicit viewpoint, I chose to search for my sources by selecting three disciplines.
Civil War in Ireland in 1914 Introduction The third home rule bill sparked unionism among members. opposed the bill, which in turn brought about Nationalism who sought to protect the property of the owner. These two paramilitary groups brought Ireland to the brink of civil war by 1914. When the Liberals won power in 1906 they tried to keep the Irish question. in the background, ensuring it stayed well down the political agenda.
Farber, H. S., & Gowa, J. (1997). Common Interests or Common Politics? Reinterpreting the Democratic Peace. Journal of Politics 59 (2): 393-417.
Allen, Kieran, The Celtic Tiger: the mith of Social Partnership in Ireland, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2000.
As we see with history, it was almost inevitable that Ireland would experience civil war once she achieved ‘independence’. However, it was not just the history of other countries which dictated this, but also her own. When one person dies they leave behind a hundred mourners. As we can see by the strong words of Mary MacSweeny many of the families of Irish ‘martyrs’ wanted to see their deaths avenged. This was a strong force behind the Civil War and saw it as a ‘natural’ conclusion to previous years. There were also many rifts within the IRA prior to the Treaty and once they had no common enemy they were prone to fight themselves. With all this evidence pointing to the Civil War’s ‘natural’ occurrence it is hard to see how it could not have happened.
...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.
When someone or a group of people see there is a problem they must accept the challenge to try and make a change. As Edmund Burke stated “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”. Step one to make a change is to refuse the status quo so do not just keep following the same old rules because that is how it has always been. The second step is to create a vision, Ireland looked at her laws and her residents and saw several they wanted to change. Therefore the leaders showed the rest of the country which laws/beliefs they were and why they needed to be changed.
- How did the Protestant maintain almost a century of peace in Ireland during the Protestant Ascendancy?
After decades of war in Afghanistan in late 2001, first attempts have already been made by Afghans and international organizations to consult the Afghan people on how to build capacities in pace-building which was an encouraging sign. However, the people in general are still too reluctant to speak about their suffering during the war. Instead, their current priority is to struggle for economic survival in the highly competitive post-conflict reconstruction business with its emerging social injustice. This pragmatic attitude causes a basic problem. If the past is not addressed, efforts to build a lasting peace are endangered. As lessons from other post-conflict societies have shown, national reconciliation contributes to overcoming the past and reuniting a war-divided society (Schirch, Rafiee, & Sakhi, 2013). There are several ways to bring about peace, stability and harmony in Afghanistan. This paper reviews some issues crucial for discussing and designing a strategy of national reconciliation. Moreover, for narrowing the gap between the rival perceptions there is also a need for an Afghan peace process to prepare the ground for peace-building and a future reconciliation process and implementation of an Afghan mechanism of national reconciliation including the ‘’lessons learned’’ from the post-conflict societies.