Northern Ireland's "Troubles"

Politically still part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland's "Troubles" continue as a fight between the Protestants and the Catholics. Geographically, Northern Ireland is slightly larger than the state of Connecticut, and consists of 26 districts, "derived from the boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry and the counties of Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone. Together, they are commonly referred to as Ulster, though the territory does not contain the entire ancient province of Ulster." (Brunner 877) Part of the contention deals with the so-called Six Counties, as the Protestants see it, and Nine counties (adding Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan from the ancient Ulster kingdom) that the Catholics want to preserve. Ulster (as we will refer to it from here on) was part of Catholic Ireland, until it was annexed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when after a series of revolts, Scots Presbyterians were settled there. After further revolts, Oliver Cromwell cruelly suppressed these uprising, and more and more Protestant settlers were literally imported to populate this northern part of Ireland. It was not until 1886, when William Gladstone proposed his Home Rule bill that North and South officially separated. Separation, however, did not end the struggles, especially after Ireland remained neutral during the First World War, which inflamed British passions, and, of course, the long struggle for Irish independence began, with the Sinn Fein mo

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esbyterians and Irish Catholics." (Black 37) The laws favored these Protestant late-comers, and over the centuries the enmity grew and remains a sore point today, even with hopes of some sort of settlement. Northern Ireland is not a geographic or economic prize. Outside Belfast, and some smaller provincial towns, much of the land is grasslands, with agricultural products including wheat, hay, oats, potatoes, and turnips. One of the major industries of Ulster is the production of linen products, with plenty of water power available both for electricity as well as irrigation. About one-fifth of available manpower is employed in this industry. So, why would this smallish land be so worrisome, and why is there so much conflict and death? It is not merely neighbor (Catholic) fighting neighbor (Protestant). It is a matter of some sort of pride, and the fear of the minority being overwhelmed by the majority (which, as mentioned earlier) has the support of the British government. More recently, in 1999, former U.S. Senator George Mitchell has been asked to act as a sort of mediator/arbitrator. There have been a number of previous agreements to stop the fighting and sit down to some sort of negotiations which would permanently

Category: Foreign - N