The rest of Ireland was predominately Catholic and gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1922. However, six counties that make up Northern Ireland, a majority Protestant area with a Catholic minority, opted to remain with the United Kingdom.
The conflict at its most basic can be seen as a struggle between those who wish to see Northern Ireland remain part of the United Kingdom and those who wish to see the reunification of the whole island of Ireland.
Despite the Protestants majority, the creation of Northern Ireland did not bring security to them because it was clear that London was never as committed to the Union as the Protestants were. They constantly feared that British policy might move to support a united Ireland.
On the whole, they lived in a state of political nervousness. The Protestants were also deeply suspicious of the half-million Catholics inside the boundaries of the new Northern Ireland because “those Catholics considered themselves trapped in this new state, denied their Irish identity, cut off from their co-religionists in the Free State and politically powerless”.
The Catholics added another complaint too: they were discriminated against the Protestants in the allocation of housing and jobs, political rights and other areas.
The period from 1969-1994 has been named the Troubles after all the violence in the period.
The Irish Volunteers became the Irish Republican Army and under the leadership of Michael Collins began a full-blown War of Independence. Between June 1920 and June 1922 428 people were killed and 1,766 were wounded. 8,750 Catholics were driven from their employment and 23,000 were driven from their homes.
In the years after World War Two the economy of Northern Ireland flourished, the Irish Republican Army’s border campaign of 1956-1962 was called off due to lack of support and the Nationalist Party became the official opposition in Stormont.
In 1985 the British and Irish Governments signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement. The Anglo-Irish Agreement reassured the majority that there would be no change in the status of Northern Ireland without their assent and guaranteed respect for the minority community’s traditions and aspirations plus fair treatment under the law. On 28 July 2005 the IRA Army Council announced an end to its armed campaign, stating that it would work to achieve its aims using ‘purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means’.
Northern Ireland conflict
