Conflict in N. Ireland
The union of church and state, economic highs and lows, and nationalism are all global issues that affect different areas of the world in different ways. Protestants and Catholics have been fighting in Northern Ireland since the early 1900s and possibly even before that. While the two religious groups seem to be the main parties in the dispute, nationalism has played a very large role in the conflict between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The dispute is caused mainly by the presence of the United Kingdom as a control group in Ireland, and the nationalists and the unionists have formed sides in the controversy. In this essay, I will discuss a brief history of the conflict in Northern Ireland, describe the main groups that are fighting, why religion and nationalism play a role in the disagreement, and how the economy has been impacted. Some historians believe the conflicts in Northern Ireland began as long ago as 1609. At this time, Queen Elizabeth's military was dominating the globe and, after many struggles, overtook the province of Ulster in Northern Ireland. Once the English took control the land was commandeered and British colonists began to push
Global issues have hugely impacted the civil conflict in Ireland, just as some of these issues have been affected by the civil unrest within the country. The economy has a huge impact on life in Ireland. The constant state of war has been a major downfall for the economy of the island, as it would be in any other country. Ireland relies heavily on exports from other countries because it is a region of low productivity. "The dependency of Northern Ireland on exports made the state particularly vulnerable to world trends," (www.irelandseye.com) The dispute was intensified even further in the late 1960s. In 1969 a provisional Irish Republican Army was formed, "initially to defend Catholic areas, but soon to go on the offensive against Protestant police and soldiers," (Associated Press, 1998). After the introduction of violence throughout Ireland the opposition only grew. "In 1972, the United Kingdom suspended Northern Ireland's local government and began to rule directly from London," (Gallis, 2002). At this time violence reached its peak "when 468 people died. Since then it has gradually declined to an annual average of below 100," (Darby, 1995). 1921 brought the next level of conflict to Ireland. At this time a partition was formed between the southern part of Ireland, which became known as the Irish Free State, and Northern Ireland. This only increased the already huge conflict between the two main religions, Catholicism and Protestantism. Since Catholics made up a very small minority, representing only about one-third of the population in Northern Ireland, they were strongly discriminated against and felt severely suppressed (Darby, 1995). There are several other organizations in Ireland, the IRA being the largest, that are also involved in the conflict. These groups strongly believe that the only way to extract Britain from their island is through the use of violence and force. "Initially they saw themselves as defenders of the Northern Catholic minority, but later spread their military activities throughout Northern Ireland, Britain, and Europe," (Darby, 1995).
Some common words found in the essay are:
Northern Ireland, DuPont Guynn, Issues Global, Associated Press, United Kingdom, London Gallis, Northern Ireland's, northern ireland, Sinn Fein, Ireland Protestants, Ireland IRA, darby 1995, united kingdom, conflict northern ireland, conflict northern, guynn 2001, global issues, irish republic, ulster unionist, unionist party, economist 1996, ulster unionist party, northern irish affairs, ireland united kingdom, associated press 1998,
Approximate Word count = 1466
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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