Conflict In Northern Ireland

The state referred to as Northern Ireland (of 1921), is a divided state, by which a border separates the six north-eastern counties from the remaining twenty six. The simple cause of the initial partition was the inability of Nationalists and Unionists to agree on how Ireland should be governed, Michael Laffan refers to how it ‘gave the Ulster Unionists what they demanded’, the largest area in which they believed they would have full power and authority in which they could control. Until recently, it is known that Historians have been likely to view the ongoing conflict in Northern Ireland as religious; however this idea could be contested, as there are underlying political factors which are known to have led to mass conflict in Northern Ireland.

The ongoing discrimination against Catholics in Northern Ireland led to a civil rights movement which began in the 1960s (usually nationalist based, which was then deemed by loyalists as an attack on the Northern Ireland state). A parallel could be drawn between the Irish civil rights movement which occurred in the 1960’s and the civil rights movement for the equality of African Americans in the US during the same time period. Both minority groups were merely seeking basic rights in their own country. However the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland could be deemed to have created a deepened division which became prominent due to the brutality of the police forces upon Republicans, the attacks and the treatment of Catholic civilians. The civil rights movement organisation in Northern Ireland usually demonstrated by organising peaceful marches, however these peaceful marches usually ended up becoming riots as they were impeded by the extremism of loyalists, whom did not feel the same way as those participating in the marches. Conflict however, was wide spread across Norther Ireland as there was distrust and fear among both

This is partially due to the setting up of integrated schools and programmes as stated previously, which helps to eliminate any distrust and fear between the two communities, whilst numerous equal opportunities have been put in place for the Catholic members of society to eliminate discrimination. Due to the conflict, various peace programmes which have been put in place over the years, such as the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which promotes Northern Irelands divided social structure which is changing, as it is stated within an article by Bryson, that “the political climate in Northern Ireland has thawed significantly in the last decade” (Bryson, 2007) and so are the attitudes of those who reside within the