The Troubles In Northern Ireland

The Troubles began because Northern Ireland was divided between the Protestant unionists and the Roman Catholic nationalists. The unionists wanted to remain part of United Kingdom while the nationalists wanted to join the Republic of Ireland. The Catholic in Ireland felt discriminated against by the Protestant majority who made up most of parliament. The conflict began in 1968 and ended in 1998. First, Irish people rioted against British rule, and eventually parted from them creating the Republic of Ireland. Then, the Catholic in Northern Ireland, which continued under British rule, faced heavy discrimination. For example, the Catholic were offered fewer jobs and were then paid less. They rarely held high public offices. Another example …show more content…
The U.S. president at the time Bill Clinton assigned Senator George Mitchell to assist Northern Ireland in coming to a conclusion and settle the violent disputes. The agreement was called the Good Friday Agreement. It made the UUP (Ulster Unionist Party) and SDLP (Social Democratic Labour Party) agree to share power in Northern Ireland instead of having parliament be majority Protestant or UUP. The agreement also made it so if Northern Ireland’s constitutional status were to ever change, then there would have to be a majority vote for it with the votes being placed at the same time on both sides of the border. Each sides paramilitaries agreed to try and keep the peace as …show more content…
The discrimination they felt in housing and employment was a centrifugal force. Other examples would be their disagreement with the British in power and the hostility the felt from the British soldiers. The Catholic people didn’t break apart because of their nationalistic feelings toward Northern Ireland. The sentiment they had towards the land is what kept them together. Another element that kept them together was their religion and beliefs. In addition, the conflict has somewhat to do with the people’s problem with imperialism in the United Kingdom. The Catholic people didn’t want to be under their rule any longer because of their unfair treatment towards them. The British rule most of the land on both sides of the Irish Sea. The Catholic Nationalists did not feel as though they were British, but the land was theirs and they were forced to cope with the fact. Furthermore, the United Nations had no involvement in the Troubles. Jack Lynch, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland, asked for UN peacekeepers to be involved to keep the peace and end the discrimination in the provinces being affected by the bias of favor of Protestant over Catholic. The United Nations never sent any peacekeepers and heavy violence eventually broke