The demographics have changed. Protestants are no longer a clear majority in Northern Ireland. Recent census data shows that the population of Ireland is nearly split between Protestants and Catholics, with a growing percentage identifying with neither. The Catholic population, meanwhile, is growing relative to the Protestant population. More importantly, from the s onward, we see a liberalization in the Irish Republic, with a lessening hold of the Catholic Church on Irish culture, education, and the state.
There has been a real move toward liberalization and secularization to align the Irish Republic with the rest of Europe, so they are no longer a kind of quasi-theocratic outlier, but instead a place that looks more like the rest of Europe, along with economic progress.
But then Brexit happened. It is also deeply unpopular in Scotland, where it has renewed calls for a second referendum on independence. Ultimately, Brexit could implode the entire union of the United Kingdom. What drives human exploration of the unknown?
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Drivers stop at the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on the road from Belfast to Dublin, c. The partition of Ireland, which became effective in May , was not intended to remain in place for long. Getty Images photo. They have no legal status today, but share distinct histories and identities. Northern Ireland Northern Ireland, outlined in black, is made up of six counties of the nine-county region of Ulster.
Other factors contributing to the outbreak of violence on July 10 were a relaxed curfew associated with the truce and an upcoming annual celebration held by members of the Orange Order , a Protestant—and deeply loyalist—fraternal organization.
One local IRA fighter, Sean Montgomery, later claimed that he and his comrades received warning of an impending police raid late on July 9—the day the truce was announced.
The IRA sent 14 men, including Montgomery, to respond to the threat; in the ensuing gunfight on Raglan Street, a single IRA shooter killed one policeman and seriously wondered two others. Unionist retribution for the attack quickly followed. Two other Catholics—year-old James McGuinness and year-old Daniel Hughes—lost their lives while attempting to bring their children home to safety.
Both were probably targeted by the same nationalist sniper. Authorities needed at least 14 fire engines to extinguish the blazes, which destroyed more than buildings in Catholic districts.
One victim who survived the initial attack lingered for months, only succumbing to his injuries the following April. The region only experienced relative peace following the enactment of the Anglo-Irish Treaty , which designated the Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion within the British Commonwealth and upheld the border between it and Northern Ireland. Lands occupied by Irish landowners were confiscated, especially in Munster and Ulster. They were distributed to colonists, commonly known as planters, who came in large numbers from England, Scotland and Wales.
The plantations altered the demography of Ireland. Large Protestant English communities were created, whose identity was at odds with the Roman Catholic Irish inhabitants. The Battle of Drogheda maintains particular resonance. In September , Cromwell laid siege to Drogheda, a town on the East coast of Ireland, which had been garrisoned by a coalition of Roman Catholics, Confederates and Royalists in their quest to expel the English from Ireland.
Read more about: Battles Oliver Cromwell: the most hated man in Irish history? By the late seventeenth century, against a backdrop of battles and disputes, which further mired relations between the two populations, the position for Catholics was incredibly compromised. Even for those seemingly unaffected by the laws, the fact that ultimate control of their land lay in the hands of Westminster was a mockery.
The first sounds of Irish nationalism were being made. After all, the mood was ripe for unrest, with both America and France already experiencing revolution in the latter half of the eighteenth century. As a concession, the penal laws were relaxed. But this did not extinguish opposition; in a rebellion broke out in Ireland, organised by the United Irishmen, a revolutionary republican group, who had been inspired by the revolutions of France and America.
The rebellion lasted for several months. Despite successes in the south-east county of Wexford and the assistance of the French, it ultimately failed. In January the Act of Union was passed, which made Ireland and England one state, as a result of the rebellion convincing William Pitt that this was necessary for national security.
Out of this act the United Kingdom was created, the Irish parliament was abolished and the Church of Ireland and England were united. In his debate, Ulster Northern Ireland was singled out as a special case for the first time. By , the Irish population had dropped by two million as a result of death, disease and emigration. The desire for an autonomous Ireland took on even more intensity and violence.
Within this context, British politicians recognized that a resolution to problems in Ireland was paramount. The formation of the Home Rule League in acted as a further catalyst for Prime Minister William Gladstone to put forward bills for Irish self-government. Gladstone never got to see his wish for Home Rule come to light — both his and bills were never passed.
But the turn of the century ushered in an age in which Ireland was firmly on the British political agenda. Thousands were traumatized by violence. Thousands were sent to prison. However by the s there was recognition that violence would not deliver a solution to the conflict and that any effort to find a political answer would only succeed if republican and loyalist paramilitaries were given a voice at the negotiating table.
This period has seen the establishment of political negotiations, ceasefires by the main republican and loyalist paramilitary organizations and fundamental reform of aspects of our system of governance in order to command the respect and allegiance of all our citizens. Reprinted as originally written. Skip to content.
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