Catholics And Protestants In N Ireland example essay topic

Friday, July 21, 1972 started as any other day of the week. As the sun rose, people everywhere began to go about their normal daily business, as did the people of Belfast, N. Ireland. Suddenly, there is a great noise and a violent shaking, as the city of Belfast is rocked by the explosion of bombs. 22 separate bombs detonate within the city of Belfast, destroying buildings and ejecting the life from anyone caught in the blast. As the violent noise dies away, the people of Belfast, too startled to know what has happened, survey the scene. As they look over the demolished structures, and rummage through the ashes, they know the bombs were meant for certain members of the British government.

The explosions, however, did not kill only government members, as nine civilians lie dead in the rubble. As the emergency vehicles arrive at the scene, the police know who has caused this destruction, and that the bombers are none other than the members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. The Irish Republican Army or IRA, is a paramilitary group who's stated goal is to free Ireland from the bounds of British rule, and unite the island under one government. The IRA is an old organization that had it's beginnings in the past after Britain first took control of Ireland. At the heart of the conflict between IRA and Britain lies religious differences, mostly between Protestants and Catholics.

To better understand the IRA we ll go back into the past, and see how it all started. Ireland first began to fall under British control in the dark ages when Lords and Nobles from Britain began conquering the tribes and counties of Ireland. At one point the king of England himself set out to conquer Ireland, saying the Pope had commanded him to do so. During the dar ages different sections of Ireland were ruled by different nobles of Britain, but official British rule did not begin until 1541, when King Henry V was named King of Ireland. From then until the 19th Century small Irish groups would periodically rebel against the King. The Irish Republican Army first was formed in the 1860's, with the goal of freeing Ireland from Britain.

In 1867 they staged several insurrections, but none were successful, and the movement died out in 1885. In the early 1900's the name IRA was adopted again by a group of Irish volunteers with the same goals. The source of the conflict had shifted from government, and was now centered around religion. England was primarily Protestant, while Ireland was mostly catholic. Being ruled by England, the Catholic Irish had little say in the way they wanted things done. There was also a small number of Protestant Irish, mostly in the northern section of Ireland, who enjoyed English rule, because they felt that their needs were met better than they would be if they were ruled by Catholics.

The mostly Catholic IRA tried to free Ireland from Britain, while the Protestant Irish tried to keep things as they were. In 1940 Ireland was on the brink of Civil War. In 1916 the IRA group attempted to free Ireland by launching an assault on Dublin. The attack failed, and the attackers were executed, but it stirred up a great sympathy for the cause.

In 1918 a new group for Irish freedom formed that called themselves the Sinn Fein. The Sinn Fein wanted Irish freedom, but went about it through political means instead of violence. The Sinn Fein succeeded in winning many seats in the government's House of Commons, and used their influence to try to break Ireland free. In 1920 Britain passed the government of Ireland Act that freed all of Ireland except the nine northernmost counties. The nine northern counties became the English province of North Ireland.

Southern Ireland was for the most part free, but still had to answer to certain rules of Britain. This act was eventually accepted, but some factions of the IRA continued to fight, saying that they wouldn t settle for anything less than total Irish freedom. After this act things began to decline steadily, and by the 1960's, the IRA had very little support. Things seemed to have settled down, but this did not last for long. In the late 1960's a group of catholic protesters held a march for increased representation in the government of North Ireland. Protestant members of N. Ireland reacted with violence to the protesters, and the Catholics also responded with violence.

The IRA surged to life again as more people felt sympathy toward the Catholics. During this time the IRA split into two different parties, the Official IRA, and the Provisional IRA. The Official IRA favored diplomatic means to achieve their goals, while the Provisional IRA favored violence. During the late 60's and early 70's violence escalated between Catholics and Protestants in N. Ireland. The Provisional IRA sprang into action, enraged by the deaths of catholic civilians. By the early 70's the Provisional IRA was waging an all out war against British forces.

The Provisional IRA used bomb technology and secrecy to their advantage. The IRA utilized car bombs most effectively in inflicting damage and destruction on N. Ireland. The IRA's strategy was to inflict enough collateral damage on N. Ireland that it would no longer be worth Britain's energy to continue to rule there. Desperate British forces began holding members of the IRA without trial. This enraged catholic citizens, and members of the IRA, as did the rumors of torture suffered by IRA members at the hands of British officials. This conflict, now centuries old, seemed no where near ending as tensions mounted higher and higher.

Many of the people on both sides had a deep hatred for their enemies, resulting from losing loved ones due to violence. Many of the people fighting had been taught from childhood to hate those of the opposite government or religion, and to fight for their freedom at all costs. The violence seemed to peak in 1972, when, on Jan. 30, Bloody Sunday, British forces shot and killed 13 unarmed catholic civilians in N. Ireland. The soldiers said they thought they were armed members of the IRA, but the outrage was great.

On July 31, Bloody Friday, the IRA struck out against British forces with a massive bombing campaign in Belfast. 22 bombs were detonated, and nine civilians killed. Through the rest of the 70's and into the early 80's the IRA continued it's war. In the early 80's several members of the IRA began hunger strike to protest Britain's rule; 10 Irishmen starved themselves to death.

Fighting continued until the late 80's, when a man by the name of Gerry Adams began to show up as a leader amongst the ranks of the IRA. Gerry Adams helped to develop a more political wing for the IRA, instead of mostly an armed force. He realized that the IRA didn t have the force to make Britain leave Ireland, and that some kind of peace would have to be arranged. He began urging tolerance and promoting negotiations.

In 1994 a tentative cease fire was called, and the framework for negotiations was set up. The peace talks continued until 1996 when the British began demanding the IRA to disarm. The IRA refused, and called off the cease fire. Gerry Adams continued to push for peace, and in 1997, another cease fire was called.

In 1998, finally some real progress was made when both sides began making plans toward a joint government system in which both sides would be represented. With both sides seeming to come to an agreement for the first time in almost a century, a fragile hope began to grow. In the past few years the two parties have been taking baby steps toward a peace agreement. Just recently a precedent has been set by the signing of a peace treaty that both parties have designed. The present peace is always in danger of falling apart, but everyone is hoping that happy days might be ahead. The history of the IRA and it's goals is complicated and stretches back into centuries before America was even formed.

The conflicts between the two peoples have existed too long, that many members of both sides cannot imagine it being any other way. At the heart of this war, like at the heart of all wars, is hate and mistrust. No one knows if North and South Ireland will ever be able to live fully at peace with each other. It is uncertain that a hate that runs so deep can ever fully be gotten rid of, at least in our lifetime. Hopefully, though, both sides will realize that their goals are really not so different. Even the Protestants and Catholics, though they have different ideas, serve the same God.

The future is uncertain, but as long as the two groups are talking, there is hope.