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Northern Ireland's conflict, known as 'The Troubles,' left over 3,500 dead, including nearly 2,000 civilians, from the late 1960s until the historic Good Friday Agreement in 1998. This landmark agreement united former adversaries and sparked hope for lasting peace. However, recent bomb attacks linked to dissident Republicans pose ongoing challenges to this peace. The strife stems from deep-rooted political divisions, with the Protestant community supporting union with Britain while the Catholic community seeks a united Ireland, highlighting the complex landscape of Northern Irish identity and aspirations.
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Northern Ireland was for a long period seen as one of the world’s ‘intractable conflicts’, with little hope of a political solution to the violence between Catholic and Protestant communities. • From the late 1960s until 1998, fierce and violent clashes involving paramilitaries and security forces, dominated the conflict, leaving more than 3500 people killed – among them nearly 2000 civilians.
TODAY? Happily, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 brought together political enemies in an agreement that offers hope for a sustainable, peaceful future for Northern Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement has often been taken as the end point of ‘The Troubles’, as the conflict in Northern Ireland is known. However three recent bomb attacks, targeting a bank, a Catholic police officer’s father, and killing Ronan Kerr, a young Catholic police recruit – all attacks linked to dissident Republicans – indicate that peace in Northern Ireland is not as secure as widely perceived.
The conflict in Northern Ireland has been driven by conflict over the political status of the region and the competing claims and aspirations of the two main communities. The Protestant community generally favours the political union with Great Britain. They regard themselves as British citizens and define themselves politically as Unionists. Hardline unionists are known as Loyalists since they proclaim loyalty to the British monarchy. The Catholic community generally favours the creation of a single united Irish state. They regard themselves as Irish people and define themselves politically as Nationalists. Hardline Nationalists are known as Republicans since they strive for a United Irish Republic.
