During the years 1697 and 1727 there was a system of discrimination and racism in Ireland where new legislation laws were made by the Irish Parliament which was at that time ruled by the Protestants. They had laws that clearly indicated that Catholics were to have no such power, role, or play part in any meetings or committees involving Ireland. The freedom of speech was poised and the matter of the land ownership was not even attempted to retrieve itself. Worshipping in an Anglican church required the ability to disobey the Penal laws. Therefore the Dissenters had no right to set up any new political parties or such. The penal laws undoubtedly signified the religious injustice that was again a combination of other issues such as social status and political factors.
There were parties called the Nationalists due to their desire of Ireland being an independent nation with no such ties with England. These were the Nationalists who were prepared to use violence against the British Empire. The Revolutionary Nationalists decided that it had enough of the British colony.
- Wolfe Tone: A Protestant lawyer who lead the United Irishmen (an organisation).
Portrait of Wolfe Tone
Despite him being a Protestant he wanted all the connections with Britain to break and believed that he could settle and abolish the religious discrimination amongst Irish people. This symbolises that Wolfe Tone who was the first man to attempt an independency move had no religious intentions but it was all political. Wolfe Tone's revolution was crushed, and Wolfe Tone became a martyr as there was little co-operation from the Irish people themselves. Wolfe Tone rebelled in 1798 along with the United Irishmen but again failed and therefore forced decisions regarding Ireland to be made in Westminster with about 1800 Irish MPs.
The great famine of 1846 was to cause even more bitterness, after England failed to organize sufficient help to the starving. The Revolutionary Nationalists had to stop all its plans and actions as they got a new charter of living. The Irish had had enough after this period of time.
Photograph of a stranded family during the famine.
Half a million were evicted from their homes during the potato blight, and a million and a half immigrated to America (that plays a significant role later), Britain (mainly Liverpool) and Australia. This is the story of how that immense tragedy came to pass. During the deprivation, there was secretly a production of two organisations with one goal. The Fenian Brotherhood and the Irish Republican Brotherhood wanted once again all the connections with Britain to be abolished and an indecency form the British rule.
The Famine had a massive impact on Ireland. Some in Ireland believed that the government in London - to solve the Irish Problem - had deliberately done as little as possible to aid the people of Ireland and these people concluded that the only hope Ireland had for its future was a complete separation from Great Britain. However, politics now took a role in Ireland’s history. If London was unwilling to grant this, then the Fenians would fight for it. Though after 9 years the Fenians had researched and found that there was a little military backing from the Irish army. Consequently, the Fenians tried another way to force the British laws to change one way or another- to help the stranded farmers to regain their power over the harsh landlords. By this successful strategy, the Irish Republican Brotherhood forced the British Land Laws to subsequently change. This is all political and as for the question which suggests that many people view the whole situation as only a religious one then they are wrong. Revolutionary Nationalists was a political party and the leader was a protestant which indicates no religious division.
After several years passing by, a new political party was set up that had inherited their name by the Gaelic expression for ‘Ourselves Alone.’ It was first set up in 1905 and its aim was to attain a nationalized self determination. To wipe out all the injustice at all levels of economy and society.
The leader at that time was a Catholic man called Arthur Griffith who wanted Irish independency through verbal negotiations and neither by force nor violence. ‘Opting out’ was the advice given by Arthur Griffith to the British Parliament. However before the World War I had eroded there was only a little smell of victory for the Sinn Féin or the Fenians as there was little backing up from the majority of the people and as a result. Arthur Griffith
Another Nationalist party was set up after the defeat of Wolfe Tone; this was the Parliamentary nationalist which by name suggests a legislative organisation whose aim was to again free Ireland from the British ruling. Their intention of gaining an independent country was done by peace and discussions. The Parliamentary showed moderate advancement in the issue.
Daniel O’Connell: a key member of the Parliamentary Nationalists organisation.
Daniel O’Connell
Gaining a right to a separate government in Dublin was his mission but this could have only been accomplished if thousands of Catholics supported his movement. He did this by a victory over the assistance of the Catholic priests and bishops. O’Connell’s success was beginning to show as the majority of the Irish population voted for Daniel O’Connell. This democratic system sent shock waves to Britain which made the British government once again change its political, social and religious law. This was an important turning point as in the House of Commons there was another party who were the Irish Nationalists who could easily change the Act of Union. However it did take a few years to set up the new political party.
Charles Stuart Parnell: a chief member of the Irish Parliamentary Nationalist Party.
Parnell was the leader of the Nationalist MP’s in Westminster. The Fenians came in use at this point as the Irish Nationalist Party who were recognised by the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, joined the ‘Land League.’
Charles Stuart Parnell
Due to the combination of Arthur Griffith and Charles Stuart Parnell, they forced the British to change the Land Laws and this time to prohibit evictions and high rents also offering poor tenants loan from the bank. Parnell by the help of the Liberals attempted to build a Government in Dublin and therefore brought a ‘home rule for Ireland’ Bill. The Liberals had a fear that the ‘Home Rule’ would completely abolish the British involvement in Ireland and that the Irish trade of exports would gradually rise leaving England’s wealth and power in doubt.
By the several different parties opposing England, along came the opposition, Ulster Unionist. They feared that the Catholics would regain their power and land if the ‘Home Rules’ would get passed as they were the Nationalists who conquered Ireland. Ulster had a friend and that was, Britain of course who they could relay on especially the Conservative Party who was lead by Randolph Churchill. This was again all the political issues conquering the approach to partition. Edward Carson made sure that the ‘Home Rules’ were crashed and away. Gradually Ulster began to develop and extend their army and weapons by importing them from Germany. The Unionists were safe on any Catholic Nationalists ruling over them to take revenge. As time approached to the World War 1 the Nationalists planned to force the British Government to set up a Parliament in Ireland. Fenians had again taken part in the fight for independency and this time surprisingly won the battle for a republic Ireland. But it was the Parliamentary Nationalists who had a big hand in the development of the partition.
John Redmond: a leader of the campaign carried on from Parnell. John Redmond in 1900 pressurized the Liberal Democrats as in1912 the Home Rule Bill was passed by the Commons and the delaying powers of the Lords were limited to two years. It should have become law in 1914, but the First World War started and it never made the statute book.
John Redmond
In the election in 1918 of the 106 Irish seats went to Sinn Féin, who refused to go to Westminster and set up a temporary government in Ireland. There then followed 3 years of bitter guerrilla war with atrocities on both sides, before a ceasefire was finally signed in 1921, which led to the "final solution of the Irish Problem " with partition. Northern Ireland continued links with Britain whilst the central and the southern part of Ireland was a united country with a separate government.
After this point and onwards, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were and are known as 2 different countries with separate Governments.
So regarding in mind all the issues that have been presented, all of the factors have played a big role in the destruction of Ireland to some extent but some issues have throughout the conflict been present. Social status also can cause the effect that happened during this period as the Catholics were still land less. All through this period of time, political factors have been playing a very important role in making Ireland an Independent nation. The religious factor does not even arise. IRA
After the partition there have been various such dramatic actions taking place in Ireland. In the North there was a system of discrimination against the Catholic nationalist. Contrast to the North, the Republic of Ireland did not differentiate the Protestants as Wolfe Tone who was a Protestant lawyer was part of the nationalists. In the North there was about ¾ of the population as Protestants and the remaining as Catholics. Therefore the Catholics were more unemployed due to the unfairness towards them. However Northern Ireland was an industrialised country but still many people were without a job. The south was a rural country and agriculture was their main profession which meant fewer earnings for the Catholics in the south. The North was more socially y and economically secured.
There was then a new leader of the political party, Sinn Féin who was called De Valera. Later on in June 1959 he became
De Valera
Prime Minister of Republic of Ireland. His aim wanted an independent nation. After his deadline had finished as a president, he retired in June 1973, 14 years later.
"If there is to be any hope of prosperity for this country it is by reversing that policy which made us simply the kitchen garden for supplying the British with cheap food."
The statement above is from De Valero and he talks about how England has used Ireland for its own purposes. His strong views reflect on the situation. However in 1937, there was a new campaign set up called the IRA which stands for Irish Republican Army. It involved violent methods of independency from the British Government. As a minority of the IRA members were jailed, the campaign had decided to stop and take a new scheme that helped the lives of all working people. But the Catholics were not completely satisfied.
In 1963 Terence O’Neil was elected the new Prime Minister of Northern Ireland but he had a different attitude to the whole situation. O’Neil was wiling to abolish the hatred amongst the Protestant population against the Catholics. It was starting to smell of independency and agreement between the religions. However it was not till long. During the 1960s a civil rights movement began to campaign for a more reasonable access to political power, cultural appreciation and social condition. On the streets there were various riots between Protestants and Catholics regarding the Civil Rights Treaty. Consequently the British troops were sent to Ireland to restore the peace and the Catholics were safer as they thought of the troops as their shields. However the idea of ‘British troops on Irish soil’ was quite daunting.
In the year 1969, there were various attempts from the Unionists to change laws in order to maintain peace. IRA again stated their brutal violence act. Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) was a new organisation that used means of negotiations. A year later there was a new law made by the Unionist government which was called Internment. This meant that suspected IRA or terrorist members were put behind bars with the use of trials. The main turning point came at the beginning of 1972. It was the ‘Bloody Sunday.’ A Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march had been organised to protest against the continuance system of Internment without trail in Northern Ireland. The afternoon of that Sunday where 20,000 people took part of mixed origin was a very dramatic event for a lot of people. A serious political matter was dealt by with the British forces who killed many lives during these marches said that they did these attacks on people in possession of weapons. But the people who were brutally killed of seriously injured were not even holding any weapons or bombs.
The members of the IRA were also imprisoned and as a result of this, the prisoners went on Hunger strike and subsequently died.
Then a decision was made to have a direct rule from the London Parliament. As years went by the IRA had started their viciously attempts for independency by knee capping, feathering and tar etc. The IRA bombed lots of places in Britain such as Harrods in 1983, Birmingham pub in 1970 and the most vicious one, exploded at a conservative conference meeting which killed many MP’s but not the Prime Minister.
There was also a Good Friday Agreement that negotiated with the British and the Irish and moved Ireland forward. The Irish Peace Process was a political organisation that achieved a settlement to the civil conflict and differences that divided the community in Northern Ireland.
Since the partition there has not been a peaceful nation of Ireland. Disagreements, violence, riots, marches, laws etc are all the actions that took place since the partition and now.
As the question states that many people view the conflict in Ireland as only a religious conflict, then they are wrong. I can clearly state my judgement on the evidence presented by me in this coursework.
In recap, stage 1 where the 3 groups of settlers came to Ireland and they adapted in the country. However stage 2 was when it all started with a religious factor as the monarchs of England sent in Protestant plantation and confiscated the land from the Catholics which created bitterness amongst religions. Later on the Protestants became more in charge and gradually took over Ireland as they controlled a massive 86% of the land. This was a combination of social, economical and religious factors. The Battle of the Boyne and the victory of William of Orange was political as James II wanted to attack England. After the Battle, the Protestants produced a set of laws regarding the Catholics- the Penal Laws that clearly indicated the religious status and divisions. In about 1790 there were two opposition partiers called the Nationalist and the Unionists. Revolutionary Nationalist leader was a protestant lawyer who clashed for independency but he failed as he used violence. This clearly states that it was not religious. As far as the question is concerned, this period of time when there were two different groups, in 1790-1921 was all political and there was just a slight peak of religious.
And when Ireland was divided, since that time and the day today there have been many casualties, threats, explosions, bombing, injustice treatment etc…
But what is it that’s leading all these issues, it’s not religious!
The conflict in Ireland is a combination of factors that intertwine together. It is not only religious and the people who think that it is then they have only seen a biased part of the conflict.
It is mainly political as it is to do with Britain, independency and gaining a peaceful environment. Leading to the fight of the Irish, the political power is the most important explanation to the root of the Conflict in Ireland.
In my opinion I think that Ireland cannot and will not resolve their conflict ever. The reason of my prediction is the fact that since centuries the matter has been going from bad to worst and now the chance of them being independent is unthinkable. If parties like Sinn Féin and campaigners like the IRA would just try to think from another perspective the conflict might take another route.
In my personal opinion, I think that the conflict is because of Britain wanting to have a power in their neighbouring county. They did this by invading and controlling Ireland so that Germany or other oppositions of Britain would not use Ireland as a ‘back door’ to invade Britain. They used the religious factor to do so, in my opinion.
But as for the actual question, I can say after all my findings that it is not only a religious conflict in Ireland. It is mixture of all of them.
Shaista Iqbal- Humanities Coursework- Candidate Number: 8282- Centre Number; 37113- Page
