The two religions had very different ideas on James. Catholics thought highly of James and wanted to help him. They wanted their land back and thought that he was the man to do that for them. They also wanted to get rid of Protestants. Protestants however had a very different view of James. They feared that he would again introduce Catholiscm. William however was very popular with Protestants and even with some Catholics. William also had papal blessing from the pope. This was surprising, as the pope would have usually given his blessing to the Catholic army. He reasoning was that he disliked Louis and France who of course was an ally of James.
William eventually surrounded James and his army and defeated him on July 1st 1690. This date was and still is an important date and is celebrated in the July marches.
Shortly after the Battle of the Boyne, strict laws were brought in to control the Catholics. The Irish Parliament brought these laws in because in the past, Catholic clergy were known to have been responsible for rebellions so these rules were to try and counter this. These laws were called the Penal laws.
The laws were made in 1697 and lasted 30 years until 1727 and were very discriminative towards Catholics. The laws included:
- No Catholic can buy land or lease it for more than 31 years
- No Catholic is allowed to vote or become a MP
- Catholics can not take higher education or take a professional jobs
This therefore led to the Irish Catholics disliking the Protestants more. They felt like foreigners in their own country even though their religion was the native religion and the majority. This then took the Catholics hatred of Protestants even deeper as they felt they were being pushed out. I think that these laws are another big contributor to the tension over the marches, as the Catholics still feel cheated over the discrimination they faced.
Religion again played a part in the 1790’s. This was the time of Theobald Wolfe Tone and the United Irishmen. Republicans regard Tone as the first real Irish Republican. They admire the fact that he was wiling to use force to separate England and Ireland. Also, many republicans think:
- He was a committed campaigner for equal rights for Catholics in Ireland
- He was a leading figure in the United Irishmen movement of the 1790s
- He was exiled from Ireland for his beliefs
- He gained French help for the Irish rebellion in 1798, which seriously threatened British rule for a time.
There was of course more to the story.
Wolfe Tone was a Protestant Dublin Lawyer and was part of the ‘Protestant Ascendancy.’ This was where Protestants dominated the Parliament in Dublin during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. But, during the 1790s, Tone found himself leader of a group called the United Irishmen. The group was formed from three main groups:
- Anglican Protestants
- Catholics
- Presbyterians
Each of these groups had something to be unhappy about the way in which Ireland was ruled. The group demands were
- Ending the Penal laws against Catholics and Presbyterians
- Ending the right of parliament in London to block laws passed by the Dublin parliament
- Reforming the Irish parliament in Dublin so that it would represent the people of Ireland fairly
They saw themselves as defenders of liberty against bad government. The group was also inspired by revolutions in America (1776-83) and France (1789). They felt that these revolutions had overthrown bad governments and given freedom to people like them.
The group had some important successes, for example, in 1792 Catholics were allowed to be lawyers and in 1793 they gained the right to vote. However, the attitude of the British Government soon changed. From 1792 onwards Britain was at war with a revolutionary France. It was frightened that the revolution would spread to Britain. Radical reformers were therefore seen as traitors. So when Tone was seen talking to a French spy, he was exiled with immediate effect. This turned Tone from a reformer to a Revolutionary. He originally went to America but later moved to France. Here he was going to try and win support for an Irish rebellion. He succeeded.
Back in Ireland, the clampdown of the United Irishmen continued. And in 1798 when the British again turned their attentions to Ireland, the country exploded into rebellion. The British though were too powerful and by June, the main part of the rebellion had collapsed. Wolfe Tone was caught and was sentenced to death. He killed himself in jail. These events could be seen as one of the main contributors to why there is still tension during the marches. This is because the attitudes of a lot of Protestants changed dramatically after the rebellion. Because of the mass massacres that took place all over Ireland, it convinced a lot of Protestants that their future now laid in loyalty to a Protestant United Kingdom.
From 1845 to 1851, Ireland went through a state of depression. Those years were known as The Irish Famine. A disease called blight ripped through the potatoes in large parts of Ireland leading to the crops not being edible. This was a catastrophe as potatoes were the main source of food in Ireland at this time so many families struggled to feed themselves.
At this time most Irish Catholics were peasant tenants of protestant landlords. However much the protestant landlords were hated, they offered a job and a place to sleep leaving the Catholics no choice but to work for them. The Catholics grew potatoes for food and wheat for rent. But when this potato blight killed of the potatoes, the Catholics were forced to eat the wheat. This was ok for a little bit but then because they were eating the wheat they had nothing to pay for the rent with. And the rules on failing to pay for rent was eviction, in other words chucking them out on the street.
This meant that they had no land. Back then no land meant no food leading to starvation. Instead of helping the government used “laissez faire”. This means leave alone so the government decided to leave them alone to sort this out. During this period 1 million people died of starvation and a further 1 million emigrated (75% of them emigrated to the USA.) This emigration fostered future ties between America and Ireland.
The marching season, which is a very religious time for Protestants, causes a lot of tension between the two religions. I think that all of the above contribute a lot to the tension. But if I was to pick one event, that would be the introduction of the Penal Laws. This was highly discriminative towards Catholics and left them feeling dejected. And to pick one person, that would be Wolfe Tone. Him and the rebellion really scared the Protestants into believing that they wanted to join the Protestant British.
Part 2: In 1988 the Good Friday Agreement promised an end to violence and division. Why is the path to peace still proving difficult to complete?
The Good Friday Agreement was made in 1998 and was meant to bring an end to the violence in Northern Ireland. Many people saw it as a great step forwards towards peace in Northern Ireland. After many years of violence, it gave everybody belief that it would end. Four years later however, there is still no end to the violence. Why is this?
The Good Friday peace deal was made up of five main points:
- A new Northern Ireland assembly with 108 members would be set up. All key decisions would require the consent of both communities in the province.
- A North – South Council of Ministers would also be set up, made up of members of the new assembly and ministers from the Republic.
- There would be a review of policing in Northern Ireland.
- Early release for paramilitary prisoners was promised.
- The Irish government would remove articles 2 and 3 of its constitution, which claimed the North as part of its territory (subject to a referendum of the people of the Republic.)
With the help of Unionists and Nationalists, the Irish and British government wanted to put an end to the violence. Then on the afternoon of Saturday 10th April 1998, the announcement was made that an agreement had been set up. The agreement was only the beginning though. They decided to hold a referendum the following month. The questions that were asked were:
- The people of the Republic and Northern Ireland were asked whether they accepted the Good Friday Agreement.
- The people of the Republic were asked whether they were prepared to allow Articles 2 and 3 of their constitution to be removed. The result was as follows:
The political parties views on the Good Friday Agreement would be very different. Two of the main points in the agreement were:
- The removal of articles 2 and 3.
- The early release of paramilitary prisoners.
The removal of articles 2 and 3 was great news for Unionists. Unionists are a group of people who want Northern Ireland to be separated from Ireland and become part of Britain. The removal of the articles would therefore make the Unionist community happy. The UUP, DUP and the UFF would have been very happy with the outcome. This is because all the talking and fighting that they had done had finally paid off. On the other hand Catholics/Nationalists would have been very disappointed with the outcome. This is because, to them, it would feel as if they have lost part of their country. The IRA and Sinn Fein would have been disgusted. They have been involved in a lot of fighting and talking that in the end has not been worthwhile. Also the SDLP would have been unhappy about the decision. They wanted a unity, a united Ireland but have not got it.
All political parties I think did not want the early release of paramilitary prisoners. I think that all the hard work they did by tracking and catching these people had been undone. It is also unfair on the victim’s families. Some of the peaceful parties, such as the UUP would have seen it from their point of view and would have been equally disgusted. Another point of view is, if all weapons have not been decommissioned, then why release these paramilitary prisoners so they can go and commit more crimes with these weapons. So these are want I think is the view by the political parties on the Good Friday Agreement.
Even though the Good Friday Agreement was made, there have been many tests to the peace process. There have been four main tests. These are:
- The bombings of Omagh and Enniskillen
- The violence at Drumcree
- The IRA ceasefire, how long will it last?
- The refusal so far of the IRA to decommission
In 1987, the IRA set a bomb off at Enniskillen. This was a disaster as it was thought that peace was nearby. The bomb, of which killed eleven people and injured many more, lost a lot of credit and support for the IRA, especially in the Republic and the USA. Then after the Good Friday Agreement had been made in May 1998, the real IRA set off another bomb in August. This bomb was called the Omagh bombing. This bomb again killed and injured many. This bombing was horrific but was maybe a turning point. Because of the number of people that were horrified by the attack, especially in the Republic, there is no place for them to hide. These two bombings have maybe made people unforgiving and distrustful of each other.
There was also a sense of distrust in 1996. Because in July, during the marches, in a neighbourhood called Drumcree, violence erupted. Catholic residents objected to the marches and fighting began. British soldiers had to rush in and separate the two sets of crowds. This again led to the two religions being able to trust each other less. This process slowed down the peace process.
However, things are looking positive. The IRA called a ceasefire in 1994, and despite the Omagh bombing in 1998; the level of violence has decreased. But how long will this last?
In 1995, a joint Framework Document was made and within that, a part of it asked for all groups to have their weapons decommissioned. This included the IRA. But they refused to give up their weapons. This therefore meant that the peace process was held up. Sinn Fein agreed to this, in principle, but the IRA flatly refused. Because of this, Unionists won’t hand their weapons in. This is because they are scared of being attacked by the IRA without weapons. So this again leads to the two sets of groups being unable to trust each other further. And because of this, peace is not yet in sight.
At the moment the future looks grim for Ireland. The Northern Ireland assembly that was made in the Good Friday Agreement is not doing very well. The parties involved in the assembly do not trust each other. The assembly has been suspended four times since the Good Friday Agreement was made and things don’t look like they are getting better. The Protestant parties don’ t trust Sinn Fein. They have accused them of allowing IRA members into Stormont to spy on proceedings. Sinn Fein categorically denies this, but the British Government acted quickly by dissolving the power sharing Northern Ireland Assembly. The Protestant parties say that they cannot trust Sinn Fein and they won’t work with them until their weapons have been decommissioned. Direct rule from Westminster has been re-instated and power now lies again with the British Northern Ireland Secretary. The path to peace is still nowhere near completed. The reason I think for this are the above reasons but I think most importantly is trust, or the lack of it. None of the groups appear to be able to trust each other and unless something drastic happens, they are not going to be able to trust each other in the near future each other.