This battle resulted in many consequences. The rivalry and hatred between the unsuccessful Catholics and the victorious Protestants grew, and this ultimately led to all the following disputes and disagreements. The “Penal Laws”, which the Protestant parliament passed in 1691, were also a huge consequence. In Ireland, the "Penal Laws" is the name given to the code of laws passed by the Protestant Parliament of Ireland which regulated the status of Roman Catholics through most of the eighteenth century. The declared purpose of the Irish Penal Laws was to take away any power that the Catholics had, both political and economic. The ideal was to entice the Catholic population into Protestantism. A Catholic could avoid the oppressive effects of these laws, but the Protestant leaders made this very difficult for them to do so. By deliberately defining the politically powerful and the oppressed, on the basis of religion, these laws had a profound effect, not only on the eighteenth century, but on the subsequent history of Ireland to the present day.
On 24th April 1916, an armed force of over 1000 Irish people attempted to seize Dublin and overthrow British rule and create an entirely independent Irish republic. In many ways, the Easter rising was a success. The English became very worried about losing support from their allies, the USA. However, the Easter Rising also had large consequences; the main of these consequences was the deepened separation of the Irish citizens, which soon became “The Partition of Ireland”.
The Partition of Ireland was prominent between 1920 and 1922. As the Easter Rising had meant Sinn Fein won a majority of Parliament, and this led to Sinn Fein setting up a Government and becoming linked to the IRA in 1919. The Sinn Fein leader believed Britain was blocking Ireland’s independence, and wanted to them to withdraw. The British Government considered introducing conscription to Ireland, and the IRA and the RIC began brutally fighting. Eventually, British rule was ignored, and the IRA began war in 1919. The Prime Minister was busy trying to make peace, and in 1920, a Government of Ireland act was introduced. However, this ended in 1921, splitting the country in two. The British then gained control of the military, and Ireland rejected war. However, much fighting and violence had taken place before this point, and much more was to come. Many lives had been lost from the destruction from both the IRA and the RIC. The nationalists and unionists continued to fight, and conflict was very prevalent. The IRA blew up a train, killing many innocent people, and this became a frequent occurrence. Many bombs, such as car bombs and nail bombs were set off, and unfortunately, this has continued into recent times.
The Catholics suffered greatly because of all the violence. They were rejected and discriminated against in areas such as politics and employment. Because of this, levels of unemployment rose fast, and soon there was much poverty amongst the Catholic community. Sinn Fein became more and more popular, as supporting them was the only way the Catholics got a say. However, both Catholics and Protestants suffered at the hands of the worldwide economic depression, and this became even worse in 1929, when the Wall Street Crash happened. This just made problems worse, as money became even tighter and there was more competition and, because of this, more fighting.
The continued troubles in Ireland led to a new war between the Irish and the English, which lasted from 1919 to 1921. During this Anglo-Irish war, terrible crimes were committed by both the Blacks and Tans and the IRA. The Prime Minister at the time, David Lloyd George, became desperate for a solution, and so he sent representatives of Sinn Fein to London to have discussions with the British Government. As a result of these discussions, the Government of Ireland Act and the Anglo-Irish Treaty were created.
The Government of Ireland Act divided Ireland into two territories; and . Both were self-governing, except in areas specifically reserved to the : chief amongst these were matters relating to the Crown, to defence, foreign affairs, international trade, and currency.
Southern Ireland was to be all of Ireland except for "the parliamentary counties of , , , , and , and the parliamentary boroughs of and " which were to constitute "". This of Ireland was an attempt by the British Government to reconcile the demand by for home rule and that by that home rule not be conceded.
Northern Ireland as defined by the Act, amounting to six of the nine counties of , was seen as the maximum area within which unionists could be expected to be in a majority. Northern Ireland had a parliament in Belfast, which would be subsidiary to the government and parliament of the United Kingdom.
This agreement led to harsh disputes amongst Nationalists as it accepted the partition of Ireland, and encouraged it, and this did not set up a free republic. Instead, by Anglo-Irish treaty, it established and Irish Free State in Southern Ireland; the 26 counties were separate from the UK, but still within the Commonwealth.
Most were content with this, but many Republicans were not, and civil war continued in Southern Ireland. Across the country, the IRA split in factions for and against the treaty. Those for the treaty became the new national army, while those against it were still rebels. The conflict against Irish oppression had evolved into an internal Civil War that would last a bloody ten months.
On August 22, 1922, Michael Collins, who signed the treaty, and associates, were ambushed at a place known as Beal na mBlath. Michael, however, was the only person killed. It is still unknown who killed him.
Consequently, Ireland was still divided, and has remained this way ever since. Republicans were still unsatisfied with the differences between Catholics and Protestants always being highlighted, and this caused yet more problems. Catholics living in the Protestant dominated Northern Ireland were left in appalling conditions, and were discriminated against and treated terribly by the Protestants. The Protestants living in Southern Ireland suffered the same problems. This caused more hatred and dispute between the two religions, and arguments about a united Ireland continued, and are still happening within the country today. The Protestants living in Ulster are determined to control Northern Ireland, causing further disputes. It seems that the partition of Ireland, which was introduced to end fighting and attempt to form a peaceful country, has caused the citizens of Ireland more harm than it has good.
Seventy years after the Partition of Ireland, in 1968, disputes had worsened. Catholics in the North or Ireland had begun to complain about the lack of equal rights between themselves and the Protestants, and after gaining inspiration from the American people, Civil Rights marches began in July. The Catholics would no longer accept being treated as second-class citizens to the Protestants. The protests were against the discrimination the Catholics faced when applying for Jobs, sending their children to school, buying houses and when voting. A lot of Gerrymandering (manipulation of votes) took place, as rules were created which stated a person could only vote if the voter was a homeowner. And, due to the discrimination they faced, Catholics couldn’t buy houses, and therefore, couldn’t vote in an attempt to change the situation they were in. It was a vicious circle.
The reaction to the Civil Rights movement was extremely violent, and the large amount of media attention it was attracting was only worsening the situation. Protestants lived in constant fear of the return of the IRA, and the working class Protestants were angered by, and resented the fact that it seemed only the Catholics were portrayed to be suffering hardships. The People’s Democracy March of January 1969 entered sensitive areas of the country, stirring Protestant hostility, and dramatically increasing the level of violence at the demonstrations. By August of the same year, the violent behaviour had escalated to extreme levels. The parade in itself was intended to be peaceful, but violence began after Loyalists threw pennies at the Catholics.
The riot which followed was incredible, with police facing a storm of missiles and petrol bombs. This riot escalated, and ultimately became a battle, which became known as the “Battle of the Bogside”. Eventually, it became an unbelievably violent area; police were unable to enter, making it the first of Northern Ireland’s “no-go” areas.
In consequence, by August 1969, British troops were brought back to Ireland in an attempt to resolve the violence. By December, the provisional IRA had formed, and the bombing campaigns began. The Unionists formed their own paramilitary units, the UDA, UDF and UFF. The violence caused by these groups was extremely devastating. Many lives were lost, and it affected even the innocent.
As a long term consequence, there was an enormous escalation in the use of violence as a political weapon. This lead to bad relationships between protesters and the police, then later bad relationships the army had also developed with the protesters. The Catholics were being blamed for the violence, even though their marches were of a peaceful nature, and they were just trying to gain themselves equal rights. The violence heightened and the development in violence and attacks continued to be carried out by both sides’ paramilitary groups.
Unfortunately, this violence is still present today. Bombs are still being used, over 35 years later. Any trust there may have been between the Catholics and the Protestants was shattered, and fear became a huge part of daily life for everyone – not just physical fear, but fear of hidden motives and plots of violence, and the people of Ireland are terrified constantly. The society and the people of Ireland still seek self-confidence, and it is apparent that despondency has overcome hopes for the future. The paramilitaries destroyed many lives, and even today it seems they continue to control how many people live. The segregation of the people is the main problem still though.
In my opinion, all of the events which have occurred in Ireland over the past four centuries are highly significant, and have all played a key role in the formation of the violence in Ireland today. However, I feel the most influential were the Battle of the Boyne and the Partition of Ireland.
The Battle of the Boyne was the starting point of all the conflicts. It embedded hatred deep into the population of Ireland, and this hasn’t been forgotten, even to this day. All of the following events are ‘ripples in the pond’, worsening each time.
I also feel that the Partition of Ireland had a huge effect on the violence and conflicts. The partition created a ‘final divide’, and highlighted even further the extent to which the Protestants and Catholics despised each other. As well as heightening the hatred which was present, new hatred was created. Discrimination towards Catholics was made much worse, and although it isn’t as serious today, is still present. More political groups were created, meaning more violence was created as more and more people became involved with the protests. The established political groups had stronger feelings and they became more passionate about their beliefs and views. This, once again, caused more violence. It also heightened the feeling of Protestant rule over the Catholics in Northern Ireland, which started battles for the Civil Rights of Catholics. This led to further violence and conflicts.
For these reasons, I feel the partition of Ireland is a particularly key events in the causes to Irelands conflict, with the greatest consequences, as without it, many of the following events, such as petrol bombs and ‘no-go’ areas being created, wouldn’t have taken place.