On the other hand, those living in The Republic of Ireland are generally referred to as Nationalists, or simply Republicans. They are all for Ireland, and only Ireland, and hence they do not believe in the separatism of Northern Ireland. Instead they want their neighbours to rejoin Ireland, so they can all be one united nation.
As they only believe in Ireland, nationalists go to extreme lengths to get their views across, not the most friendly, however influential to some extent. In 1919, The Irish Republican Army (IRA) was set up, it’s members being Irish volunteers. They engaged in a guerilla campaign in which they used violent, military tactics such as ambushes, raids and sabotages to fight a vulnerable target. Their target being the British Government as well as its forces in Ireland, to try and convince them to stop the union with Northern Ireland. This war, known as The Irish War of Independence lasted 2 years, in which several 750 civilians were killed, which is often the case in any form of violent conflict. This also led to a death toll of almost 2000 belligerents. During this war, 4000 members of the Ulster Special Constabulary fighting with the United Kingdom against Ireland were also killed.
In 1921, both parties agreed to a ceasefire however violence still continued, mainly throughout Northern Ireland. For over thirty years, the conflict between nationalists and unionists within Northern Ireland led to a large amount of recurring violence, known as the 'Troubles', which began in the late 1960s. In all, 3254 people were killed. One of the worst events in Northern Ireland's history was in 1972, known as Bloody Sunday in which 26 innocent people were killed by the British Army. Individuals and their families were also put under interment by the IRA. This is the detention of people without trial, usually in prisons this method of torture began in 1971, and lasted for 4 long years, until eventually ending in 1975.
Eventually in April 1998, The Good Friday Agreement was established. This is a political agreement in the Northern Ireland peace process, which sought to address a multi-party agreement throughout Northern Ireland, relationships between Northern Ireland and the Republic, as well as an international agreement between the British and Irish Governments. An overall of this agreement has been condensed on the attached sheets (see Resource 1). Unfortunately, the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) was the only major political party in Northern Ireland to oppose the Agreement. In the agreement, the United Kingdom were to move British troops from Ireland and to initiate talks between these in North Ireland and the Republic, on setting up a government without resorting to violence.
Following the agreement, the Irish Republican Army eventually decommissioned their weapons in 2002, although they had frequently refused to so so in previous years. This is mainly because the United Kingdom were refusing to provide services for them such as trade, which is a large income in The Republic of Ireland. Those living in Northern Ireland could also become citizens of both the United Kingdom or Ireland.
On May 8, 2007 the leaders of the Democratic Unionist Party, and Sinn Fein – the republican party were sworn in as 'leader' and 'deputy leader', respectively, of the Northern Ireland Executive Government, and hence resolving the over longing conflict between Eire and Ulster – some would say. Since 2007, it seems that tensions have eased, however, I think that certain issues may begin another uprising in years to come. Although these two groups who were once enemies in war terms, are now working together; negotiating with each other, I think that the history between them is bound to trigger an unrest of the current peace. Maybe the upcoming Olympics may be the trigger, who knows? Whatever it is, hopefully it will not be as big as the conflict beforehand.
People in both Eire and Ulster have shown signs of union-ship, i.e. In Northern Ireland, there are many peace walls which say things such as 'prepared for peace'. Unfortunately, the wall also says 'ready for war'. This suggests that the conflict between Northern Ireland will also be a reminder to the several years of unrest for civilians, and hence they will be willing to fight for their ancestors, whether this means a war between the Republicans or just prejudice against them. (See Fig. 3)
Honestly, I think that there is not anything that can be done in the future to ensure peace. I think these two countries may be working in harmony together - through their political leaders, however, the two groups will never be associated with peace, no matter what lengths people go to. All we can do as geographers, is aim to think of methods to maintain this harmony, and help these countries not to regress back to the troubled times. But to ensure there is a sustainable concord in tact, for now at least.
