In 1921 Ireland was divided into two, when the British government decided to release part of Ireland, this was then known as the Republic of Ireland or Eire. However some of Ireland remained part of the UK and was known as Northern Ireland or Ulster. Some nationalists were happy as they saw it closer to a united Ireland but some felt like they had been sold out. Some Unionists were happy as they remained under UK rule, but yet again some felt like Ireland had been sold out. This was dramatic turning point for them, as many people from this point on died fighting for their religious or political believes.
There are lots of political and paramilitary groups that class themselves as Unionist/Loyalist:
- DUP- Democratic Unionist Party (Extreme)
This party has the most seats in Stormont Assembly at the present time and is run by Ian Paisley making him the first Minster of Ireland and the power-sharing executive. However very recently Ian Paisley has declared his retirement, however it is not yet known who will take his place. The DUP are a extreme political party, and refused for a long time to sign the Good Friday agreement, as they believed it sold out the unionists. The DUP would never agree to anything that gave Republicans or Nationalists any more power than they have at this present moment.
- UUP- Ulster Unionist Party (Moderate)
This party is run by David Trimble and is a moderate party who believe in more peaceful methods. They used to have a lot of seats at Stormont Assembly but lost its seats to DUP over recent years. The UUP although a moderate group would never want Northern Ireland to become part of the Republic of Ireland.
- UVF - Ulster Volunteer Force (paramilitary)
The UVF is paramilitary group that is very prone to using violence to achieve its targets. The UVF would be outraged if Northern Ireland became part of the Republic Of Ireland, as they would feel betrayed by not only the UUP and the DUP but also buy the British government.
- UFF – Ulster Freedom Fighters (paramilitary)
The UFF is another paramilitary that is very prone to using violence to achieve its goals. The UFF would also be outraged and would also feel betrayed and would be likely turn to violence again and break the ceasefire.
- LVF – Loyalist Volunteer Force (Splinter group)
The LVF is a splinter group of the UVF. The LVF was created by a man called Billy Wright, he was thrown out of the UVF for breaking the ceasefire. The LVF was a very extreme paramilitary group. Billy Wright was seen on stage with Ian Paisley leader of the DUP but the two groups were never related like the IRA and Sinn Fein. Being an even more extreme group, there reaction would be much worse. It is likely that they would soon turn to violence to ensure that it didn’t happen.
The Orange Order was created to celebrate William of Oranges defeat over James II at the battle of the Boyne. The Orange Order marches down Catholic streets which they claim is for “historic reasons.” However doing this has caused many problems and riots before.
However there are also lots of Nationalist/Loyalist political parties and paramilitary groups.
- IRA – Irish Republican Army (Paramilitary)
The IRA is one of the best-known groups in the Irish Conflict. The IRA is a famous extreme paramilitary group that uses violence to achieve the goals they want. The IRA took a long time to decommission weapons, this caused many problems as the assembly wouldn’t sit until the IRA decommissioned all of their weapons. The IRA employed an independent witness, US politician George Mitchell to prove the IRA was decommissioning weapons.
- Real IRA (Splinter Group)
The Real IRA is a splinter group of the IRA. They splintered off because they didn’t agree with the ceasefire or the Good Friday Agreement. They are well known for continuing in terrorist acts whilst the ceasefire is in place. The real IRA is not happy with what they have at the moment with Northern Ireland as they want the whole of Ireland as one republic.
- SDLP- Social Democratic Labour Party (Moderate)
The SDLP is run by a man called Mark Durkan. It is the main democratic Nationalist party in Northern Ireland. SDLP used to have a lot of seats at Stormont Assembly but lost them to Sinn Fein. The SDLP is totally committed to only ever using peaceful methods
Sinn Fein is another extreme party and is well known for representing the IRA. The leader of Sinn Fein is a man called Gerry Adams. Sinn Fein itself is Gaelic for “We Ourselves Alone” this itself describes their viewpoint and their beliefs. Sinn Fein has the second largest number of seats in Stormont Assembly.
The important thing to remember is that views above are generalised and not everybody feels the same. With all the different views, it is easy to understand why the peace process took so long, and there are still problems and may be more violence in the future.
By Sam Edwards