Conflict in Ireland

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Question 1 - The Conflict In Ireland

There has been conflict in Ireland for almost five hundred years between Catholic nationalists and Protestant unionists. It commenced in the 16th century when James I wanted to anglicise Ireland as Britain was a Protestant province, they felt threatened by Ireland, as it was Catholic. The settlement of Protestants in Ireland caused a deep division between religions. The unionists controlled the Irish government, keeping the language and the religion they brought with them. The laws passed in Ireland were biased in favour of the unionists, this lead to discrimination towards Catholics. As the years passed, two clear groups were formed; the members of these two groups were defrenciated by their beliefs. Catholics wanted their own government and desired to be free from Britain. Protestants wished for an Ireland united with Britain and its government. In 1914 Home Rule was introduced, this was seen as a step forward through the eyes of Nationalists, however conservatives and lords did not agree with it, Home Rule was later postponed due to the First World War. Revolutionary Nationalists used violent methods to achieve a free Ireland; a famous terrorist group formed were named the IRA, which were also feared by unionists. In 1921, partition of Ireland meant that Ireland was now divided into North and South. North continually being united with Britain and the South earning their own independent country, however this was not the final solution to end further conflict.

A series of events followed to structure the peaceful Ireland we have today, these include The Easter Rising, The Deployment of British Troops and Bloody Sunday.

The Easter Rising, 1916

The Easter Rising was a part of the movement towards Irish independence, it was a rebellion situated in Ireland during Easter Week 1916, it was the most significant uprising in Ireland since 1798. Schoolteacher and barrister Patrick Pierce and Irish citizen army leader, James Connolly, carried out the Easter Rising, both leaders obtained strong, catholic nationalist views and were collectively well known as ‘The Rebels’.

When the First World War broke out in 1914, Ireland was called upon by Britain to go to war against Germany; many Nationalists postponed their campaigning and became soldiers of Britain. Fighting was strongly looked down upon by extreme nationalists, including Pierce and Connolly who still continued to seek independence, or at least to re-establish Home Rule. James Connolly believed that dying and murdering for Britain was seen as risking both yours and other lives for a foreign country that did not merit their allegiance. James Connolly: ‘We have no foreign enemy except the treacherous government of England – a government that even whilst it is calling us to die for it, refuses to give a straight answer to our demand for home rule’.

The coincidental occurrence of the First World War played in slight favour of the rebels, England was at war. British Soldiers were cut down by a large amount, their priorities laid in Germany. Members of the two nationalist groups, the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army planned to take over Dublin and declare Ireland an independent republic. The nationalists requested approximately 20,000 rifles and ammunitions from Germany to fight the British army, however this played in favour of the British troops as the ship that transported the weapons was captured by The British Navy. Those who persuaded Germans to send arms were arrested; this meant that the British troops discovered the plans for the uprising. There were approximately 1,600 nationalist soldiers and 15,000 British armed forces; the rebels were out-numbered 1:10 and did not have many types of ammunition, however Pierce and Connolly insisted the rising must still be carried out. Connolly was prepared to die in a ‘blood sacrifice’.

Easter Monday, 1916, was arguably the core of the rising; the rebels conquered the General Post Office and declared Ireland an Independent Republic, The Post Office was then used as their foundation throughout the rising. British troops arrived in large quantities, however this did not intimidate the nationalists, tactics were used against the British which enabled the civil war to continue throughout the entire week, gradually what was known as Sackville Street became ruins.

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The Irish nationalist leader James Connolly was shot twice, 300 innocent civilians, 60 rebels and 130 British soldiers lost their lives during the course of the rising – over 2,000 were injured.

As a result of the rising, Ireland was temporarily declared an independent republic, although the intention of the rising in the eyes of the rebels was seen as an event to aid Ireland, many people, mainly consisting of civilians, were angry and frustrated at the rebels as many innocent families were encountering losses. Once the rebels had surrendered, the British captured those who had a big input ...

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