There appears to be no agreement over who fired the first shot and is still under investigation today. This is an example of how sources that happen a time ago lead on to today and remind people of past violence. This makes people take revenge on the other side.
Unionists fear Home Rule (a measure to give Ireland its own parliament to rule itself, even though Ireland would still be in the British Empire), because if it was to happen the Unionists realised that the majority would outvote them in any Irish parliament and as a result they would have worse living standards. The Protestants did not want this as at the moment they dominate Northern Ireland politically as well as economically. They also feared they would lose their religion as the South of Ireland were Catholic. As a campaign slogan they had “Home Rule is Rome Rule” meaning they would be ruled by the Catholics, and then maybe the Pope (the Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church). They feared the parliamentary nationalists as the had the support of the British since 1914 which meant they would have a large say in how Ireland would be ruled.
In 1916, a Nationalists party called the Irish Republican Brotherhood started a rebellion against British Rule. This took place on Easter Monday. The Easter Rising was not fully supported throughout Ireland; it was a rebellion by activists of Sinn Fein. There was aimless shooting, serious fighting around a post office building (which was the headquarters of the rebels), and Republican Nationalists took over parts of central Dublin. Fourteen leaders were killed. Even though the fighting only lasted a week it inspired and encouraged other Republicans to turning to violence to resist British rule. This event was a result of Irish nationalism during the 19th century. The Unionists see the Easter Rising as a threat because they know if the Nationalists have caused this much violence before, they might do it again. This led to Sinn Feinn getting 73 out of 105 seats in the election in 1918. This proved to the Unionists that Sinn Feinn was a threat as they were prepared to use violence and was winning the majority of Ireland over. The troops had also won over sympathy from the rest of Ireland and this was their first step for independence.
One of the most important short-term causes of the Unionists’ mistrust is the Omagh bombing in 1998. It was horrific and inexcusable. People were appalled by the bombing which was outside a children’s clothes shop and 29 people were killed. Although this was a horrific crime some Unionists saw it as a good sign as republican extremists lost most of their support.
Although things in Ireland seem to be getting worse, some extremist groups do change. One of those is the IRA who were prepared to stop fighting and decommission but are now still causing violence and some of their bombs have killed Unionists which they are not happy about. A contrast is Ian Paisley who hasn’t changed his views once. He is a hard-line Unionist who believes that Ulster should remain part of the United Kingdom. He is not willing to compromise, which prevents a rational debate about any form of power sharing. His son is now in politics and has the same views as his father.
The mistrust is not a one-way thing the Nationalists distrust the Unionists just as much. Plantations are a long-term cause of mistrust.
When the Church of England broke away from the Roman Catholic Church, both Elizabeth I and James I encouraged English and Scottish Protestants to move to Ireland, which is called the ‘Plantation’ of Ulster, in 1603. They mainly lived in the land in the Northwest. But when England broke into a civil war, the Irish Catholics took the chance to rise up against the English and managed to control Ireland between 1642-49. However, Oliver Cromwell dealt harshly and viciously with the rebels by slaughtering the Catholics, this still angers them to this day. By 1691, the English army had defeated the Irish army. Protestants were now in control of Ireland, and ruled the country from their own Parliament in Dublin, but usually under the direction of the Parliament in London, until the English controlled most of the country. As the British owned all the best land even though they lived in England and demanded huge rents from poor Irish farmers the Irish constantly fought against them. After a long battle, Southern Ireland succeeded in breaking away from British rule in 1921, but the 6 counties in the north of Ireland, Ulster, did not. The Catholics are not happy about this situation. They want Ireland to be independent from Britain.. As the Protestants at this time were British, they were able to own most of the land and therefore have most of the power. They managed to rule Ireland even though they were in the minority.
The Battle of the Boyne on 1st July 1690 in eastern Ireland left the Protestant William III (William of Orange) as King of Britain after he defeated the Catholic James II. It meant that the Protestants won the power over the Catholics. There are lots of slogans and paintings in Ireland even now. There are even Orange Order processions to celebrate the Battle of the Boyne. This is a reminder of the Protestant victory and therefore angers the Catholics. Especially when the parade goes through a Catholic area resulting in recent attempts to prevent this by blocking off the route. This is an example of a past event linking to today, as even though the battle was hundreds of years ago there are still marches to this day. This is one of the reasons why the troubles are so hard to forget there are constant reminders. The Orange marches maybe a celebration to the Protestants so they want to forget it, but it turns the Catholics away from them. The marches also remind the Catholics of the laws passed in1965 which restricted their rights.
In 1703, the Catholics hardly owned any of the land (14%) and as the right to vote was linked to land ownership, the Protestants had secure control of the Irish government. This government made up mainly of Protestants) passed penal laws 1697-1727 that seriously limited the Catholic’s rights. As most Nationalists are Catholic, they do not like the Protestants and are still carrying a grudge about the way they were treated in the 1700’s and so they distrust them. However, at this time the Catholics were not happy. So in 1960 the Unionists (led by O’Neil) made equal treatment for all citizens, whatever their religion, nationality or political beliefs, this was called Civil Rights. This is another example of how some events lead to another event.
Nationalists did not want partition in 1921, in fact no one did. This was an attempt at peace but instead caused a civil war against the Nationalists for agreeing to the partition.
Whilst studying Northern Ireland I have noticed that all the cause go back to the past and no one is willing to forget the past. It may be easier to forget the past if Northern Ireland wasn’t so divided. There are many divisions in society including education, religion and employment. Children’s parents are often very influential on them and if the child’s parents do not associate with Unionists or Protestants, the chances are the child won’t either.
The problems are economical, political and enviromental.
Another problem that became apparent to me was that one cause often caused something else. For example Bloody Sunday, which happened in 1972, is still under investigation today, so people will never forget what happened. When a certain group remembers a certain event they often want to take action against it, this action is usually violence. For example Protestants opposed Home Rule so they took action (Easter Rising).
There have been times when Britain has tried to solve the troubles between Northern Ireland, The Good Friday Agreement, but this has just resulted in more violence and has not worked.
I think the main cause for so much troubles in Northern Ireland, is the British. If they had not brought Protestants into Ireland, then there wouldn’t be half as much bother. I have decided there will never be peace in Northern Ireland no matter how hard people to try, because not everyone will always be happy. We have to remember though, that although there is a lot of violence in Northern Ireland, there are also good things going on everyday.
