The Troubles (Ireland)

The Troubles (1969-1997) was the name given to a violent religious-political conflict that was centred on Northern Ireland, but also saw violence in the Republic of Ireland, Great Britain and mainland Europe. The origins of the Troubles can be traced back to the Middle Ages and the plantation of Ulster, beginning in 1607, which resulted in a mainly Protestant Ulster-Scots culture in conflict with the mainly Catholic Gaelic-Irish culture of Ulster.

During the Irish War of Independence, the island of Ireland was partitioned into two states in 1921. The Irish Free State (later to become the Republic of Ireland) comprised 26 of the 32 traditional counties of Ireland, while Northern Ireland was formed from the remaining six counties. The nature of the partition ensured that the majority of the population of Northern Ireland was Protestant and Unionist - loyal to the United Kingdom, of which it was regarded as a "Home Country".

See also

• Tony Blair
• Northern Ireland
• Northern Ireland, history

Bibliography

• Beggan, Dominic M. "State Repression and Political Violence: Insurgency in Northern Ireland." International Journal on World Peace. (2006) 23#4 pp 61+ online edition at Questia
• Bell, J. Bowyer. The Irish Troubles: A Generation of Violence, 1967-1992. 1993
• Tonge, John. Northern Ireland Conflict and Change. (2nd ed. 2002)