kainedamo
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In the 17th Century, the British came to Ireland and confiscated native owned land, settiling them with English and Scottish Protestants. There was two bloody conflicts in the 17th Century at this time, between 1641-53 and 1689-91. Penal laws were introduced which curtailed the religious, legal and political rights of anyone (including both Catholics and Presbyterians) who did not conform to the state church. Some restrictions were lifted, and in the1780s Catholics were allowed to rent land. The Orange Order, which still exists today, was created to seperate Catholics and Protestants into seperate antagonistic groups. Skipping some bits of history, in 1919 the IRA started a guerilla campaign against the British. At the end of this conflict in 1921, an uneasy truce was made where the south and north of Ireland split. The north remaining under British rule.
(From wiki) The Troubles are often acknowledged to have begun in 1968, when widespread rioting and public disorder broke out at the marches of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association. This group launched a peaceful civil rights campaign in 1967, which was largely modeled on the American Civil Rights Movement of Martin Luther King and others in the United States. The NICRA, was seeking a redress of Catholic and nationalist grievances with the Northern state. Specifically, they wanted an end to the gerrymandering of electoral constituencies that produced unrepresentative local councils by putting all Catholics in a limited number of electoral wards; the abolition of the rate-payer franchise in local government elections, which gave Protestants (who tended to be richer) disproportionate voting power; an end to perceived unfair allocation of jobs and housing; and an end to the Special Powers Act (which allowed for internment and other repressive measures) that was seen as being aimed at the nationalist community.
Initially, Terence O'Neill, the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, reacted favourably to this agitation. However, he was opposed by many hardline unionists, including William Craig and Ian Paisley who accused him of being a "sell out". Violence broke at several Civil Rights marches, when Loyalists (often led by Rev. Paisely) attacked civil rights demonstrators with clubs while the Royal Ulster Constabulary, which was widely accused of supporting the loyalists, was accused of allowing the violence to occur. Much of the hostile loyalist popular reaction to the Civil Rights Movement was linked to the ability of leaders to provoke fear within the Unionist populace that the IRA was not only behind the NICRA, but was also planning a renewed armed campaign. In fact, the IRA was moribund, had few weapons and was increasingly committed to non-violent politics. The first bombing campaign of the Troubles 9largely directed against power stations and other infrastructure) was staged by the Loyalist UVF in 1969 to try and implicate the IRA.
Now that's an interesting piece of history for ya!!
The civil rights movement is seen by many unionists as the cause of the Troubles. They argue that it led to a destabilisation of government and created a void filled later by paramilitary groups. Others, mainly though not exclusively nationalist, argue that the civil rights campaign, and the opposition to it by Ian Paisley and other loyalists, was merely a symptom of a sectarian system of government that was itself inherently corrupt and prone to collapse.
So many people tend to blame the IRA for the troubles here. But when you think about it, we needed the IRA. We really, really did. We couldn't protest peacefully. We were 2nd class citizens. What else could we do? So in the 70s the IRA led an armed campaign against the British. The 70s and 80s are seen as the worst period of the troubles.
Present day - Catholics have a much more equal footing with Protestands. More or less, we are equal. Legally, politically equal and free to express ourselves religiously. Thanks to the hard work of a few good men, and thanks to the public that has grown tired of the heartache and fighting, the IRA have given up their guns and have stated that they are fully behind democracy, our country is alot better both economically and in terms of trouble.
I don't think alot of people realise the truth of the past. the Loyalists treated us like dirt. That doesn't mean that we should still be bitter and that we should still wage war, because I don't believe that. We have the democratic means to achieve what we want, violence would only set us back. I just think the Unionist polititians behave in a very disgraceful manner. They seem so opposed to any form of progress. They were opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, when the Good Friday Agreement is the best thing that happened to this country in years. They try to say that Catholics are the only ones to reap the benifits. Why do they do that?? They are always ALWAYS making it about us vs them. I hate politicians. I'm not a bigoted person. I'm really not. But I do think Unionist politicians from the DUP are selfish scum.
(From wiki) The Troubles are often acknowledged to have begun in 1968, when widespread rioting and public disorder broke out at the marches of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association. This group launched a peaceful civil rights campaign in 1967, which was largely modeled on the American Civil Rights Movement of Martin Luther King and others in the United States. The NICRA, was seeking a redress of Catholic and nationalist grievances with the Northern state. Specifically, they wanted an end to the gerrymandering of electoral constituencies that produced unrepresentative local councils by putting all Catholics in a limited number of electoral wards; the abolition of the rate-payer franchise in local government elections, which gave Protestants (who tended to be richer) disproportionate voting power; an end to perceived unfair allocation of jobs and housing; and an end to the Special Powers Act (which allowed for internment and other repressive measures) that was seen as being aimed at the nationalist community.
Initially, Terence O'Neill, the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, reacted favourably to this agitation. However, he was opposed by many hardline unionists, including William Craig and Ian Paisley who accused him of being a "sell out". Violence broke at several Civil Rights marches, when Loyalists (often led by Rev. Paisely) attacked civil rights demonstrators with clubs while the Royal Ulster Constabulary, which was widely accused of supporting the loyalists, was accused of allowing the violence to occur. Much of the hostile loyalist popular reaction to the Civil Rights Movement was linked to the ability of leaders to provoke fear within the Unionist populace that the IRA was not only behind the NICRA, but was also planning a renewed armed campaign. In fact, the IRA was moribund, had few weapons and was increasingly committed to non-violent politics. The first bombing campaign of the Troubles 9largely directed against power stations and other infrastructure) was staged by the Loyalist UVF in 1969 to try and implicate the IRA.
Now that's an interesting piece of history for ya!!
The civil rights movement is seen by many unionists as the cause of the Troubles. They argue that it led to a destabilisation of government and created a void filled later by paramilitary groups. Others, mainly though not exclusively nationalist, argue that the civil rights campaign, and the opposition to it by Ian Paisley and other loyalists, was merely a symptom of a sectarian system of government that was itself inherently corrupt and prone to collapse.
So many people tend to blame the IRA for the troubles here. But when you think about it, we needed the IRA. We really, really did. We couldn't protest peacefully. We were 2nd class citizens. What else could we do? So in the 70s the IRA led an armed campaign against the British. The 70s and 80s are seen as the worst period of the troubles.
Present day - Catholics have a much more equal footing with Protestands. More or less, we are equal. Legally, politically equal and free to express ourselves religiously. Thanks to the hard work of a few good men, and thanks to the public that has grown tired of the heartache and fighting, the IRA have given up their guns and have stated that they are fully behind democracy, our country is alot better both economically and in terms of trouble.
I don't think alot of people realise the truth of the past. the Loyalists treated us like dirt. That doesn't mean that we should still be bitter and that we should still wage war, because I don't believe that. We have the democratic means to achieve what we want, violence would only set us back. I just think the Unionist polititians behave in a very disgraceful manner. They seem so opposed to any form of progress. They were opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, when the Good Friday Agreement is the best thing that happened to this country in years. They try to say that Catholics are the only ones to reap the benifits. Why do they do that?? They are always ALWAYS making it about us vs them. I hate politicians. I'm not a bigoted person. I'm really not. But I do think Unionist politicians from the DUP are selfish scum.
