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| Ireland and the Coflict in Northern Ireland
Ireland and the Coflict in Northern Ireland
Ireland and the Conflict in
Northern Ireland
Ireland is an island, of the British Isles, the
westernmost and second largest of the group, in the North Atlantic Ocean, and
separated from Great Britain by St George`s Channel on the southeast, the Irish
Sea on the east, and the North Channel on the northeast. Politically, the island
is divided into Northern Ireland, a constituent part of Great Britain, and the
Republic of Ireland, formerly Eire. The area of the island is 84,431 sq km in
extent. The population of the island was 1997 5,3 millions.
The land
The eastern coast of Ireland is comparatively regular;
the western coast is fringed by steep cliffs, and hundreds of small islands. The
chief features are a region of lowlands, occupying the central and east central
sections. Carrantuohill (1,041 m), located in the southwestern section of the
island, is the highest point in Ireland. The principal rivers of Ireland are the
Erne and the Shannon. The flora of Ireland comes largely from Britain and also
the Irish fauna does not differ markedly from that of Britain.
Climate
The climate of Ireland is mild and damp throughout the
year. The prevailing westerly winds from the warm Gulf Stream are largely
responsible for the lack of extreme summer heat and winter
cold.
Natural Resources
The most valuable natural resources of Ireland are its
fertile soils and rich pasturelands. Natural waterpower is abundant. The chief
minerals are basalt, limestone, sand and gravel, granite, chalk, clay, and
shale.
Agriculture
Small owner-occupied farms predominate in Ireland.
Livestock farming is most important; most of the land is under pasture, but the
majority of farms combine crop production with animals. Sheep and cattle are
grazed on the moorland areas.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the leading sector of the economy after
services. Traditionally, the manufacture of textiles and clothing has been one
of the leading industries, but today the production of aircraft, ships and
footwear grows more important.
Population
The majority of the people are the descendants of Scots
or English settlers who crossed from the mainland of the United Kingdom to
north-eastern Ireland after 1607. The remainder of the population is descended
from the original Irish inhabitants, principally those native to the province of
Ulster.
History
From 1169 Britain starts to conquer Ireland.
1541 Heinrich VIII. from England crowns himself to king
of Ireland.
1649 is the year of Cromwells
devastating campaign against the irish catholic rebels, whose properties are
seized.
1845-1851 there is a great hunger because of the
infestation of the potatos by some kind of pest. Nearly one third of the
population dies.
1916 the Republic of Ireland is
founded.
1918-1923 The irish republicans make their own
parliament. As an reaction the britisch government sends troops to the Northern
Ireland to fight against the IRA that wants to stop the seperatation of Northern
Ireland from the Republic of Ireland.
1949 The Republic of Ireland leaves the britisch
commonwealth.
1967-1972: A time of growing
violence. The climax is reached on the bloody sunday 1972 when 13 nationalists
are killed by British soldiers.
1973 The Republic of Ireland joins the
EU.
The Conlict in Northern Ireland
The Irish war for independence started in the
12th Century, with the first Anglo-normanic conquests and ended with
the founding of the Irish Free State, which is also called Republic of Ireland,
in the year 1922. Because of the massacres on both sides in the year 1921 the
erstwhile prime minister Lloyd George started talkings with the Sinn
Féin. After five months of discussions both sides arranged, that the
Irish Free State should be founded, to which 26 of the total 32 counties belong.
The other six shires united to the political union of North Ireland and were
from now on a part of the United Kingdom.
In 1949, when Eire became the Republic of Ireland, the
British Parliament affirmed the status of Northern Ireland as part of the United
Kingdom unless its own Parliament decided otherwise. In 1955, however,
irregulars of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) began a campaign of terrorism
aimed at securing the union of Northern Ireland with the
republic.
From the beginning, Catholics in Northern Ireland were a
disadvantaged minority in matters of employment, housing, education, and
effective cultural and political participation - a situation which the British
government failed significantly to address. In 1968 an active and articulate
civil rights movement emerged to protest this discrimination, often provoking
violent reactions within the Protestant Community. British troops, sent to
Northern Ireland in 1969 to help the local police, became a permanent presence,
maintaining British authority and limiting Protestant reaction - but also
becoming the focus of terrorist attacks.
In 1972 the British government suspended the Northern
Ireland Parliament and imposed direct rule. Violence for example bombings
increased in the following years. Two Belfast women, Mairead Corrigan and Betty
Williams, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for working to reconcile
Northern Ireland`s religious communities.
As the 1990s began, British troops were still patrolling
the streets of Londonderry and Belfast, and the Provisional IRA continued to
launch sporadic terrorist attacks on British civilians and military personnel in
the British Isles and continental Europe. In September 1993 the British
government began bilateral talks with three of the four parties (the Democratic
Unionists refused to join in). Three months later, on December 15, 1993, the
British and Irish prime ministers signed the Downing Street Declaration, a
statement of fundamental principles with regard to the future of the
province.
On August 31, 1994, the Provisional IRA announced a
complete cessation of its military Operations, ending 25 years of fighting. In
December 1994, the British government held its first public talks with Sinn
Fein. The cease-fire held into 1995, despite severe strains at times. The
failure of the Provisional IRA to hand over its arms delayed the start of
all-party talks including Sinn Fein. However, during the year, the British
government first scaled down the number of troops in Northern Ireland, and then,
in March, ended routine patrols of British troops in the province. Then the
British and Irish governments issued a framework document for all-party talks On
a durable settlement in Northern Ireland.
In 1997 Tony Blair`s Labour Party sweeps Conservatives
out of office. The IRA announces a new cease-fire. Two months later Sinn Fein
joins multi-party peace talks in September. Blair meets with Sinn Fein chairman
Gerry Adams in London.
1998: Britain announces an independent inquiry into the
Bloody Sunday killings of 1972. Violent actions between splinter groups kills 18
people. George Mitchell sets a deadline of April 9th for
agreement.
April 10, 1998: 17 hours after a deadline set by
Mitchell, all parties announce a deal has been struck.
Till the 14th of August peace seemed to return to
Ireland to Northern Ireland but then an
other bomb exploded in a busy shopping street of Omagh.
„It was the deadliest sectarien attack in Northern Ireland´s 30 years
of Catholic-Protestant conflict. The blast came less than three month after
voter in both parts of Ireland overwhelmingly approved plans for a new Northern
Ireland government with power shared between its majority Protestants and
minority Catholics.“
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