Unit 2 A Brief Introduction to the United Kingdom IIMajor PointsPopulation and physical features of Northern IrelandHistory of Northern IrelandTroublesSolutionsNorthern Ireland TodayIt is the smallest of the four nations with 1,775,000 people in 2021. Physically, it is mostly rural, with low hills, a beautiful lakes district in the south-west, and a rugged coastline.Population and Physical FeaturesThe Most Famous Landmark in Northern Ireland-the Giants CausewayIt is a rocky promontory made up of black hexagonal columns formed by cooling lava millions of years ago.Legend has it that the giant Finn MacCool built it to cross the sea to Scotland.In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, the Giants Causeway was named as the fourth greatest natural wonder in the United Kingdom .It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986.Northern IrelandA Land of TroublesEconomical Problems Political ProblemsConflicts between Protestants and Roman CatholicsConflicts between Unionists /Royalists and nationalists/RepublicansEtc.History Ireland has been divided by a long and bloody conflict as a result of Irelands colonial history.From the time of Queen Elizabeth I (from the late 1590s), the new settlers (Loyalists and Protestants) were granted land, position, and privileges which had been systematically taken away from the indigenous, Roman Catholic population.This results in a systematic and ingrained resentment of the British which is almost endemic in the native Irish culture which is evident even today.Irelands Colonial History The whole island of Ireland have been politically integrated with Great Britain since 1801. Until 1921 the full name of the UK was “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, not only “Northern Ireland.In 1921, the southern 26 counties formed an independent “free state, while the 6 north-eastern counties remained part of the UK. 6 Counties of Northern Ireland Northern Ireland consists of six historic counties: County Antrim, County Armagh, County Down, County Fermanagh, County Londonderry, County Tyrone.Pursuing Irish independence: political conflictHowever, Irish desires for an independent Irish state were never lost. They campaigned in parliament for the “home-rule, Irish political control of Irish affairs.Besides political campaign, some other groups engage in guerrilla or terrorist activities against British institution and the British military forces. About Irish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army (IRA) was an Irish republican revolutionary military organization descended from the Irish Volunteers.Its aim is to overthrow the British rule in Ireland and unify Northern Ireland with the Southern one, forming an independent Republic of Ireland. It was established on 25 November 1913, and in April 1916 it staged the Easter Rising.After the Easter Rising, the IRA waged a guerrilla campaign against British rule in Ireland in the Irish War of Independence from 19191921.The original IRA split into the Official IRA and the Provisional IRA in 1922.The Official IRA thought enough progress have been made that they could concentrate on a political process, while the Provisional IRA felt that armed forces was the only way to get the British out. It is this group who continued the conflict for the last 30 years.the Easter Rising of 1916The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing an Irish Republic. In the Rising, the rebels took over the Dublins Post Office, forcing the British to retake it by military means.The leaders of the Rising were executed. the Easter Rising of 1916Conflicts between Protestants and CatholicsIreland was not invaded by the Romans, nor settled by the Anglo-Saxons.The majority of Irish people were descendants of the original Celtic people who inhabited the British Isles before the Roman Invasion, thus they were ethnically distinct from the majority of British people. In addition, ,most Irish people were Catholics, while most British people became Protestants. In the 17th century, the English government, trying to increase its control of Ireland, encourage people from Scotland and Northern England to emigrate to Northern Ireland. These people saw themselves different from the rest of the Irish people, and thought of themselves as British, and wished to remain a part of the British state. (loyalists/Unionists)The problem was that in Northern Ireland, the population was not purely Loyalists or Unionists.About 1/3 of the population was Roman Catholics, many of whom resented the Norths separation from the south and identical with the nationalists cause.Troubles The Protestants, being the majority, controlled the local democratically-elected parliament, and used that power to support their own economic and social dominance in the province.The Catholics found it hard to get jobs, or to benefit from social programs. Schools and sporting events were segregated. (The Roman Catholics revolt in Northern Ireland was triggered by the Civil Rights Movement in the US. The aim was to regain civil rights for those Roman Catholics. The revolts was conducted by means of marches, speeches, and sits-in.Groups of Protestants began to organized counter-demonstrations, and riots broke out.The police were overwhelmed by the fighting, and the Northern Irish Prime Minister asked London for soldiers to help restore orders. In 1969, the first British soldiers were seen on Northern Ireland, and they had been there until 2007. The British soldiers first came to protect the Catholics. However, the longer they stayed, the more they were seen as the symbol of British rule in Northern Ireland.Results of the conflicts between IRA and ProtestantsThe protestants formed their own illegal paramilitary groups and took revenge on Catholics and murdering individuals at random. The result is that now Northern Irish cities are ghettoized into exclusively Protestant and exclusively Catholic areas. The children attend separate schools.Thousands of people were killed, most of them were civilians. (See Figure 1 on P. 25)Three Attempts to solve the problems1. Setting up the power-sharing mechanismIn 1974, a power-sharing mechanism was set up, which involved representatives from the Republic, the North of Ireland, and Great Britain in the governance of the North.However, the power-sharing group collapsed as a result of the prolonged strike by the Protestant workforce.At this point, the Northern Irish Parliament was replaced by the “direct-rule from London.2. The Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985In 1985, the Anglo-Irish Agreement was signed between the British government and Irish government.Under the agreement, the Dublin government was able to make representations to the British government on matters affecting the northern, Catholic minority. Also, it guaranteed the loyalists Protestant community their rights to decide their futureeither to joint the South, or to remain part of the UK. This agreement is still in effect. 3. the Good Friday Agreement As a result of multi-party negotiation, aided by the intervention of the US Senator George Mitchell, the Good Friday Agreement emerged on 10 April 1998.This agreement assures the loyalist community that Northern Ireland “remains part of the UK and shall not cease to be so without the consent of the majority of the people of Northern Ireland.The Irish Government also expressed the hope that Ireland would once more be united, and a united Ireland should be brought about only by peaceful means with the consent of the majority of the people.The Downing-Street DeclarationIn 1993, John Major and the Irish Prime Minister produced the Downing-Street Declaration. It said that Britain had “ no selfish or strategic interest in Northern Ireland, and that “it is for the people of Ireland alone, by agreement between the two parties to decide its future, “ to bring about a united Ireland if that is their wish.The Northern Ireland Todaythe Northern Ireland today is governed by three separate jurisdictions, that of the Republic of Ireland, that of Great Britain, and that of its own elected executive government of 10 ministers.At present, Northern Ireland has once again reverted to direct rule from London because of the withdrawal of loyalist ministers within this government. Today, the Northern Ireland is a quieter and more civilized place than it has been.