Ireland: One Conflict, Two Countries

by Songül Arslan

When you think about Europe, you probably think about quite a prosperous and relatively peaceful continent. If you consider some of the more troublesome areas in the world like Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, or Israel and Palestine, then a country like Ireland, which has recently shown a great increase in economic development, can look like a quiet and calm country.

However, this appearance of calm can be deceptive. Ireland has been plagued for many centuries by conflict, and the conflict continues to this day. It's not on the forefront of our minds, and it's not making a lot of headlines, these days, but it's there.

The situation now in Ireland cannot be understood without a brief history lesson where the English play a dominating role. The short version is that England spent centuries trying to take control of Ireland. Despite strong Irish resistance, the English ultimately succeeded in wresting away control, and the beleagured Irish rulers fled to the mainland, particularly Spain, leaving their country in hands of the intruders. The Irish did not go down easily, however, and their resistance remained strong through the generations.

There are many facets to the conflict in Ireland. The most well-known is the religious tension between the Catholics and the Protestants. In 1921 Ireland was divided into two countries: Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Republic of Ireland became independent from England, but Northern Ireland did not. The independent Irish--the Catholics--felt keenly the division in the country and wanted both parts to be one whole again, separate from England. Northern Ireland--the Protestants--had no objection to being part of England.

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) was the driving force fighting to make Ireland completely independent from England. The warfare between the IRA and the English is legendary, and for many years it was regular front-page news. The Irish band U2 have a well-known song, "Sunday Bloody Sunday," about one of the more horrific outbreaks of violence, around which there is still much mystery and intrigue. To this day, although the IRA called a truce in 2005, the parties have not reached a political agreement.

I fervently hope that the truce has a lasting effect, and that the lack of news coming out of Ireland is a permanent condition, not merely the result of media attention being focused elsewhere.