The Troubles | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Political map of Ireland | ||||||||
| ||||||||
Belligerents | ||||||||
State security forces |
Irish republican paramilitaries
|
Ulster loyalist paramilitaries
| ||||||
Casualties and losses | ||||||||
British Army: 705 Irish Army: 1 Gardaí: 9 IPS: 1 Total: 11[7] |
PIRA: 292 INLA: 38 OIRA: 27 IPLO: 9 RIRA: 2 Total: 368[7] |
UDA: 91 UVF: 62 RHC: 4 LVF: 3 UR: 2[8] Total: 162[7] | ||||||
Civilians killed: 1,840[9] (or 1,935 inc. ex-combatants)[7] |
The Troubles (Irish: Na Trioblóidí) was a guerrilla/nationalist[12][13][14][15] conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century.
It is also known as the Northern Ireland conflict,[16][17][18][19][20] it is sometimes described as an "irregular war"[21][22][23] or "low-level war".[24][25][26]
The conflict began in the late 1960s and many said it ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.[2][3][27][28][29] Although the Troubles primarily took place in Northern Ireland, at times the violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe.
A key issue was the state of Northern Ireland. Unionists/loyalists (most of whom were Protestants) wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists/republicans (most of whom were Catholics) wanted Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join a United Ireland.[30]
More than 3,500 people were killed in the conflict. Of those: 52% were civilians, 32% were members of the British security forces, and 16% were members of paramilitary groups.[31]
The troubles were over, but the killing continued. Some of the heirs to Ireland's violent traditions refused to give up their inheritance.
The most popular school of thought on religion is encapsulated in McGarry and O'Leary's Explaining Northern Ireland (1995), and it is echoed by Coulter (1999) and Clayton (1998). A common assertion is that religion is an ethnic marker, but that it is not generally politically relevant in and of itself. Instead, ethnonationalism lies at the root of the conflict. Hayes and McAllister (1999) point out that this represents something of an academic consensus.
...these attitudes are not rooted particularly in religious belief, but rather in underlying ethnonational identity patterns.
The term 'the Troubles' is a euphemism used by people in Ireland for the present conflict. The term has been used before to describe other periods of Irish history. On the CAIN web site the terms 'Northern Ireland conflict' and 'the Troubles', are used interchangeably.
The Northern Ireland conflict, known locally as 'the Troubles', endured for three decades and claimed the lives of more than 3,500 people.
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search