What are the Chances of Peace in Northern Ireland?
...church their views were not really imposed upon the general populace. This is strange considering that it was Henry who really invented Protestantism because he wished to divorce Catherine of Aragon, however I suppose that because it was a relatively recent change it was not something that would be imposed easily. When Elizabeth and Edward sent in their settlers it was different because the religion had had more time to establish itself and was therefore easier for the settlers to stick to it and alter some Irish views. Also when the second wave of settlers came in the monarch also sent in priests and built or renovated churches for the Protestants this meant that there were less places for the Catholics to worship and that some people went to these new churches so as to not enrage the sovereign. These churches were also a way to find out what was happening because the monarch was able to use the churches as a way to communicate to the public. The Catholics did not agree with this because they thought it was drawing worship away from the Lord and that was unacceptable. I also think that the Catholics thought it was a mild form of brain washing to think how the monarchy wanted you to think. Another reason that Henry wished to have control over Ireland was because after divorcing his first wife he had left himself vulnerable to Catholic invasion and so had to stop any attack from there. My second event is the Home Rule Act of 1914, which was mainly Catholic driven and this united a lot of Catholics together as many wanted to be able to have a Parliament outside of English control. The Catholics that wanted the Home Rule Act believed that they were doing it for the Protestants as well as for themselves. This is an important turning point for the Nationalists because it led them to believe that over time they good have complete control over Ireland and although they did not want to sever all connections with England they did wish to have a say what happens in their own country also this meant that they would have fairer treatment and would be treated with more respect. When the Home Rule Act was rejected the first two times it angered the Catholics and made the English government very bad press but when it was passed it was met with approval from Catholics all over Ireland. 3. What Problems Need to be Overcome for the Good Friday Agreement to Succeed? The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) has many problems to surpass, these of course mainly deal with the problems between the divisions in Ireland not just the main divide of North and South but also the divisions in each side which if the GFA is to work means that the splinter groups must all band together united. Many people even believe that the GFA will not succeed because like its forerunners it will fail whilst trying to achieve peace because their aims although seemingly simple Ireland is as yet far too splintered to try and allow to any of the previous agreements to work. People are hopeful now that they can resolve their differences. One problem is that there have been so many attempts at peace over the years that many people have lost faith in the chance that there will ever be peace and just expect things to go on like they have for years. In the 1970’s an attempt was made at power sharing. In 1973, a Northern Ireland Assembly was elected, with an aim to restore power to both powers and equalise the power. Yet with all the good intentions it had broken down and eleven of the twelve diplomats were Catholics and this broke the power sharing theory and therefore the Protestants went on strike for 15 days and the Power Sharing assembly was disbanded. In 1985, the Anglo-Irish agreement which was signed by Margaret Thatcher (our then Prime Minister), and Garrett Fitzgerald (the then Irish Taoisearch) failed and as well because it had such little backing and so much opposition. The agreement incorporated creating an intergovernmental conference, where the Northern Ireland Secretary and the Irish Foreign Minister were able to meet frequently to consider matters of mutual importance, the Irish Government to recognize the existence of a division and the British government to accept that it could be removed with popular support from the communities of Northern Ireland, collaboration between Ulster and Ireland on security matters, legal and political concerns, and a civil service set up by staff from both sides of the border, and to aid the ties between each country to allow them to work together capably. Yet, both the DUP and the UUP felt they had been sold out by this agreement, and the IRA did not stop with their terrorist actions. The problems disbanded the peace agreement and people’s expectations for a reasonable settlement. The age-old problems still remain ingrained into people even though they have long since passed by. Some of these go back to Henry VIII when he proclaimed himself King of Ireland instead of being content with Lord. He then set about changing Ireland into his own means. There has always been trouble with terrorist activities and riots from both parties, Loyalists and Republicans. The IRA and UDA are the main paramilitary groups that produce the violence. There were problems in 1967, when terrorist activities and riots were widespread with Militant Republicans fighting to coerce a British withdrawal. Most people in Northern Ireland were affected somehow by these difficulties, and the marks are still left on people who lost confidence in peace in Northern Ireland, when they lost cherished ones in the troubles. Another flaw found in this part, is that the Good Friday Agreement set up a commission to completely examine the happenings of 'Bloody Sunday', part of the troubles of 1967- it has still not delivered a report, after seven years. The country is still resentful about this and all the troubles of 1967, with hatred and desire for revenge preventing them from supporting any attempt at peace. For the Good Friday Agreement to succeed, it needs to build people's faith and confidence in both it, and the governments in rule at this time. They also need to convince Unionists that they are not going to be betrayed or sold out in this agreement, especially with the UUP now demanding that the IRA decommissions all of it's weapons as soon as possible, to prevent more violence, like those in 1967. There have been many, many calls for the IRA, an extremist Loyalist group, to decommission weapons over the years. However belief in this, has also weakened, and many people in Northern Ireland feel exceedingly risky, knowing that the IRA with their fanatic views are still in action, with information and rumours of money laundering...