The Troubles: A History of Northern Ireland

The history of the British Isles themselves is partly responsible for the complicated and enigmatic nature of the relationship between the English and the Irish. The fraternal difficulties of two closely aligned but unequally endowed neighbors can be blamed for much of the trouble. The imperialist tendencies of the English, which created an empire embodying the best and worst of humanity, alienated them not only from the Irish, but the Scots and Welsh as well. However, the British also extended that colonial duality to other great societies of the world, India not least among them, without the same enduring suspicion and hostility. Includes pictures

There is certainly something much more than the sum of its parts in the curious combination of love and loathing that characterizes the Anglo-Irish relationship. For two peoples so interconnected by geography and history, the depth of animosity that is often expressed is at times difficult to understand. At the same time, historic links of family and clan, and common Gaelic roots, have at times fostered a degree of mutual regard, interdependence, and cooperation that is also occasionally hard to fathom.

During World War I, Ireland fought for the British Empire as part of that empire, and the Irish response to the call to arms was at times just as enthusiastic as that of other British dominions such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. An excerpt from one war recruitment poster asked, "What have you done for Ireland? How have you answered the Call? Are you pleased with the part you're playing in the job that demands us all? Have you changed the tweed for the khaki to serve with rank and file, as your comrades are gladly serving, or isn't it worth your while?" And yet, at the same time, plots were unearthed to cooperate with the Germans in toppling British rule in Ireland, which would have virtually ensured an Allied defeat.

Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading

"The Honorable Member must remember that in the South they boasted of a Catholic State. They still boast of Southern Ireland being a Catholic State. All I boast of is that we are a Protestant Parliament and a Protestant State. It would be rather interesting for historians of the future to compare a Catholic State launched in the South with a Protestant State launched in the North and to see which gets on the better and prospers the more," said Sir James Craig.

The Partition of Ireland and the Troubles: The History of Northern Ireland from the Irish Civil War to the Good Friday Agreement analyzes the tumultuous events that marked the creation of Northern Ireland, and the conflicts fueled by the partition.

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