Travis Lesch

Paul Balland
Period 4
Northern Ireland Essay

200 years ago the sun never set on the British Empire. Now the majority of the

British Empire, or the United Kingdom as it is currently referred to, is located on the

island of Great Britain and the island of Ireland. However, Ireland is not in its entirety

part of the UK. Separated by just a line, the Irish Catholics of the north belong to a

completely separate nation than their brothers of the south. This line, the line that marks

the boundary of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, has spurred one of the

biggest political controversies in recent European history. This paper will examine the

cause of tensions in Northern Ireland that lead up to this controversy, the political

processes employed to attempt so solve the controversy, as well as the main provisions of

the final agreement that solved the controversy.

Most conflicts that have arisen from a dispute over a name have been either

religiously based or prompted by the rule of a monarch. In Ireland, the conflict between

R.I. and N.I. is based upon whether people want to be known as “Irish” or “Northern

Irish.” Catholics who live and whose families have always lived in Northern Ireland

wanted to be a part of the mostly Catholic Republic of Ireland, without having to

relocate. Whereas the Protestants, who identify themselves as Northern Irish, don’t want

to have to give up their status as United Kingdom citizens. The root of this problem stems

in religion. With the UK being mostly a protestant collection of nations, those who live in

Ireland and practice Protestantism want to be identified with a group of nations that are

primarily Protestant. The same is true with Northern Irish Catholics who want to be

identified as part of the primarily Catholic Republic of Ireland. Essentially, Northern

Ireland can be compared to Iran. Both nations have two factions of people that are for the
 Travis Lesch
Paul Balland
Period 4
most part very similar, but have one major religious difference. In Iran, this difference is

what has spurred the conflict between the Sunnis and the Shiites. Similarly, in N.I.

religious differences have spurred a conflict between the Catholic Irish Republican Army

and the Protestant Ulster Freedom Fighters.

One of the major differences that separate humans from animals is the ability to

use language. This ability is ignored by the IRA. Rather than use words to further their

arguments and make a case for why they want a united Ireland, the IRA relies on the

threat of force to get their point across. The IRA’s use of coercion as opposed to

negotiations creates benefits as well as harms. On one hand, the use of force creates a lot

of media attention and demands an action from the opposing side. IRA attacks

accumulated a massive amount of media attention and let more people know the IRA’s

core beliefs and mission. Also by attacking Protestants and Protestant buildings, the IRA

forced the UK to take political action to try to maintain peace. However, on the other

hand, even though their was more discourse taking place, Sinn Fein, the IRA’s political

wing, was largely left out of negotiations. Additionally, because Sinn Fein is associated

with the IRA, the goals of Sinn Fein, as well as the political party as a whole, were

painted in a negative light. Therefore, the use of coercion paradoxically helped stimulate

the peace process by creating more demand for negotiations, but also helped stifle it by

not letting a major political party join in discussions.

As opposed to the methodology of the IRA, the other political parties involved in

the peace process for Northern Ireland used negotiations with each other to promote their

beliefs. Throughout the lengthy peace process, bargaining was the main way in which

political parties attempted to solve the problem of Northern Ireland. Closer to the middle
 Travis Lesch
Paul Balland
Period 4
than Sinn Fein, but still in favor of a united Ireland, the Social Democratic and Labour

Party (SDLP) was a major player in the negotiations process. Headed by John Hume, the

SDLP continually pushed for peace, peacefully. Eventually, Hume’s patience would

prove proactive towards actual peace with the announcement of the Anglo-Irish

Agreement in 1985. This gave the Irish Government an advisory role in Northern

Ireland's government while confirming that there would be no change in the

constitutional position of Northern Ireland unless a majority of its people agreed to join

the Republic. Although the consent clause within the treaty appeared to still favor the

Unionists, this provision was approaching one of the major roots of the problem as

Catholics were no longer the small minority, but rather approaching almost an even

percentage of the population in Northern Ireland. Hume’s job was not finished at that

though, as he continued to push for a United Ireland through negotiations. As major

players changed, such as John Major replacing Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister in

the UK, Hume continued to press forward and work different angles. Hume pleads to

Major to achieve peace, and eventually gets Major to open up talks (something Thatcher

was very adamantly against so long as the IRA was present). Eventually the talks lead to

the Downing Street Declaration in 1993. The declaration affirmed that Northern Ireland

had the right to self-determination, and that it would be transferred to the Republic of

Ireland from the UK if a majority of its population was in favor. This was

groundbreaking in the regard that it allowed for the people of Ireland, North and South, to

solve the issues between North and South by mutual consent (Downing). John Hume and

the SDLP’s work toward peaceful negotiations epitomized the approach to bargaining,
 Travis Lesch
Paul Balland
Period 4
instead of coercion, to achieve political goals. The SDLP would continue to negotiate

until the decisive provisions stated within the Good Friday Agreement.

The piece of political legislature that seemed to finally end years of violent

conflict within Ireland was signed into effect on May 23, 1998. The Good Friday

Agreement was signed by the British and Irish governments and endorsed by most

Northern Ireland political parties (except the Democratic Unionist Party). The main

provisions of the agreement ensured a Northern Ireland Assembly with devolved

legislative powers and a de-escalation of violence (specifically aimed at the IRA).

Although loyal unionists were upset, they were clearly not the majority of the island of

Ireland, and no longer the dominating majority in the province of Northern Ireland.

Despite the fact that they did not want to see change, change was necessary in light of all

the conflict and changing dynamic of Ireland. Despite the different types of negotiation

(coercion or bargaining), it was evident that the conflict would only be resolved through a

restructured approach to the conflict of sovereignty in Northern Ireland. Something

needed to be done to end the conflict (violent or passive), and the Good Friday

Agreement offered a solution by majority to the people of Ireland. By offering control of

Ireland to the Irish, the UK gets to the root of the conflict and washes their hands of this

situation. The Good Friday Agreement offered a final solution to troubling times in

Ireland for the Irish people and the United Kingdom.