The Troubles of Northern Ireland

For my first reading over The Troubles, I chose to go with a source that would provide a brief, but fairly accurate analysis of the conflict that occurred in Ireland during the twentieth century. Marc Mullholland's Northern Ireland: A Very Short Introduction gives a concise summary over this subject. Mullholland is a modern historian who has other publications relating to twentieth century Ireland, particularly Northern Ireland and unionism, which will be useful for future research. I am also interested in Mulllholland's work for the fact that he seems to analyze the loyalists/unionists side more thoroughly than the republicans/nationalists. The republican/nationalist party has taken the forefront in many of my secondary sources, so it is refreshing to read on a historian's research over the other party.

From the first chapter, it becomes apparent that divisions within Ireland have been around for many centuries. Dating back to the Reformation, hostility has occurred between the generally more prosperous Protestants and the less well-off Catholics. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, reasons behind this hostility were mainly caused by who controlled and profited from the Irish plantation plots (Mullholland 2). During the seventeenth century, religion was the primary cause of tension, especially during the civil war of the 1790s (Mullholland 5). And, as Mullholland points out, while Ireland would modernize in some aspects during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, such as in industry, in other aspects, it remained archaic; religious differences peppered with social and economic consequences continued to divide the Irish community and promote hostility between the Catholics and the Protestants (14).

While Mullholland's historical perspective may not be ingenious or original, it does provide important information about Ireland's past conflicts and the reasons behind them. Therefore, it is not so surprising that conflict occurred on this island in the mid-twentieth century. I don't believe Mullholland is trying to suggest that The Troubles were inevitable in his first chapter, but I do think he wants to prove to the reader that The Troubles might have historical precedents. And I believe he also wants to convey the message that yes, it is tragic that the "Catholics in Northern Ireland feel Irish and the Protestants associate themselves with Britain, and thus each group sanctions violence to substantiate their identities" (Preface). But that is not the only thing that is tragic about Ireland, and, in fact it is not even that peculiar or original to Ireland itself. The real tragedy, as Mullholland eloquently states, is that Ireland's "people have not been able to agree upon a common identity. Rather than stand by each other, they compete. Being so alike - in language, appearance, and broad culture, they cling tenaciously to that which marks them out. The successful consolidation of either British unionism or Irish nationalism, it is feared, will submerge the other" (Preface). I feel that this is this issue that Mullholland will try and further stress and embellish as I read more into his work: the conundrum over how religion and politics can divide a modern country so much that it forces them to enact on deadly violence in attempt to come to a resolution or union.

McKenzie Morrow