Northern Ireland Conflict

The Protestants-Catholics conflict in Northern Ireland arose as far back as the 1920s, during the emergence of Northern Ireland. While the Protestants oppressed the rights of the Catholics, the latter was fiercely fighting to regain their rights in their homeland. This caused much tension and violence between the two factions for centuries to come. The British presence over Northern Ireland was a major contributor to both the birth and development of the conflict. The struggle to free Northern Ireland from British rule became the basis of the conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants. Northern Ireland emerged in 1920-21 due to the split by the British government. Thousands of Catholic Nationalists still living in the North were discriminated against by the British-supporting majority (Protestants) in Northern Ireland, and the Catholics initially took to retaliating with violence for a while. This had already foreshadowed the elevation of contempt that the Catholics would have for the Protestants. In 1969, the intervention of the British army in the Civil Rights Movement (organised by the Catholics to protest against unfair treatment peacefully) dramatically induced a new wave of conflicts, known as the Troubles. They arrested and damaged innocent Catholics and their houses, claiming they were suspects of unlawful protests. In 1972, “Bloody Sunday”, they even shot dead 13 Catholics in a march. The British blatantly understated the rights of the Catholics and took the side of the Protestants when they were supposed to protect everyone, impartially. They betrayed the trust Catholics placed on them by attacking them instead. The Catholics definitely felt indignant and were galvanised to fight back the Protestants. The discrimination against Catholics, synonymous with the British presence, caused intolerance and violent clashes between the Catholics and Protestants for a long time. However, the British presence over Northern Ireland was not the sole