Northern Ireland

The colonization of Ireland: In 1170 Ireland becomes England’s first colony. Henry Vlll’s reign rules from 1507 to 1547, which means that all of Ireland is controlled by England. Then, in 1610, Protestants from Scotland settle in Northern Ireland. The Irish war of Independence was a guerrilla war mounted against the British government in Ireland by the Irish Republican Army. The result was the Angelo-Irish Treaty. It established Irish Free State and Northern Ireland.

The Irish Civil War lasted from June 1922 to May 1923. The Free State Army supported the agreement that divided Ireland while the IRA was opposed to the agreement. The war was won by the Free State Army. The Irish were Catholics and the English and Scottish who settled in Northern Ireland were Protestants. In Northern Ireland the Irish Catholics were poor and suppressed by the Protestants. The issues of the conflict were economy, national identity, equal rights and opportunities and independence after colonization. The Population of Northern Ireland today consists of 60% Protestants and 40% Catholics.

In 1969 British troops stationed in Northern Ireland. On April 30th 1972, 27 civil rights protesters were shot by members of the 1st Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment; this day is called Bloody Sunday. During the 70s and 80s several bombings/gun attacks happened in Northern Ireland. In 1974, there were terrorist bombings in Birmingham, England. Heading towards peace? In 1998 the Good Friday Agreement was passed. It sets out a plan for devolved government in Northern Ireland on a stable and inclusive basis and provided for the creation of Human Rights and Equality commissions, the early release of terrorist prisoners, the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons and far reaching reforms of criminal justice and policing. And in 2005 the IRA agrees to end violence and weapons are destroyed.

I’ve also read Liam O' Flaherty's gripping short story "The Sniper" from the Irish Civil War. Here’s a summary:
The Sniper is a story about two snipers, who's trying to kill each other. They're lying on each side of the road, both of them on rooftops, both trying to get a glimpse of the other. One of the snipers decides to take a smoke, although he knows it’s a big risk. The moment he light his lighter, the other sniper takes a shot. He misses, and the smoker puts out his smoke. Then suddenly an armored car makes its way up the road and stops between the two snipers to talk with an old lady informer. The enemy sniper of the car takes a shot and kills both the lady and the driver, but at the same time, he gets hit by the other sniper in his right arm. It hurts so bad that he can't use his rifle. To kill his enemy sniper, he waves his sniper with his cap on top over the parapet, and just as he hoped, his enemy takes a shot at the cap. He now drops his cap and the rifle to the ground to fake his death. A few moments later, he peers over at his enemy, who is standing on the rooftop across the street with his rifle over his head in victory. The sniper sees his opportunity, and takes a shot at him with his revolver. The enemy falls to the ground dead. It is now safe for the sniper to go out in the road. He gets curious about who the other sniper was, and walks over to check it out. He turns the dead body, and sees the face of his brother.

http://www.nio.gov.uk/index/key-issues/the-agreement.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_War_of_Independence http://annejohnsrud.blogspot.com/2009/03/troubles-in-northern-ireland.html