Northern Ireland history - The Troubles

The troubles refers to a violent conflict that lasted for thirty rears. The conflict began with a civil rights march in Londonderry the 5^th of October 1968 and ended with the Good Friday Agreement on the 10^th of April 1998.

The conflict were between the Protestant majority and the nationalist aand republicans. As many people could think it is not a religious conflict, but a territorial one. The Protestants wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom, while the nationalists and republicans wanted to become part of the Republic of Ireland.

During the Troubles, about 3 600 people got killed and as many as 50 00 people were physically maimed or injured, with countless others psychologically damaged by the conflict.

The Anglo-Irish Agreement happened in 1985, and was a serious attempt to achieve a political accord that resolved the “Irish question”. It gave the Irish government an advisory role in the affairs of Northern Ireland and determined there would be no change in Northern Ireland's constitutional status - no Irish unification (in other words: without the consent of its people). But the Agreement was rejected when only SDLP (Social Democratic and Labour Party) and Alliance Party was the ones that supported it.

The Good Friday Agreement marked a seismic shift in Northern Ireland's political landscape. The UUP (The Ulster Unionist Party) and SDLP agreed to accept power sharing, including with former paramilitaries who were committed to the peace process.

All signatories to the agreement endorsed the "consent principle". This meant that any change in Northern Ireland's constitutional status (Irish unification) would happen only popular majorities voted in favour in separate referendums held at the same time on both sides of the border.

After the Good Friday Agreement and the return of self-government to Northern Ireland had been an enormous challenge for all concerned. Many significant issues remained unresolved in 1998, not least the decommissioning of republican and loyalist weapons.

This partnership of constitutional opposites is perhaps the most remarkable outcome of the Troubles.