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The Troubles is a neutral term for the period of violence between various factions in Northern Ireland from the late sixties to the mid-nineties (up to the ceasefires and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement).

The neutrality of the term comes from an avoidance of any identification of a sole cause of the complex issues that are involved there, as this would inevitably be partisan. They are generally taken as beginning in the late 1960's and have claimed some 3,000 - 4,000 lives from all sides since then.

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In general terms, the conflict was between Unionists (or "loyalists"), who want the province to remain in the United Kingdom, and Nationalists (or "republicans") who wish the province to become part of a united Ireland. Generally speaking (but not in all cases) Unionists are part of the Protestant majority of Northern Ireland, while Nationalist are usually Catholic. Catholics thought they were being treated unfairly and pressed for wide reforms, while Protestants were wary of sharing power with Catholics and often did not want to compromise.

There is a common distinction between the terms Unionist and Nationalist on the one hand, and Loyalist and Republican on the other. In this context, "Loyalist" and "Republican" generally imply support for violent methods and for paramilitary organisations, whereas the labels "Nationalist" and "Unionist" are normally reserved for those who favour constitutional politics.

Violence was carried out by various groups, including the Provisional Irish Republican Army (also known as the IRA or "The Provos") and the INLA on the Republican side, and the UVF and the UDA on the Loyalist side. These terrorist groups also produced splinter-groups and factions, and sometimes used cover names in an attempt at deniability, which confuses the picture further.

The RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary), the police force in Northern Ireland, was largely protestant, not least because police officers living in Nationalist areas were particularly vulnerable to terrorist attack. The lack of Catholic officers in turn increased the sense of alienation in sections of the nationalist community.

A policing review, part of the Good Friday Agreement, has led to some reforms of policing, including more rigorous accountability and measures to increase the number of Catholic Officers, and the renaming of the RUC to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (the use of the word "Royal" had been contentious).

Some significant groups are:

Nationalist or republican political parties:

• The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
• Sinn Fein (President Gerry Adams) - This party has been described as having an "insight into the thinking of" the republican paramilitary group, the Provisional IRA.

Unionist or loyalist political parties:

• The Ulster Unionist Party
• The Democratic Unionist Party (Leader Ian Paisley)
• The Progressive Unionist Party (Leader David Ervine) - This party has been described as having an "insight into the thinking of" the loyalist paramilitary group, the UVF.
• Bob Macartney's Party

Other parties:

• The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
• The Women's Coalition
• The Natural Law Party
• The Conservative Party

(Neither the Labour Party nor the Liberal Democratic Party organises in Northern Ireland)

Republican paramilitary/terrorist groups:

• The Provisional Irish Republican Army
• The Real Irish Republican Army
• The Continuity Irish Republican Army
• The Irish National Liberation Army

(See Irish Republican Army for a discussion of how some of these are related).

Loyalist paramilitary/terrorist groups:

• The Ulster Defence Association
• The Ulster Volunteer Force

This needs work. The nature of such violence and the relations of the various groups and their motives and tactics needs to be charted in detail. Though violence in whatever form it takes is terrible, there is a difference between defensive military activity and knowingly targeting innocent civilians e.g. the "Real" IRA's killings at Omagh, or Bloody Sunday.

The Bloody Sunday in 1972 was one of the key events during The Troubles. From 1971 until 1975, under the Special Powers Act there was Internment (see Long Kesh).

Currently, the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom are working together closely and peacefully to seek a solution and have been doing so for some time. There is no simple solution to The Troubles and it can only be hoped that the current paramilitary ceasefire holds and that relative peace is maintained in Northern Ireland for the sake of all its inhabitants.

It is widely held by many in both Britain and Northern Ireland that The Troubles came to an end in the mid-nineties with the various paramilitary cease-fires that were established. The period that came after The Troubles was the Northern Ireland peace process, the Good Friday Agreement.

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There are however continuing inter-communal tensions that tend to arise in particular during the "Marching Season" when nationalists try to prevent traditional loyalists marches through their neighbourhoods. One particular flashpoint that has caused repeated strife is the Garvagy Road area in Drumcree.

It is also reported that punishment beatings by IRA related groups continue. In response, the UUP recently called for the Provisional IRA to be disbanded by January 18th 2003. Also of note is the recent internecine feuds within individual Loyalist paramilitary groups and between separate Loyalist paramilitary groups .

Research Material

• http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland
• http://www.irelandstory.com (Source of images above)