A Divided Island: The Causes and Implications Today
Introduction
Two differing political parties, two different countries, and two different religions all take place on one small island. This divided island is looking for answers now that Brexit is underway. Ireland has developed these differences, and each is evident now. Religion and politics are the two major factors that split the island in 1921 and keep them from uniting today. These two causes branch out to facets of everyday life for the people who live there. Also, religion sparked fights throughout Ireland’s history and created political parties with differing agendas. Moreover, these two factors have caused splits in trust, policy, and identity. The political relationship between the two countries has started and ended protests with hundreds of casualties, thus creating a lesson to countries worldwide. Tensions within these two countries have grown and flared for the last 200 years and are prevalent today in the Brexit crisis.
In 2020, the United Kingdom is still working on how Brexit will affect Northern Ireland and how the United Kingdom can operate with different trade regulations, citizenship laws, and immigration policies. Ireland is a country within the EU, but Northern Ireland is within the UK. The UK and the EU have drafted “The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland” in their Withdrawal Agreement that secures Northern Ireland’s rights and holds their previous agreements in check. According to Sylvia De Mars and her fellow professors within the UK, this agreement is only meant to be temporary and that more concrete solutions will hopefully follow.[1] The countries within the UK, like Scotland and Northern Ireland are looking for solutions in 2020.
History of the Island’s Issues
Everything started when Vikings came to the island and installed their pagan beliefs. According to Joseph Fallon, “Pope Adrian IV issued a papal bull in 1154 entitled Laudabiliter, authorizing the Norman King of England, Henry II, to conquer Ireland.”[2] The English then spread Catholicism until Henry VIII created the Anglican Church. As noted in her book, The Origins of the Present Troubles in Northern Ireland, Caroline Kennedy-Pipe has said that, “the British Crown [then] sponsored English and Scottish Protestants to settle in the north-eastern part of the colony.”[3] This sparked the religious divide across the two countries seen today. These two religions then caused fights for the island inhabitants over the next 300 years.
After several unsuccessful revolts by the Irish, the English Parliament passed the Act of Union in 1801,[4] which unified Scotland, England, and Ireland. However, the South still craved independence from Protestant Britain, but the North wanted to stay unified. The Protestants who wanted unification were given the name unionists, while the Catholics who wanted freedom in the South were called nationalists. The Irish people then tried to gain their freedom through politics, but after 3 separate bills in English Parliament, they only gained their own Parliament that was under British rule. Finally, after bloody massacres, like the Easter Rising of 1916, British control of the island diminished and the UK decided to partition the island into two distinct parts: a northern area (Northern Ireland) and a southern area, with their own governments, under the United Kingdom’s rule. That did not last long though because the South fought for their true independence from the UK in the following four years. After the War of Independence, the two countries emerged in 1921. However, Ireland did not fully become independent of the British Commonwealth until it titled itself as a republic in 1948.[5]
Not everyone was pleased with the two separate countries. The following disastrous events in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s would be known as the Troubles. Bertie Ahern, the former Taoiseach of Ireland, recalls that in 1969, hostile actions increased in Northern Ireland and around its border.[6] The IRA (Irish Republican Army), a paramilitary group, used lethal tactics including car bombs, rifles, and grenades. They wanted to unite Ireland and wanted the British immigrants to leave Northern Ireland because the IRA thought that the British government was oppressing the nationalists in the North. However, they were met with resistance by unionist paramilitaries, like the UDA (Ulster Defense Association), who would not let the people of Northern Ireland be assaulted by a minority spreading lies.[7] These unionist paramilitaries focused on killing Catholics to get at the IRA.[8] On January 30, 1972, soldiers killed 14 Catholic civilians who were protesting in Derry, Northern Ireland. This event was one of the most devastating moments of the Troubles and was named Bloody Sunday. The IRA, in turn, targeted the border of the country as an act of defiance against British involvement. With this, the British government set up makeshift walls, mounted guns, and guard towers to secure the 20 access points into Northern Ireland. Every car that passed the checkpoint would have to be questioned.[9]
In 1993, the British realized that the Irish were not backing down and a joint declaration was settled that outlined that if the Northern country wants to unite with the Southern country, a majority is all that is needed.[10] After the UK and Ireland joined the EU, the hard borders fell in 1993. The attacks continued without slowing down until about 1994, when the IRA and loyalist groups decided on a ceasefire. Shortly after the ceasefire, Sinn Féin (a dominant republican party with links to the IRA) was “admitted into all-party negotiations with the unionists.”[11] Before this could happen, the IRA would have to turn in their guns. Sadly, a unionist proposed that they could keep their guns if they voted for unionists in the Northern Ireland Forum elections, and of course, the republicans rejected the idea. This later led to the end of the ceasefire in 1997.[12] By the end of 1998, an astounding 3,281 people had been killed by the violence over the thirty years of the Troubles on the island.[13]
All of the hostility and differing views on politics from the Troubles led up to the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), which is one of the most influential pieces of legislation ever signed in Ireland. This agreement secured Irish citizenship for those in Northern Ireland (which pleased the republicans and nationalists) and with the majority of votes in Northern Ireland, the Northern country could reunite with the Republic of Ireland. If unification occurred, their governments would be bound and the Northern counties, which make up Northern Ireland, would have representation in the united government.[14] This agreement satisfied both sides.
In light of the rights guaranteed by the GFA and the EU, Brexit drastically complicates things. Concerning Brexit, De Mars and her colleagues believe that both the EU and Ireland will find a way to secure the Good Friday Agreement’s rights to citizens of Northern Ireland. More specifically, this Withdrawal Agreement forces the UK to ensure all of the rights in the Rights, Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity section of the GFA. They explain that “what remains in the settled Withdrawal Agreement is a commitment to non-diminution,” which means that neither country will diminish the rights and safeguards of the GFA.[15] Furthermore, Brexit has presented several issues, including trade, citizenship, and immigration, to the forefront of the conflict.
As for trade, Northern Ireland heavily relies on Ireland for imports. Dr. Bernhard Moltmann of the Peace Research Institute of Frankfurt has said that, “each week more than 10,000 pigs are brought from the South to the North, while one-fourth of Northern Ireland’s milk is processed in the Republic,”[16] but Ireland is a country in the EU. Northern Ireland’s economy also heavily relies on the EU’s common agricultural policy as a huge source of income. As far as citizenship, if Northern Ireland leaves the EU with the UK, then the residents would give up their EU citizenship, which allows them safe and easy travel to other EU countries. For immigration, unionists do not want to be separated from the UK with their cross-sea trade, but both the unionists and nationalists do not want a hard border. No one wants to be separated.
As an informative Vox video has pointed out, the unionists in Northern Ireland do not want to be left on the island without the United Kingdom’s support, but the nationalists in Northern Ireland do not want to leave the European Union and give up their vital connection to the Republic of Ireland.[17] Neither group wants to be isolated from their supporters. This issue of Brexit affects the livelihoods of the residents of the whole island, and all of this can be traced back to religion and politics.
Analysis
Religion on this divided island has fueled the political parties and still does today. A common pattern seen in Ireland is how the Catholics and their descendants (the group of inhabitants on the island before Henry VIII turned Protestant) have mostly sided with the nationalist parties, such as Fianna Gael, Fianna Fáil, and Sinn Féin, want little to do with a Protestant England controlling their decisions or Ireland. On the other hand, the Protestant Scotts and British that migrated to Northern Ireland and their descendants have mostly sided with the unionist parties, the largest to note is the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party). Since most of the Republic of Ireland has stayed Catholic, the two leading groups of Irish politics are Fianna Gael and Fianna Fáil, both are moderate center-right wing parties. As previously mentioned, Northern Ireland is split almost equally between Catholics and Protestants, as well as nationalists and unionists. The two dominant parties in Northern Ireland are Sinn Féin and the DUP.
Now, today’s implications have put a strain on the two main political parties in Northern Ireland. Just when everything in Ireland and Northern Ireland was starting to settle down, Brexit was announced, and tempers have flared once again. With Brexit underway, the nation stands divided due to policies and their ideas on how to fix Brexit to benefit Ireland as an island. According to a referendum in 2016, 55.8% of Northern Irish voters decided to remain a part of the EU.[18] This outcome is huge because it is the first step towards a nationalist win in Northern Ireland. Throughout the history of the island, these two countries have never seen eye-to-eye with each other, but over time, the conflict disappeared. One thing to recognize is that Britain’s favor in Northern Ireland is slowly diminishing. The fact that more people want to stay in the EU than to separate and be with the UK is astounding. Within the last century, British involvement has waned in Northern Ireland, but some supporters of the unionist parties have stayed loyal to the UK and to leaving the EU. With Brexit underway, there are certain “solutions” that will not please both sides. A hard border between the North and the South will not please the nationalists since the nationalists want reunification, and a hard border will only remind them of the Troubles when there was no peace or no hope of that. If a hard border is constructed on the island’s perimeter, the unionists will feel separated from their fellow members in the UK. If a hard border is not created, then immigration standards on the island will have to come up with guidelines as to please both the EU and the UK.
Both Fallon and Kennedy-Pipe see the noticeable theme throughout the history of these two countries: British involvement. Since the beginning of the Norman invasions, Ireland has always had Anglo-Saxons on the island. Countless wars and skirmishes later, there are still British people and British loyalists in the North. The battles slowly progressed, adding religion to the motives. The wars over religion have now influenced the way people vote and their political affiliations. The residents of the South and the North identify themselves differently because of the differences in ethnicity, nationality, culture, politics, places, and histories.
Most of those factors are due to the partition of Northern Ireland. In a 2015 research article, Jennifer Todd interviewed 220 respondents, 75 of them from Northern Ireland, and these interviews “focused on identity, its reproduction and change.”[19] Her conclusions detailed the fluidity of identity from how it is passed down and its changes. Many older people in the South claimed to be Southern Catholics or stated that their religion with their identity, but younger people claimed that their identity had more to do with nationality and that the religions were still represented in their daily lives. However, people in the North were more scattered, answering British, Irish, Protestant, Catholic, open but not boxed in who they are, etc., but most of the people connected nationality with religion.[20] The issues with religion and nationality creating identity is still evident 5 years later. The people on the island want to stay true to their family’s history and their beliefs. Consequently, roughly 95% of the Republic of Ireland is Catholic, and in Northern Ireland, 45% are Catholic, but 50% are Protestant as of today. Hundreds of years have passed, but the residents on this island still hold to their religions and nationalities and their newly emerging political lines for the basis of their identities.
It is evident that the dispersion of religion and politics in the countries affect the identities of the island inhabitants. The connections between the current identities that make up the island tend to be inherited from their ancestors and their views, which is a common theme in most European cultures and American cultures.
Discussion
After researching this topic and other events relating to this topic, the historical elephant in the room has been the tension created by the grandparents and great grandparents of the present day Irish men and women. The people of Ireland and Northern Ireland are trying to move past the struggles they have had in the past, but only time and open minds will heal this wound. If the results of Jennifer Todd’s tests hold, then there is hope for the Brexit issues because some people, the younger generation, are more open to new ideas and their lives are less affected by the Troubles and what ideas it spawned. Since the younger people identified themselves more with nationality than religion in the South, this could mean that the issue of different religions can be overcome. The downside is that the young in the North still connect religion with their nationalities, which could simply be because the North is still divided today almost evenly with Catholics and Protestants, whereas most of the South are Catholics.
Moreover, nationality issues confuse and complicate the fight for understanding because of what the British have done to keep the peace and what the Irish have done to free themselves. Ireland and the UK have been pointing fingers at each other since the start of Brexit due to Northern Ireland’s involvement. No substantial, long-term solutions have come yet. As of right now, the countries are in a transition period and will not figure trade, travel, or integration out until the summer of 2020. However, with the novel coronavirus wreaking havoc on Europe as a whole, it is unclear when the government committees will sort these issues out. De Mars, Moltmann, and Wright would all agree that one fact is abundantly clear: no solutions will be rushed into if both countries have the other’s interests in mind. The story of Ireland and Northern Ireland is not over.
It is important to note that the Troubles and the division in their island could happen anywhere when religion and politics are mixed. For Americans, this does not have a lot of ramifications unless we have connections with the parties involved, and a majority of Americans do not. However, the United States does have an overwhelming amount of religions and has often been called the “melting pot” of cultures from all over the world. That is why this issue of religion and politics is concerning; some cultures do not mix well, just like religions. America has never seen anything like this. Sadly, these two countries, relatively small in land and in population, have held onto the struggles for several years, passing it onto their grandchildren. This conflict stands as a warning to people and countries across the world with a diverse mix of nationalities and religions.
Conclusion
Religion, politics, nationality, and even hard borders have separated the island of Ireland. The prospect of a reunified island in the recent decade is promising if both countries could see through their issues. After 3,281 lives were lost in the Troubles and all of the uprisings fueled by religion and politics, Brexit stands as their next opponent. As of right now, Ireland and Northern Ireland have no satisfying answers during this time of transition. An incredible amount of differences are seen in just the identities of the island’s residents, let alone their families’ histories. The factors of religion and politics and the complexities of Brexit keeps them from burying the hatchet today.
A lesson learned from the fights in Ireland for the past 200+ years is that people should stand up for religion, but not take lives just to impose political agendas, like the IRA and the UDA did, which was nothing short of terrorism. While religion may influence politics, political decisions should not endanger the lives of peaceful civilians, which occurred in the Troubles. Tensions escalated too high on this island, and human lives were the consequences of ill-thought-out answers. Countries everywhere should take notice of the tragedies that took place in Ireland and Northern Ireland over the past 50 years to understand that the conflict is an old one and that resentment can last for years between people. The next step forward for the countries involved in Brexit is to make wise, thought-out, utilitarian-like decisions to help the most people. Awareness of history, especially the island’s history, is the best way to approach new issues.
Notes
[1] Sylvia De Mars, “Briefing on: Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland,” Constitutional Conundrums (2018): 3–8, accessed March 1, 2020, https://www.academia.edu/37807368/Briefing_on_the_UK_EU_Protocol_on_Ireland_Northern_Ireland.
[2] Joseph E. Fallon, “Ireland: Two States, Two Nations,” World Affairs 158, no. 2: 71–72, accessed February 27, 2020, https://ezproxy.bethel.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9512121700&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
[3] Caroline Kennedy-Pipe, The Origins of the Present Troubles in Northern Ireland. Origins of Modern Wars. London; New York: Longman, 1997. 8.
[4] Ibid., 9.
[5] Jennifer Todd, “Partitioned Identities? Everyday National Distinctions in Northern Ireland and the Irish State.” Nations & Nationalism 21, no. 1: 21–42. Accessed March 2, 2020, doi:10.1111/nana.12083.
[6] Bertie Ahern, “In Search of Peace: The Fate and Legacy of the Good Friday Agreement.” Harvard International Review 24, no. 4 (2003): 26–31. Accessed March 5, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/42762859.
[7] “How Brexit Could Create a Crisis at the Irish Border”. YouTube video, 7:09. Posted by Vox. August 17, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0xGHf8o-9k.
[8] Paul Dixon, “Northern Ireland” (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) Google Books, pt. 1, under Introduction.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Bertie Ahern, “In Search of Peace”, 28.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Douglas Woodwell, “The “Troubles” of Northern Ireland: Civil Conflict in an Economically Well-Developed State,” UNDERSTANDING CIVIL WAR: Evidence and Analysis (2005): 161–190. www.jstor.org/stable/resrep02484.10.
[14] Douglas Woodwell, “The “Troubles” of Northern Ireland: Civil Conflict in an Economically Well-Developed State.”
[15] Sylvia De Mars, “Briefing on: Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.”
[16] Bernhard Moltmann, “Destabilized by the Brexit”, Northern Ireland:The End of the Story?: The Peace Process and the Brexit, (2017): 12, accessed March 5, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/resrep14504.7.
[17] “How Brexit Could Create a Crisis at the Irish Border”. YouTube video, 7:09. Posted by Vox.
[18] Nicholas Wright, “Brexit and Ireland: Collateral Damage?” Brexit and Beyond: Rethinking the Futures of Europe, (2018: 105–113, accessed February 27, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt20krxf8.17.
[19] Jennifer Todd, “Partitioned Identities? Everyday National Distinctions in Northern Ireland and the Irish State.”
[20] Ibid.
Bibliography
Ahern, Bertie. “In Search of Peace: The Fate and Legacy of the Good Friday Agreement.” Harvard International Review 24, no. 4 (2003): 26–31. Accessed March 5, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/42762859.
Dixon, Paul. “Northern Ireland.” London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Google Books.
Fallon, Joseph E. 1995. “Ireland: Two States, Two Nations.” World Affairs 158 (2): 71–72, accessed February 27, 2020. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.bethel.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9512121700&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
“How Brexit Could Create a Crisis at the Irish Border.” YouTube video, 7:09. Posted by Vox. August 17, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0xGHf8o-9k.
Kennedy-Pipe, Caroline. The Origins of the Present Troubles in Northern Ireland. Origins of Modern Wars. London; New York: Longman, 1997.
Mars, Sylvia De, C. R. G. Murray, Aoife O’donoghue, and Ben Warwick. “Briefing on: Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland,” Constitutional Conundrums (2018): 3–8. Accessed March 1, 2020. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3287729.
Moltmann, Bernhard. “Destabilized by the Brexit.” Northern Ireland:The End of the Story?: The Peace Process and the Brexit (2017): 11–15. Accessed March 5, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/resrep14504.7.
Todd, Jennifer. “Partitioned Identities? Everyday National Distinctions in Northern Ireland and the Irish State.” Nations & Nationalism 21 no. 1: 21–42. Accessed March 2, 2020, doi:10.1111/nana.12083.
Woodwell, Douglas. “The “Troubles” of Northern Ireland: Civil Conflict in an Economically Well-Developed State.” UNDERSTANDING CIVIL WAR: Evidence and Analysis. (2005): 161–90. Accessed February 27, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/resrep02484.10.
Wright, Nicholas. “Brexit and Ireland: Collateral Damage?” Brexit and Beyond: Rethinking the Futures of Europe (2018): 105–113. Accessed February 27, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt20krxf8.17.
