This excerpt was included in the program of The Lieutenant of Inishmore to provide background context to the time period and events included in the performance.
Between the late 1960s and the late 1990s, a violent struggle engulfed Northern Ireland. Shootings, bombings, and assassinations were commonplace as people—divided along religious and political lines—battled over the future of the region and whether it would remain part of the United Kingdom or split away and reunite with the Republic of Ireland.
More than 3,500 people died during the Troubles. And, though this period largely ended with a peace deal in 1998, many of Northern Ireland's Catholics and Protestants continue to live mostly separate lives. More than 90 percent of children go to schools segregated by religion, and some neighborhoods remain physically divided. Nearly one hundred barriers, including so-called peace walls, still cut across the capital, Belfast.
Northern Ireland's continued segregation more than twenty years after the Troubles ended reveals something about the nature of conflict more broadly: it is like a garden weed with deep roots. Even when a country achieves some semblance of peace, the root causes of conflict often remain. This lesson examines Northern Ireland's recent history, illustrating what happens after conflict ends—and what societal challenges are left in its wake.
From the
Council on Foreign Relations
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