Northern Ireland | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Irish independence in 1921 resulted in partition. The six northeastern, largely Protestant counties became Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom. The territory's 1.5 million inhabitants may be divided into Unionists (largely Protestants), those who seek to maintain the union with the United Kingdom, and Nationalists (largely Roman Catholics), those who desire unification with Ireland. The terms Loyalist and Republican are frequently used to refer to (respectively) Unionists and Nationalists who would contemplate the use of force to achieve these goals.

Northern Ireland maintained its own government from 1921 to 1972. During this period the Unionist Party had exclusive power, and deep distrust existed between both communities. The system of a government with a single-party majority with no tradition of judicial protection for human rights could not accommodate this division. Religious and political discrimination against Catholics soon became widespread.

This "factory of grievances" provoked civil rights protests in the 1960s. The failure of the overwhelmingly Protestant police force to maintain peace in an impartial manner led to British Army forces being stationed on the streets in 1969. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) launched a war against British troops and the "Troubles" began. In 1972 the British government ended the devolved regime and replaced it with direct rule by a member of the London executive (the secretary of state for Northern Ireland) and the civil servants of the Northern Ireland Office.

Following cease-fires by paramilitary groups in the 1990s, talks mediated by U.S. Senator George Mitchell (b. 1933), and involving the U.K. and Irish governments and the political parties of Northern Ireland, led to the Belfast or Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The political parties active in formulating the agreement included two main Nationalist parties: the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), led by John Hume (b. 1937) and Sinn Fein, which has ties to the IRA, led by Gerry Adams (b. 1948). The main Unionist party was the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), led by David Trimble (b. 1944), but there were also smaller Unionist parties linked to Loyalist paramilitaries. The second largest Unionist party in the late 1990s, Dr. Ian Paisley's (b. 1926) Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), boycotted the talks. Two parties that rejected the traditional labels were also involved: the Women's Coalition and the Alliance Party. The Good Friday Agreement established a system with three tiers of government: an internal one, a north-south office, and an office on relations between both islands.

The Agreement provided that the people of Northern Ireland may decide on their allegiance to Great Britain or Ireland by referendum. The Agreement also established a political system where Unionists and Nationalists must share power (sometimes called "consociational"). There is a legislative assembly elected by proportional representation. Important decisions of the Assembly must be approved by a special majority vote (this majority being composed of a majority of Nationalists and a majority of Unionists voting). Members of the executive are selected from the Assembly, with each party represented and the number of its seats on the executive determined by its majority in the Assembly. The executive is headed by an Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) that represents the largest Unionist and Nationalist parties.

The 1998 Good Friday Agreement also has strong human rights guarantees. The Assembly and all public authorities in Northern Ireland are bound by

international human rights law. To promote equality and human rights, independent commissions have been created.

The Agreement also mandates institutions to deal with relations between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic (a North-South Ministerial Council, where the executive and the Irish government can discuss points of mutual interest) and relations between Ireland and the United Kingdom (a Council of the Isles, where all the assemblies in the two countries are represented, and a British Irish Intergovernmental Conference where the British and Irish governments can meet). The system established has not functioned smoothly. Unionists have distrusted Sinn Fein's commitment to peaceful politics, and the DUP has rejected the entire system. Paramilitary groups have not completely suspended operations. As a result of these difficulties, the secretary of state has regularly suspended the Assembly and reinstituted direct rule.

In 2003 the DUP became the largest party in the Assembly and SF the largest Nationalist party. In 2005 elections for local government and for the Westminster Parliament confirmed the dominance of the DUP and SF as the leading Unionist and Nationalist parties, and provoked the resignation of David Trimble as leader of the UUP. As of mid-2005 the Assembly remained suspended while controversy continued over the ending of all paramilitary activity.

Ireland; United Kingdom.

Northern Ireland Office. <http://www.nio.gov.uk/>.

Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister. <http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/� 03E;.

Patterson, H. Ireland Since 1939. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2002.

University of Ulster. Conflict Archive. <http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/> .

Wilford, Rick. Aspects of the Belfast Agreement. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2001.

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