How do the Irish and English differ

Irish and British: Long conflicts, difficult solutions

After independence and division, a civil war ensued in and around Northern Ireland.

The conflicts between the Irish and British have centuries-old roots. The main cause is the British policy of conquest and settlement. In 1801 Ireland was finally incorporated into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and lost its own parliament - the prelude to long, bloody conflicts:

19th century: With the rise of nationalism in Europe, movements for an independent Ireland are gaining ground. A rift runs through the population. On the one hand there are established, Catholic Irish, often poor and rural. On the other side are Protestant colonial rulers, often wealthy representatives of the new industrial age.

20th century: In 1916, with the Easter Rising of the Irish movement Sinn Fein, the armed struggle for an independent Ireland begins. British troops brutally suppress the uprising. Sinn Fein and the Irish Republican Army (IRA) are getting huge numbers.

1918 to 1921: In the general election of 1918, Sinn Fein won 80 percent of the Irish seats, founds an Irish parliament and proclaimed an Irish republic. The UK Parliament declares all actions illegal. The Irish War of Independence begins.

1921: Division of Ireland. The south becomes independent of the British Crown as the Free State of Ireland. Northern Ireland, with its large Protestant population, remains part of Great Britain. Northern Ireland Catholics feel discriminated against from the start.

1949: After the Second World War, Great Britain guarantees Northern Ireland that it will remain with the Kingdom - also as thanks for aid in the war. The south, which had remained neutral during the war, declared itself an independent Republic of Ireland as early as 1948.

1972 to 1998: Protestant and Catholic groups in Northern Ireland are becoming more and more radical. The unrest erupted on January 30, 1972 in "Bloody Sunday". British soldiers shot dead 14 Catholic protesters in the Northern Irish city of Londonderry. The IRA is growing in popularity. Around 3,000 people died in attacks, including Lord Mountbatten, the uncle of Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II in 1979.

1994: The IRA is ready for a ceasefire.

1998: The April 10th Good Friday Agreement ends the conflict in and around Northern Ireland. Ireland will not be reunited.

21st century: The IRA finally declared the "armed struggle" over in 2005. On behalf of the British government, Prime Minister David Cameron apologized for the fatal shots on Bloody Sunday in 2010. On May 17, 2011, Queen Elizabeth II begins the first state visit by a British monarch to the Republic of Ireland.