The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of th
"I was stopped by a soldier, he said You are a swine. He hit me with his rifle and he kicked me in the groin, I begged and I pleaded, sure me manners were polite. But all the time Im thinking of my little Armalite... A brave RUC man came marching up into our street, six hundred British soldiers he had lined up at his feet. Come out, ye cowardly Fenians, come out and fight. But he cried, Im only joking, when he heard the Armalite."
"[The documentary series] “” will help [with healing the collective trauma from The Troubles], providing a cautionary tale for those in Ulster — and those well beyond it — warning against the folly of using violence to resolve political disputes."
"Go on home British soldiers, go on home. Have you got no fucking homes of your own? For 800 years weve fought you without fear and we will fight you for 800 more. Well fight them British soldiers for the cause. Well never bow to soldiers because throughout our history we were born to be free. So get out British bastards leave us be."
"We share a deep concern for peace and justice in Northern Ireland and condemn all violence and terrorism in that strife-torn land. We support the process of peace and reconciliation established by the Anglo-Irish Agreement, and we encourage new investment and economic reconstruction in Northern Ireland on the basis of strict equality of opportunity and non-discrimination in employment."
"We urge peace and justice for Northern Ireland. We welcome the newly begun process of constitutional dialogue that holds so much promise. We encourage investment and reconstruction to create opportunity for all."
"It would seem that dead hunger strikers, who have extinguished their own lives, are of more use to PIRA than living members. Such is their calculated cynicism. This Government is not prepared to legitimise their cause by word or by deed. And we should be clear what that cause is. It is a dictatorship by force and by fear in Northern Ireland, and in the Republic. These men deny democracy everywhere; they seek power for themselves. Some people argue that the Government could make the problem go away. We can of course maintain and improve an already humane prison regime. But there is no point in pretending that this is what the PIRA want. They have remained inflexible and intransigent in the face of all that we have done because what they want is special treatment, treatment different from that received by other prisoners. They want their violence justified. It isnt, and it will not be."
