The Troubles in Northern Ireland

During the late 1960s in Northern Ireland, competing ideas of national identity launched a 30-year-long conflict known as “the Troubles.” While unionists and loyalists generally wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, most nationalists and republicans wanted Northern Ireland to be united with the Republic of Ireland. CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Internet) counts 3531 dead between 1969 and 2001 and over 100,000 injured. Although violence from this conflict emerges sporadically, many believe the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 marks the end of the Troubles.