Why have Protestants and Catholics been in conflict in Northeast Ireland for centuries?

Question

Side note:

Why are they in conflict now? I mean Oliver Cromwell and the Famine???? Really????

What motivates the hatred now?

Answer 1

As long as there has been a (not very) United Kingdom there has been trouble in Ireland, Wales and Scotland, all of them have at some time attempted to rebel against the English monied landowners, who generally were more interested in profit than the lives of the families who had worked and lived upon the land for generations.

The Welsh were more or less appeased when the heir apparent to the English throne was named as the Prince of Wales, hence the next in line to the throne always having that title.
The Scottish were consistantly rebelling and when it became apparent that military conflict might suppress rebellion it would never enslave the people a more underhand way was adopted - money, as Robbie Burns put it "we were bought and sold for English gold".

The Irish had the additional problem of religion, basically the English government removed catholic landowners and families from the most productive land in Ireland and replaced them with protestant people loyal to the English throne.
The potatoe famine happened at the same time as all this upheaval and resentment, due to only having poor soil to work and therefore a lack of food the catholics were starving in their thousands, they rebelled against the protestants whom had, as they saw it, taken their land. The British army went to Ireland to defend the protestants, atrocities were committed by both sides and the legacy of those times are still with us today.
Today they bicker and argue and wrap up all sorts of pathetic unimportant issues within the religious hatred they still have towards each other. As we can't give them limitless weapons and let them kill each we have to put up with the arguments in the name of peace.

It's a fine example of the intolerance, hatred and cruelty religion gives the world.

Answer 2

when Ireland was colonised by the British, the North east, Ulster, was given to Scottish protestant land owners to own.. They were very stern and basically denied Catholics any rights. Like the English in the South, the native Irish were not allowed to own property or vote. However as the land rights battle was gaining ground in the rest of Ireland, the northern protestants strenghtened their grip. Up until the 1960's Catholics were not allowed to own land, property, could not vote , whilst the protestants had a vote for every tenant they had.Catholics were also refused jobs on religious grounds. (The titanic built in Belfast has a story that the ship number when reflected in water spelled out 'no pope'). Bushmills is another company that would not allow Catholics to work there.
Basically the Catholics were treated worse than the blacks in the deep south of the USA.
The reason , is bigotry. pure and simple. The civil rights movement of the 1960's escalated into a violent struggle, because of 1 sides refusal to give up their privileges and another side demanding equal rights.

Answer 3

The issue in Northern Ireland is political not religious. The media, who is always looking for short cuts and not the whole story, calls the participants Catholics and Protestants.

The conflict is about whether the British territory (probably the wrong word) of Northern Ireland should remain British or should become part of Ireland.

The majority of people in Ireland are Catholics. The majority of people in England and Northern Ireland are Protestants. There are actually Catholics and Protestants on either side.

The terrorists on either side of the issue are not Christian in any sense of the word.

With love in Christ.

Answer 4

I saw great show about this on the History Channel during St. Patrick's Day.

Briefly, Ireland was a pagan country around the time of the Roman empire. St. Patrick journeyed there and evangelized the country, giving Ireland it's Catholic Christian faith. This is why so much of Ireland is Catholic. It goes back to the earliest days of the Irish people and became part of their heritage and identity.

Later (and I don't know what year), the English invaded Ireland and basically took over. The English were protestants. What they did was make laws forbidding the Irish to practice their Catholic faith, even forbidding Irish song and dance. This was so that the spirit of the people would fail and make them submit to English rule. During this time, a lot of Irish DID submit and become protestant. This action was like abandoning everything that made the Irish irish. This is why the conflicts run so deep.

St. Patrick gave them Christianity, and it became who they were. The English tried to strip them of it, and those who conformed to the English were like traitors. This fight still goes on today.

Answer 5

It's tribal.... same the whole world over. Its the way humans do things. If it's not one thing then it will be another. You get a reaction sometimes when mixing volitile ingredients together.
P.s For all the "plastics" out there, the Irish have contributed their share in the last 100years or so to the troubles its more than just the English. So no need for anybody who had an Irish great Uncle twelve generations ago to start flying the flag from across the pond and going blar blar blar all day long. Just go with the flow and Evolve, Charles Darwin swore by it I've heard it said. I await my violations from the land of the free.... lol

Answer 6

Because the English invaded Ireland centuries ago. The Irish were potato growers and the English destroyed their land by importing sheep thus destroying the Irish livelihood many starved to death. The English were Catholic until King Henry VIII decided he wanted a divorce and started the Church of England creating hatred and many other problems.. Over the centuries the hatred still goes on. Do a Google search...potato famon

Answer 7

Most Protestants and Catholics are not and have never been involved in conflict directly. The only thing which has kept the conflict mentality alive into the 21st century is the vested interest of politicians and others who see peace and harmony as a threat to their power base which has been founded on fear, ignorance and divisiveness. Power corrupts!

Answer 8

I don't know about Ireland, but the Catholics do things that are very clearly in conflict with the Bible. I think the most basic reason for conflict is that the Bible is not the final authority for the Catholic church. For many protestants, the Bible is the final authority.

Answer 9

Blame the English. Look up information on Oliver Cromwell on wikipedia and you'll see why

Answer 10

because they have become used to the fighting and fight about anything and link it into the original dissagreement.

Personally I think thers more involved than religion here, as the majority of irish are peaceful and dont fight with each other, there remains a minority who fight over something, but religion? I dont buy it. I think something else, weather its drugs or money or land or whatever, but its being manipulated into the original reasons (religion) which never have and never will be resolved. So new fighting continues under the same old guise.