How many years were the Catholics and Protestants BOMBING and KILLING each other in the UK ?

Question

IRA vs Britian ?

IRA bombs even targetted SCHOOL buses.


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Answer 1

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 2

It started long before the IRA, in the 16th century when Henry VIII took the Church in England out of the Roman Catholic Church.

He killed Catholics, his daughter Mary (to a Catholic mother) killed Protestants, then her sister Elizabeth I, with a Protestant mother, killed Catholics again.

This continued with the English Civil War in the 17th century, the Highland clearances in Scotland and the Irish wars, and the Jacobite rebellions of the 18th century. William III defeated the Catholic Irish at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 and then in Ireland there was an enforced "peace" during which Irish Catholics died mostly by hunger and disease.

The IRA emerged at the beginning of the 20th century and won independence for the Irish Republic. Protestants in Northern Ireland continued to rule over and oppress Catholics until the "troubles" erupted in the 1960s.

Fortunately there now seems to be a consensus for peace and compromise.

Answer 3

It's been going on for hundreds of years. Its origin was more about political power, but that is almost a useless distinction as the political and religious lines came down in very similar places. But many of the 20th century heroes of the Republic (of Ireland) were Protestant; however, in the North especially, the religion and politics (and wealth) defined the two "sides".

Over history, ethnic/religious/whatever wars seem to spare no one

My mother was born in County Sligo (eventually part of the Free Republic) in 1905. The population was more heavily Catholic, but well mixed geographically, and there were separate schools and of course churches. She was a devout Catholic, but as a child, played with children of both religions. However --- she never went into the houses of Protestant friends, because "Protestants were known to keep their dead in their closets"!!! And the Protestant kids were afraid of ... something to do with priests... I can't remember exactly what she said.

As an aside, William Butler Yeats was a famous son of Sligo, born into Anglo-Protestant landholders, but his allegiance was to the entity that was the island of Ireland.

I am so grateful and hopeful for the shared government that has been accepted by both "sides". I never thought I could quite trust a SinnFein smile, and I never dreamt I would ever SEE an Ian Paisley smile!

Answer 4

the war between England and Ireland has been ongoing for over 800 years.
the war was caused by English occupation in Ireland. the original leaders of the Fenian movement(Irish republicans,Fenian means warrior) were called the united Irishmen,a group formed actually by both protestant and catholic Irishmen. today commonly known as the Irish republican army/movement. the IRA targets official British personnel,the British police force in the north of Ireland and British political leaders. English authorities target IRA volunteers but employ the service of the protestant paramilitaries and police force to kill republicans and innocent catholics. atrocities have been attributed to all factions,any unsanctioned attack on the IRAs behalf is on the individual(s) head not on that of the IRA. the IRA as any army does(except for England and her subjects) takes action appropriately to these individual(s). the English army for example shot dead 14 unarmed civilians during a civil rights march in Derry,Ireland,amongst the number were little children. at an Irish football game the English army shot dead 50 spectators none of which were in the Irish republican brotherhood of that time...........the war for the IRA is a political one. the war for the protestants is one for power and of prejudice as empowered by the English army and at times the English government. the IRA has taken the first steps to restore peace to the war torn country.

Answer 5

IRA were fighting for a cause..all the armies in the world have used the civilians as a target..just study history..look at the suicide bombers...they target everyone...

when we dropped two atomic bombs on Japan to end WWII did we not take out mostly civilians? we have to do what we have to do in a time of war
all is fair in love and war...

Answer 6

7 years

Answer 7

Religion is not connected with the wars being done in the United Kingdom. It is a war between countries to other countries and on government functions of that country involed.

Is the offense committed by your father is also your offense or vice versa? That is your wrong logic on wars.
jtm

Answer 8

Too many years!

The conflict really had nothing to do with religion. It was about Ireland being free from England.

Answer 9

The TRUE religion has love among themselves and do not hurt others.
Catholic and Protestant priests and ministers encouraged their 'flock' to go to war.
They have made their religions part of 'Babylon the Great"

Answer 10

A long time. I guess this stuff in the middle east is nothing new. We tend to forget, don't we.