Sunday, December 7, 2014

Ireland, Religion, and the Troubles

Gareth Russell analyzes the causes of the troubles in Ireland.
What is frustrating from an historian's point of view is how little people in Northern Ireland actually know about history, but how much they use history to shape their views. (The phrase 'A little knowledge is a dangerous thing' springs to mind and has never been more applicable.) In 1641, when thousands of Irish Protestants were massacred by their Catholic neighbours, hundreds of Catholics joined a Catholic confederacy that pledged to stop further massacres and to support the rule of King Charles I in Ireland. Cromwell's infamous attack on Drogheda and Dundalk in 1649 was as much an attack on Irish royalists, who continued supporting Cromwell's fallen enemy, the King, as it was an attack on Irish Catholics. (Read entire post.)


1 comment:

julygirl said...

I am as ignorant as anyone can be regarding the complexities of what has been happening in Northern Ireland, but perhaps that can give me a cleaner perspective....and that is....why spend years in self destructive acts (the basics of which people are not even certain) which hold the country back from progress! As an American I will state that business drives our country and we do not appreciate anything that affects our ability to do business.....even convictions.