Sarah Delaney on Religious Conflict in Ireland

By: Sarah Delaney

April 16, 2007

When I arrived in Ireland earlier this spring, I expected to be bombarded with news and information about the Northern Ireland conflicts. The religious violence was what I associated with the Emerald Isle—that and St. Patrick’s Day. I assumed the issue would frequently come up in conversation, through debates of the latest reconciliation attempts, retelling stories of close encounters and dreadful memories, and mourning those who were lost in the violence. How could such a devastating situation not be at the core of the country’s identity? Neighbor versus neighbor, brother versus brother, all fighting for their people, be it the Catholics or the Protestants. It had all the components for a moving story and cautionary tale for future generations. Yet only once have I heard the phrase “Northern Ireland conflicts” spoken outside of a history classroom, and that was only when I asked my cabdriver why the Irish remain mute on the subject. His response: why should we remember our bloody history, when senseless violence destroyed communities and killed hundreds?
Unfortunately, in order to prevent repetition of history, discussion of the Northern Ireland conflicts among the general population is exactly what must happen. It is as if the Irish people want to forget completely about the decades of problems; there are currently no classes taught on the subject at my university, and Northern Ireland is simply treated as part of the Republic of Ireland in the media and by the population (the main reason for the fighting in the first place was over this very issue, whether Northern Ireland should rejoin the rest of the island or stay part of the United Kingdom). More frustrating, and more dangerous, however, is the lack of meaningful interchange between different religious faiths about their opinions and practices; another core problem of the conflicts was the allegiances of the Catholics and Protestants to Ireland and the United Kingdom, respectively, and thus the fighting between the two groups of faithful. The Irish are hyper-politically correct when it comes to discussing religion. In the past, politicians often made references to papal encyclicals, laws were crafted to follow canonical teachings, and the Irish Constitution deemed Catholicism special above all other religions in the country; today, in order to appease everyone, the subject of religion is essentially avoided altogether.

The Irish need an honest discussion of the role of religion in their society. After centuries of fighting along sectarian lines, first as a united Catholic Ireland against the British Protestants and then as the Irish Catholics against the Irish Protestants, ignoring religion totally misses the point. Religion has significantly impacted Ireland’'s history, and it cannot be surreptitiously brushed aside if future problems are to be prevented. This is especially true as Ireland adapts to its new wealth. As the Catholic Church loses influence and more non-Catholic immigrants enter the country, Ireland must decide how it wants to preserve its history and move forward with its spiritual nature intact.

The critical need to contemplate these issues became even more apparent to me after visiting Belfast in Northern Ireland. We walked through both the Catholic and Protestant areas of the city, which are literally divided by a gate that is locked at night to prevent one faith’'s militias from attacking the other side’s. Can there be a more obvious sign that the situation is not under control? While this is obviously an extreme example of the mistrust and discrimination among different religions, the barrier between faiths still exist in other communities as well, albeit not as literal. Children frequently attend parochial schools, self-segregating by faith. Parents name their offspring with typical Protestant or Catholic names, marking them for life as one of the two religions. People readily identify themselves as Catholic or Protestant (or other, a very small minority), and often continue to take their political and social opinions from their faiths. One cannot say that religion does not impact most Irish in one way or another. Yet without addressing the issue of religious differences head-on, Ireland will always have to ignore its bloody history. In order to continue modernizing, Ireland must have a serious conversation about its past and how it wants to shape its future. Without this honesty, the Northern Ireland conflicts will remain the huge secret that everyone ignores but that no one forgets.
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