Causes of Northern Ireland Conflict

Lack of opportunities for social interaction

One factor that led to the conflict between Catholics and Protestants is the lack of
opportunities for social interaction
In Northern Ireland, there are fully funded public schools that cater to the Protestants
only, and private schools that cater to Catholics only, which ae partly funded by the
government. Before 1991, the Protestant children were taught British history and
played British sports such as rugby, hockey and cricket. On the other hand, Catholic
children learnt Irish history, took up Irish sports such as hurling and were taught the
Irish language and culture.
Furthermore, since the 17
th
century, the Catholics and Protestants have been living in
separate residential areas. The 1991 census showed that in Belfast, 63% of the
population lived in areas that were either mainly Catholics or Protestant, thus reducing
the opportunity for social interaction.
Since the Catholics and Protestants learns sports, cultures and knowledge that are
completely different, they cannot interact with each other as they do not have common
topics. This causes the lack of understanding between the two groups. This eventually
led to misunderstanding between the two groups, which causes violence to break out
between the two groups. This then led to the conflict between Catholics and Protestants.








Divided Loyalties

One of the causes of conflict in Northern Ireland is the divided loyalties, where the
Protestants and Catholics have different political beliefs.
The Protestants see themselves as British and want Northern Ireland to remain part of
the UK. They are afraid that a union with the Republic of Ireland would mean that the
Catholic government would be intolerant of their Protestant beliefs. The Catholics see
themselves as Irish and want a union with the Republic of Ireland. The Catholics also
resent the history of English conquest where they were killed and treated badly by the
Protestants.
Loyalty to different countries makes the Protestants and the Catholics intolerant of each
other, causing tension which would later result in conflict between the two sides. This
difference also contributes to a lack of identity which further prevents understanding
and co-operation between the Catholics and Protestants, leading to more tension and
conflict.














Unequal allocation of housing

One reason for the conflict in Northern Ireland is the unequal allocation of public
housing by city councils.
As the city councils are largely made up of Protestants, more houses would be given to
the Protestants than the Catholics, therefore the Catholics find the allocation of public
housing by the government to be unfair.
As the Catholics have larger families, they are frustrated by the shortage of housing as
they would have to wait many years to be allocated a house. They were angered by this
discrimination and their frustration led to the conflict between Catholics and
Protestants.

















Unequal Employment Opportunities

One of the factors that led to the conflict in Northern Ireland is the unequal
employment opportunities.
In Northern Ireland, it is more difficult for Catholics to get jobs, especially in the civil /
government service although they were just as / more qualified than the Protestants.
There were also very few Catholics in senior positions and the public sectors and the
number of Catholic civil servants were not proportionate to their numbers in the
country.
As a result, this affected the Catholics as they were likely to be jobless or unable to get
the jobs they wanted. Their social and economic position in Northern Ireland and their
standard of living would be affected if they are jobless or lowly paid.
Thus, the Catholics were very unhappy that they do not have equal employment
opportunities. Hence, they organized peaceful demonstrations which eventually lead to
violence between Catholics and Protestants, leading to conflict in Northern Ireland.















Lack of voting rights

One of the factors that led to the conflict in Northern Ireland is the lack of voting rights.

In local elections only people who owned houses or businesses could vote. As
Protestants tended to be wealthier, more of them could vote which meant they
dominated local councils and ruled in their own interests which made Catholics
resentful. Poorer Catholics who did not own companies got less votes, which resulted in
them being unable to obtain any say in the government or gain political power, making
them resentful of the Protestants and their ability to gain advantage through voting
rights.

Secondly, by re-drawing the voting districts, Protestants could ensure that the Catholics
were unable to gain a power base, further marginalizing them.

The Catholics were angry with the lack of voting rights for Catholics. Thus the Catholics
held peaceful demonstrations which eventually lead to violence between the two
groups, thus leading to the conflict between the Protestants and the Catholics.