Now that we have peace on the island of Ireland, will it ever go back to the troubles?

Question

Now that we have peace on the island of Ireland, will it ever go back to the troubles?

Answer 1

Hopefully not. It was a dark time for everyone.

Answer 2

No, the terroists are not going to go back, as there is more to loose in the post 911 era,

They get a better profile by engaging in peaceful dialogue than blowing up a car or pub.

After 911 the IRA realised they would never get the support of the irish americans or the western world if they continued on an armed struggle.

Answer 3

I really hope there is no going back to the troubles, but it seems to be  an uneasy peace. Not really surprising when you consider the atrocities committed by both sides. If someone killed your son or your mother, just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, it isn't easy, probably not even possible, for you to sit with them for lunch and become friends.

Also, peace is relative. While people aren't being killed by organsied 'paramilitaries', I still certainly wouldn't recommend an English tourist wear his red football shirt in the Bogside or Ardoyne, or for someone to wear an Ireland jersey in Shankill. Northern Ireland is still a very deeply divided place, and the variety of peace there is only peace relative to what was there before. More 'peace lines' have been built since the troubles than there ever were during it, and I think it'll be a long time until we see an end to 'flashpoints', especially in the marching season.

I can't see another return to the tragedies that led up to the kick off, because there is no longer a gerrymandered system that deliberately treats people differently to the huge extent that led to the initially peaceful Civil Rights movement, and in this day and age, the Brit paras are not going to open fire on a peaceful march. While not perfect by any means, the PSNI are not the B Specials, Your religion or political opinions don't determine the quality of house you live in, at least officially, but this divide does still exists to an extent because a Nationalist family still would not feel safe in a 'Loyalist' area and vice-versa.

I would hope that when my generation are all dead, our kids and their grandkids can have some sort of integrated society, and the troubles, that were really a war however you look at it, would become like the 'Brits and the Germans', despite the attrocities during World War 2, nobody except a very few older people still harbour any resentment.

I think we really need to get over the "you sing Derry's Walls and I'll sing The Boys of the Old Brigade" mentality some time soon, because until this happens, we'll never be truly "at peace" with the other half of the community.

Answer 4

I certainly hope not