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both the Nor th and South, one is
forced to conclude that the I rish
problem is impossible for man to
solve-so long as humans defy that
great spi ri tual law, " You shall love
your neighbor [whether Catholic or
Protestant] as yourself."
Attltudes of Fear and Hatred
In Galway, one young married man
expressed to me the attitude of his
Catholic fat her in t hese words:
"The English have always ruled
Ireland with a s trong hand, denying
us our rights and t rying to take our
religion away. They sent over the
army to murder and kili. They took
our land away and gave it to land–
lords who were Protestant settlers
from Eng land .
" If
the Irish couldn't pay their
rent, they starved to death. The
Protestant majority in the North
did not give fai r play to the Catho–
lic minority. This created the civi l
righ ts' movements. Thi s then
developed and moved into violence
and murder."
Ulstermen, in turn, have had a
siege mentality since the 17th cen–
tury. They fear losing thei r civil
and religious liberty won by the
Protestant Reformation.
In the past, Protestants felt com–
pelled to safeguard thei r freedom
by d iscriminating against Catho–
lics. Admittedly, Catholics have
been t reated better in recent years
by being given improved housing
and more jobs. But Ulster Protes–
tants still
~ave
a fear of being ou t–
numbered by Catholics, affecting
their jobs, their government and
their religion. And especially a fear
of a repetition of the A.D. 1641
massacres, which they also remind
themselves of every July 12.
There would be three million
Catholics to only one million Prot–
estants if Ireland were to be re–
united as 32 counties. Instead of
being a powerful majori ty, Ulster
Protestants would then be in the
minority-outvoted and dominated
by Cat holic politics. T hat's why
they resis t any forced reunion of
the two l rish terri tories.
Many Ulster-Scot Protestants
also fear the international political
power of t he R oman Cathol ic
Church. They detest becoming par t
of what they regard as a r igid Catho–
lic state. Under such a Catholic gov-
24
ernment , large numbers of Uls ter
Protestants fear it would no longer
be easy for them to divorce or prac–
t ice bi rth control.
How lrlsh Strife Began
Protestants and Catholics in Ire–
land have distrusted each other for
centur ies. " The Irish have long
memories," one man told me.
To understand why there is strife
in Ulster today, we must understand
Jrish history. Ireland has a complex
history that involves cultural, ethnic,
economic, political, temperamental
and social differences.
I t's a history fi lled with conflict
between the native Irish and the
foreign colonizers- whether they
were Danes, Normans, English or
Scots. The Irish also fought among
themse lves. The r e we re fe uds
between famil ies, batt les between
tribes and wars between provinces.
In the 12th cent u r y, Pope
Adrian appealed to England's King
Henry II ( 1154-89) for help in
reforming Ireland by establ ishing
full Papal authority. Pope Adrian's
document said: "You shall enter
that island and execute whatever
may tend to the honou r of God and
the welfare of the land; and also
that the people of that land shall
receive you with honour and revere
you as their lord ... " (text of
Lau–
dabiliter
in
Irish H istorical Docu–
ments,
edited by Curt í s and
McDowell, pages 17, 18).
But England did not fully con–
quer Ireland until the t ime of Eliz–
abeth
l.
Meanwhile, Ireland, in the reign
ofEdward JI (1307-27), was divided
between Irish and Engl ish who had
different languages, habi ts and laws.
Their deep animosity toward each
other was evident long befare Prot–
estantism. The English and Jrish sys–
tems of land tenure, property and
inheritance increased resentment
and bitterness between the two fac–
tions. Religious conflict developed
only later.
The Ulster Plantations
England's first Protestant king,
Henry VIII, abolished papal author–
ity in Ireland by declaring himself
the head of the I rish church. But ihe
Catholic f riars were beyond Henry's
power. They continued to preach
everywhere among th e people.
Toward the end of Henry's reign, the
Jesuits carne to Ireland under the
protection of Con O'Neill, " prince
of the Irish of Ulster." Because they
helped keep Roman Catholic tradi–
tions alive, most of Ireland remained
faithful to Rome.
In 1541 , the Engl ish Parliame nt
declared Henry VIII "King of this
land of Ireland, annexed and knit
forever to the imperial crown of the
realm of England ." T bis paved the
way for the effective conquest of
I reland by Queen Elizabeth
l.
Ulster demanded the immediate
attent ion of Queen Elizabeth. It was
here that the Catholic Earl of
T yrone led the last pocket of Gaelic
Irish resistance against English con–
quest and colonization. His army
was defeated at Kinsdale in 160 l .
His lands- comprising six of the
ni ne coun ties of Ulste r-wer e
planted or settled wi th Scottish Prot–
estants.
Under J ames 1, massive tracts of
land were seized from the natives
and granted to Scottish and E nglish
colon izers. By 1640, Protestants
owned three million out of 3.5 mil–
lion acres.
These "Uister Plantations" di–
vided lreland into two antagonistic
communities. The conquered and
impoverished Catholic natives re–
mained side by side with the Prot–
estant settlers. When Sir George
Carew reported on the plantations
in 161 1, he clearly foresaw that the
lrish would rebel again.
The Scots who settled in Uls ter
were considered by the native l r ish
as being proud and haughty aliens.
To the Scots, the Irish were back–
ward in manners and c ustoms.
Thus the scorn of the Scot was met
by tbe curse of the Celt- "the wild
Irish" as they appeared to the eyes
of the Scots.
In parts of I reland, English colo–
ni s ts became abso rbed by the
native population. But in Ulster,
Presbyterian Scots didn' t generally
intermarry with the devoutly Cath–
olic native Irish.
Irish Catholics resented being
ruled by persons of a different eth–
nic backg round and a d ifferent reli–
gion. To them, it was Protestant
monarchs in England who had
exploited a nd oppressed them.
They fel t discr iminated against in
respect to land tenure, housing,
The
PLAIN TRUTH