Prisoners of History

Overview

Ireland's past has formed Ireland's and Northern Ireland's present (1981). Eire still seeks the unity of all Ireland; the Protestant North still resists; Catholics in Northern Ireland are still disaffected; Britain is still involved. A decade of violence in which more than 2,000 have been killed has only hardened attitudes, though politicians still work for a union of hearts and minds, or at least agreement to differ and to live in peace. There are few signs of movement. Both in the heartland of the Northern Protestant majority and in the Catholic communities they surround, there are those who see themselves as prisoners of history. Need they always remain so?