Background

The Pail is the place around Dublin where the English originally settled and controlled. Slowly they expanded out from this area to dominate the rest of Ireland.

1000 years ago, Ireland had a Gaelic culture and its inhabitants were predominately catholic. In 1200AD, the English invaded Ireland due to their fear that another country would use Ireland to invade them if they didn't control Ireland. By 1600AD, the north and the east of Ireland was controlled by the English. The conflict arose because of differences that the Irish and the English had. While Ireland was catholic, England was protestant, which created dislike between the two parties. The English tried to squash out the Gaelic culture but the Irish rebelled. One rebellion in 1798AD led by Wolfe Tone was specially famous. However, by the 1800s Ireland might have been considered an English colony, such was the nature of their control.

The potato famine was an event which helped spread hatred towards the English amongst the Irish. During 1845-1849, the potato blight virus caused potato crops all over Europe to fail. Ireland suffered the most of any country in Europe because the potato was the main crop of the tenant farmer. By the end of the potato famine, Irelands population of 8 million people had decreased to about 4 million people, with the other 4 million people either dying from diseases such as typhus, cholera, dysentery or even starvation, or else emigrating overseas to countries like U.S.A. There was a feeling amongst the Irish people that the potato famine would not have been so disastrous if the English had helped with food aids, or better still allowed the Irish to lead good lives instead of being poor and relying so much on the potato just to feed themselves and stay alive.

The 700 years of background to the conflict in Ireland are called the Troubles.