The Troubles was a violent period of Northern Irish history from the late 1960s through the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 (also known as the Belfast Agreement). During these years, over 3,000 Northern Irish citizens-mostly civilians-were murdered, and many others were injured. Although these numbers may not seem huge, given that the total population of Northern Ireland is less than two million people, there were few who were not in some way personally and directly affected by the deaths and injuries.

The Troubles in Northern Ireland is much more complex than simply a conflict between Catholics and Protestants, and whether Northern Ireland should be under the rule of Britain. The conflict and tensions in Northern Ireland, which go back literally for centuries, involve issues of nationality, class, culture and religion. Even in a new era of hope following the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the 2006 St. Andrews Agreement, there are still enormous challenges for Northern Ireland today.  In this post-conflict phase, the country is attempting to build a shared future while journeying towards reconciliation and healing within a segregated society. Education plays a crucial role in this endeavor, but the challenges are great.

In Northern Ireland today, some neighborhoods are separated by walls-literal barriers which divide neighbor from neighbor; walls one learns not to cross. Decades, perhaps centuries, of extreme loyalties and wounded pride have created a society of many barriers, many walls. As professor Tony Gallagher explains,

The real struggle now is to develop a truly shared society in which the communities are interwoven in every conceivable way-institutionally, socially, psychologically-and in which we begin to speak the language of a common good. This goal is harder than we imagined in 1994, but it is still believable and achievable.¹

In this section of the website, we examine some of these challenges and the issues affecting Northern Ireland today. We look at key events in the history of the Troubles, including Bloody Sunday in 1972 when 14 men participating in a civil protest were shot and killed by British paratroopers, and the more recent decommissioning process. We consider how Northern Ireland's "culture of silence" creates obstacles to dialogue and non-violent solutions. We look at the importance of music and poetry in Northern Irish culture and the critical role art can play in the process of justice and reconciliation. We also explore the importance of forgiveness and apology in healing deep wounds that have festered for decades, for centuries.

This section of our website does not provide a thorough overview of the history of Northern Ireland and the Troubles. What it does provide is a starting point to introduce you to some of the key issues and questions facing Northern Ireland today as its citizens struggle to find a common vision for a future that works for all.

We would encourage you to research the history of "The Troubles" on your own. Some websites we would suggest as you begin your research include:

• BBC's website, "Wars and Conflict: The Troubles."
• BBC's website, "A State Apart."
• Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ).
• Cain Web Service: A Glossary of Terms Related to the Conflict.

¹ The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles' Philoctetes by Seamus Heaney (New York: The Noonday Press, 1991), 77-78.
² Tony Gallagher, personal correspondence with author. (Quoted from the reading in this section, "Trapped by the Pain of Memory." Source.)