Fundamentalists have a lot of influence in Northern Ireland

[ck4829]

What else is this region known for?

[ourbluenation]

1. come again?

[ck4829]

2. The IRA, Ulster Defense Force, The Real IRA, etc.

See a connection?

[Jed Dilligan]

5. I don't know

The 700-year-old "Irish troubles" are ethnic more than religious at this point. Of course, there's an argument to be made that we are evolving into a separate ethnicity from the religious right, and can expect a few hundred years of bloodshed for it.

[noahmijo]

3. The IRA??

They claim Northern Ireland should be given back to the Irish? I need to school myself some more about the conflict (or ex-conflict I recall a story about how the IRA has laid down their) but I think that conflict goes back a long way and religion is half the story.

[ourbluenation]

4. religion is THE story....the IRA would be the catholic part of the story

it's a catholic vs protestant issue simply becasue the Irish are by and large catholic, and the north has been occupied by british protestants.

[noahmijo]

6. Right what I meant by religion being half the story is

the land occupation is the other half, but the land occupation is directly related to the protestant/catholic conflict.

[Jed Dilligan]

8. Don't buy it.

The Protestant N. Irish are ethnically different from the Catholic native Irish, and that's the root of the conflict. The religions are incidental and mostly related to the decisions of monarchs and clan chiefs hundreds of years ago. England started colonizing northern Ireland when parts of the country (Armagh in particular, notable in today's "troubles") were still pagan. I wouldn't describe either side as religious fanatics. If everyone on the poor old island became a moonie all at once, the same people would probably still hate each other.

[Jed Dilligan]

9. dupe

self-delete

[H2O Man]

7. "The Troubles"

are primarily an economic struggle. The region is, I think it is safe to say, known for a lot more than "fundamentalists."