The Troubles

1960s - 1998 — A conflict in Northern Ireland involving republican and loyalist paramilitaries and state forces, centering on the constitutional status of Northern Ireland.

In the late 1960s, a civil rights movement in Northern Ireland demanding an end to discrimination against the Catholic minority was met with violence. This sparked "The Troubles," a thirty-year conflict involving Republican paramilitaries (like the IRA), Loyalist paramilitaries, and British state forces.

The violence claimed over 3,500 lives and left deep physical and psychological scars. It was a low-intensity war of bombings, shootings, and riots, with atrocities committed by all sides.

The conflict was brought to an end by the Good Friday Agreement (Belfast Agreement) in 1998. This historic treaty established a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland, cross-border bodies, and a principle of consent regarding the region's future. It was overwhelmingly endorsed by referendums in both North and South.