The BBC had a fairly amazing story of Prince Charles visiting the place where the IRA killed Lord Mountbatten, but also meeting with Gerry Adams of the Sinn Féin. I think a lot of people thought this could never happen.

Back in the 80s-90s the Troubles were still very much active and something a person studying a Celtic language paid attention too. In many ways the issues surrounding Ulster were very difficult and bitters. One the one hand there the Catholic Irish were angry because their country was invaded in the past, but on the other hand, the Protests were now in the majority and did not want to become “Irish” like the Republic of Ireland.

Violence made it all uglier. Many of the legitimate grievances of the Catholics fell on deaf ears as the IRA set off bombs or assassinated people. It wasn’t until I saw In the Name of the Father (with Daniel Day Lewis) that I understood how the British could badly misprosecute suspected IRA members. But see also Cal which shows how seductive, but damaging the IRA could be.

Eventually a cease fire as declared, but I wondered how long it could last geven the mistrust on both sides over many decades. But it has lasted, and this semester when I mentioned Northern Ireland to my students, I got a lot of blanks stares from my students (oy!). There is not harmony by any means, but Adams has made the Sinn Féin (the IRA’s party) a legitimate political force and the British have been more encouraging of Irish language use in Northern Ireland (although some Protestants associate it with IRA unfortunately).

Still it’s nice to see that people can choose to at least tolerate each other if it will stop violence. I think people are also recognizing that Northern Ireland/Ulster has a unique culture which blends both Irish and UK culture. I really hope to visit some day.