Although nominally independent, Ireland is something of a colony of England until the early 20th century. In the mainly Catholic country, the British Protestant nobility has the upper hand and also owns most of the land.
Due to a disastrous famine in the mid-nineteenth century, the Irish population lives in abject poverty. This causes the calls for Irish self-government to swell, leading to the ‘Easter Rising’ in 1916, followed by a guerrilla war against the English ‘occupiers’.
In 1921, a treaty is concluded under which Ireland becomes independent, while six northern provinces, with a relatively large number of Protestants, remain part of the United Kingdom. This sows the seeds for ‘The Troubles’, the conflict that breaks out there in the late 1960s between Catholic paramilitary groups and the English army. In particular, the IRA (Irish Republican Army) commits several bloody attacks. It was not until 1998 that peace returns to Northern Ireland with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
Casualties: around 1 million as a result of the 19th-century famine; around 1,700 (para)military and 1,800 civilians between 1968 and 1998.
‘Ballyseedy Monument’
Location: Ireland, Kerry, Tralee, Ballyseedy
Design: Yann Goulet
Unveiling: 1959
Photo: Stair na hÉireann | History of Ireland
In December 1921, Britain and the Provisional Irish Government sign a treaty recognizing Irish independence. However, part of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) thinks the treaty does not go far enough, resulting in a violent civil war. A very brutal execution takes place in March 1923 at Ballyseedy Cross, County Kerry. Nine IRA fighters are tied to a landmine there by government troops, which is then detonated. Miraculously, one of them survives, leading to the discovery of the atrocity.
‘IRA Plot’
Location: Nothern Ireland, Derry, Creggan, Derry City Cemetery
Design: unknown, the image represents Cú Chulainn, the most important hero and demigod of Ulster mythology
Unveiling: 1975
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
After Catholic residents of Northern Ireland had been demonstrating in vain for years for equal rights, riots broke out between Catholics and Protestants in August 1969. Soon the riots escalate into armed conflict (‘the Troubles’), which continues until the beginning of this century. One of the main flashpoints is Derry. As early as 1975, a monument to 46 killed members of the IRA is erected in a cemetery in the Creggan district. According to official sources, a total of 3,532 people die as a result of the conflict between 1969 and 2001.
‘The Great Famine’
Location: Ire, Dublin, North Dock
Design: Rowan Gillespie
Unveiling: 1997
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Irish farmers have been leasing their land from English noble landowners for centuries. They mainly grow potatoes, the staple food of Ireland’s poor. So when the potato harvest fails three times in quick succession between 1845 and 1850, it is catastrophic. Countless farmers can no longer pay the rent and are evicted from their land. Moreover, the English export large quantities of Irish grain and dairy products to England. The result is a great famine that kills a million poor Irish people. Another million Irishmen are forced to emigrate, mainly to America.
‘The death of innocent’
Location: Northern Ireland, Derry, corner Lecky Road/Westland Street (mural)
Design: Bogside Artists
Unveiling: 1e version: 1999, 2e version: 2006
Photo: David Dixon
The 100th victim of the civil war in Northern Ireland is Annette McGavigan, a 14-year-old schoolgirl. After one of the numerous riots between local youths and the British army, she and other children take to the streets on 6 September 1971 to collect rubber bullets left behind. Suddenly, the military fires again. Annette is hit in the back of the head and dies on the spot. The culprit is never traced.
‘Hands across the divide’
Location: Northern Ireland, Derry, Craigavon Bridge (west end)
Design: Maurice Harron
Unveiling: 1992
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
In the middle of (London-)Derry, on a roundabout by the River Foyle, stands this remarkable statue of two men reaching out to each other. It is unveiled in early 1992 as a sign of hope and reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants. It will be exactly 20 years since 14 unarmed civilians demonstrating for civil rights are gunned down by the British army on Bloody Sunday.
Mural: PREPARED FOR PEACE | READY FOR WAR
Location: Northern Ireland, Belfast, Mount Vernon Road
Design: unknown
Unveiling: in 1997 on Shankill Road and again in 2004 when moved up on the hill, at eye-level with the motorway roundabout
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
One of Belfast’s biggest tourist attractions are its many murals, which have been painted on blind walls there since the late 1970s. Initially, the motif of the murals is the armed struggle between Republicans (Catholics who want to join Ireland) and Loyalists or Unionists (Protestants who want Northern Ireland to remain British). In Shankill Road, the heart of the Protestant quarter, ‘loyalist’ fighters in particular are glorified. Several militant murals have since been repainted with more peaceful subjects at the behest of the local council.