Okay, I'm going to throw in my hand now and add in a few little facts that have been omitted from the history lesson being debated above. Shona and Helen, both of you have stated everything about the current Irish situation correctly but there are a few missing items. Please allow me to fill in the gaps and allow me the benefit of the doubt since I both live here and I had a hand in the latest peace process (albeit as a voter).
Firstly, the UK has no claim on Eire (read the Irish Republic). The Republic of Ireland is a sovereign nation and is recognised by the United Nations as such. It gained independence after the War of 1921 (not the 1916 rising which was simply an insurrection of national fervour - and a successful failure) and became a republic in 1948 when it also joined the UN.
That claim is over Northern Ireland and is there to protect the interests of those citizens who, quite rightly, feel that they should stay in the UK.
However, until 1997 Bunreacht na hÉireann, the Constitution of Ireland stated in Articles 1 and 2 that the Republic consisted of the entire island of Ireland - a claim which led indirectly to the troubles which have only just ended. In early 1998, to streamline the peace process, the voters in the Republic voted to repeal these artcles from the constitution. This they did with a resounding 95% in favour. The same day Northern Ireland pollsters voted by 75% to 25% to accept the Peace Process. The vote in the South shocked and surprised a number of hard-line Unionists who had always suspected that there was strong sentiment towards reunification in that part. Nothing could be further from the truth. The most important thing to us is that the killing stops in the North. Basically we voted to say 'resolve your own differences and we won't get in your way'. Should reunification be an issue then a referendum must be held and a two-thirds majority must be reached for it to occur. The British government have handed over all power to a power-sharing executive consisting of representatives of all the parties who gained %5 or more of the total vote in a local election. The only controls they don't have is over security and policing - for obvious reasons.
The British government were not solely responsible for partition, Helen. The southern 26 counties were predominantly Catholic and Nationalist and, therefore, had little trouble in whipping up anti-British fervour not to mention recruiting volunteers for various military, paramilitary and guerilla movements. However, in the six counties of the north the same thing was happening in the Unionist camp. Vast units were being mobilised, units comprising battle-hardened veterans right from the Somme with real military training and funded and armed by veteran units in Britain, wealthy patrons and the government in Britain itself.
Defeating the British army in the south was one thing. Fighting a bloody guerilla war in the north was another. The leaders at this time, including Michael Collins, knew that they had to sue for peace and accept the inevitable. The north was definitely not going to be a prize and they were forced to concede it in exchange for a 26 county free state. Though a huge success for the relatively little effort it took, the Republican government led by Eamonn deValera split (deValera wanted to continue the fight - though it would have been very unwise) and the Irish Civil War started in 1922 ending a year later in devastation and the deaths of many of the original Irish leaders including Collins and Griffith. However, the treaty was signed and sealed and the two Irelands took shape, settling down to forty years of relative peace. The grandsons of the original guerillas eventually took up arms over completely unrelated issues in 1969.
Civil rights marches were held to fight for equal rights in the very (although not evenly) mixed areas of Belfast and Derry. Scuffles, riots and fighting broke out between the two communities and troops were introduced to the streets from the mainland. These troops were there to protect the Catholics. Catholic women used to feed and bring cups of tea to the soldiers on the corners and they were more than welcome. Failure to stop the violence and the resurgence of Loyalist paramilitary groups such as the UVF meant that the Catholic communities started to turn against the troops and they increasingly depended on their own paramilitary groups such as the IRA. British troops began to get attacked in the streets by stone-throwers and the violence started in earnest. Finally they retaliated and the first casualties of the modern conflict were recorded. Now the paramilitaries had a legitimate reason to attack and the rest is history.
The latest census (held earlier this year) will indeed show that the majority of people in the North are Catholic/Nationalist but this does not mean that they have an automatic right to self-determination. To prove themselves worthy of government they must first show that they can live with another community and then they must put aside their differences and work together as one. The power-sharing government is almost proof of the latter. The former, I fear, has a long way to go yet.
