40 years ago — December 6, 1976
“Ours is not basically a conflict over religion; certainly it is not one between the Catholic and Protestant churches. It is a conflict over politics, over differing claims to national identity and democratic liberties, whether looked at from the viewpoint of the Protestant majority or the Catholic minority. There is, indeed, a religious aspect to the conflict, arising from the … past history, the denominational divide largely coincides with the national, cultural and social divisions of the population. We may compare this with the situation in Palestine or Cyprus. They also have religious differences, but there is much more than those in their conflicts. … [In Ireland] it is not a simple internal struggle … but rather a more old-fashioned nationalistic one between historic communities who are occupying the same territories and using the religious labels to identify themselves.” Violence has been used by various groups to intimate people. “Yet the overwhelming majority of the ordinary people on both sides still desire peace and cooperation, as they have shown many times, both at elections and by public demonstrations.”
From “An overview of Northern Ireland” by A.J. Weir
