ABSTRACT
In the ugly and traumatizing years of the violent 'Troubles' that gripped Northern Ireland, peace in Belfast was viewed as a possibility by only a few. The strong alignment of religious identities with political and national loyalties led to the seeming intractability of the conflict. Protestants assert their claims to continued political association within the United Kingdom, and their allegiances were with Britain, which since 1972 had exercised direct rule over Northern Ireland. Catholics, on the other hand, consider themselves more Irish and committed their personal and political loyalties more to the Republic of Ireland to the south. The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, established in 1920, created a secure Protestant majority in the north by including six of the nine counties of the historic province of Ulster. Good Friday fundamentally restructured government in Northern Ireland and has produced a framework of shared power between former enemies.
