ABSTRACT
The true cost of the Irish ‘troubles’ will forever be impossible to measure. While the intractible conflict has to date claimed almost 4,000 lives since the most recent phase of civil unrest and a vicious paramilitary campaign since beginning in 1969, the suffering and pain caused by the ‘troubles’ has been astronomical. In a deeply divided society, this bitter ethno-Nationalist conflict recently culminated in an uneasy peace process which, despite setbacks expected of and inherent in such processes, remains progressively steady. Whether this peace will continue to be meaningful or represents merely another period of breathing space in Ireland’s ongoing Troubles, it is too early to know, although most remain cautiously optimistic that the worst days of the conflict are over.
