Writing an essay on such a heated topic as Irish/British relations is a difficult task to accomplish accurately. The essay written above does an excellent job of relating the facts, and does so with limited bias. It uses some excellent resources, an d gives relevant historical background in addition to the important facts of the political and military relations of these troubled nations.
The determination to begin with a brief historical background was a sound decision by the author. Without getting into too much detail, and without straying from the topic at hand, the author gives a sufficient summary of historical events contributi ng to the tense relations of the 1960's and 70's. This allows the reader to form a firm base of knowledge leading into the paper's discussion of two extremely violent decades in Ireland and Great Britain. The author, however, leaves the reader lacking i n some minor facts. For example, in the third paragraph, the author mentions,"the leader of this breakaway group," yet he does not inform the reader who this leader was. The event discussed is important in the history of the IRA and its various factions , and the leader should be named at this point.
The essay then flows smoothly into the decades in question, and relates important events of the troubled times. When, in the fourth paragraph, the author discusses the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, it is mentioned that it was "a diverse mixture of Catholics, socialists, republicans, and a radical group from Queen's University." It is not mentioned, however, what the importance, or relevance, is of this group of radicals from the University. The diversity of the other groups is obvious, but there is no mention of why the University radicals are important to the diverse mixture. Also, at the end of the paragraph, the author mentions "the three years that followed these initial protests." What years are these? If the author felt that t hese three years were important enough to mention, then the dates should be given.
The discussion continues with an excellent look into the formation of the Official and Provisional IRA, and into the increasing desperation felt on both sides. A slightly Irish bias in perspective can be felt, and the focus drifts off the British for some of the essay, but this does not detract greatly from the essay's effectiveness. The author continuously points out the poor judgement of the British, but rarely discusses any Irish wrongdoing. The essay still gives an excellent picture of relation s, but the reader should keep in mind that a history does exist from the British perspective as well.
The question the author poses toward the end of his essay is a sound one; "Why is England still there?" The author does not, however, give the reader his view of the reasoning. The reader should be told by the author why England is still there, and the author should be confident in his own judgement of why.
"Twenty Years of Strife" is a sound look into the turmoil and pain that summarizes the international and internal relations of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Britain during the hectic decades of the 1960's and 1970's. The Irish bias is slight, and on ly effects the focus of the essay, not the tone, nor the facts. With this in mind, an accurate picture is painted for the reader.