Ill. Political Problems Northern Ireland, also known as Ulster, has a population of 1, 500, 000. About 1/3 of them are Roman Catholics who are not glad to see the unification with Great Britain dominated by Protestantism. The Catholic extremists organized the Irish Republican Army (Ira)to continue their struggle. The goal of the iRa guerrillas is to drive the English out and unify northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland Their political wing(派别) is known as sinn Fein sinn Fein Party (wi35s)(rish Gaelic, "ourselves alone ) Irish nationalist political party whose goal has been to end the United Kingdoms control over any part of Ireland and to create a unified Irish state. Sinn Fein is often characterized as the political arm of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), a paramilitary organization Since 1927, most of the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland has identified with independent Ireland, and most of the Protestant majority with Britain. Catholics seeking integration with Ireland are often referred to as republicans or nationalists while Protestants who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom are often called unionists or loyalists. In general, Catholics(nationalists)regard themselves as Irish, and Protestants(unionists) regard themselves as british Northern Ireland sent representatives to the London Parliament but had its own legislature and executive to deal with domestic matters. From 1921 to 1972 Northern Ireland had its own regional parliament that exercised considerable authority over local affairs. The Protestant, unionist majority dominated the parliament, which made the government unpopular with the Catholic, nationalist minority. Northern Ireland experienced a nearly continuous period of violent conflict between these two groups from the late 1960s through the mid-1990s. The violence extended beyond Ireland, as republican paramilitary groups-in particular the Irish Republican Army (ira)also struck targets in London and elsewhere in England. The clashes, bombings, and assassinations in this period were often referred to as the troubles In the 1960s, encouraged by the successes of the American civil rights movement Catholics began the opposition to the government of Northern. Civil disobedience9 III. Political Problems Northern Ireland, also known as Ulster, has a population of 1,500,000. About 1/3 of them are Roman Catholics who are not glad to see the unification with Great Britain dominated by Protestantism. The Catholic extremists organized the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to continue their struggle. The goal of the IRA guerrillas is to drive the English out and unify Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. Their political wing (派别) is known as Sinn Fein. ---Sinn Fein Party （新芬党） (Irish Gaelic, “ourselves alone”), Irish nationalist political party whose goal has been to end the United Kingdom’s control over any part of Ireland and to create a unified Irish state. Sinn Fein is often characterized as the political arm of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), a paramilitary organization. Since 1927, most of the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland has identified with independent Ireland, and most of the Protestant majority with Britain. Catholics seeking integration with Ireland are often referred to as republicans or nationalists, while Protestants who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom are often called unionists or loyalists. In general, Catholics (nationalists) regard themselves as Irish, and Protestants (unionists) regard themselves as British. Northern Ireland sent representatives to the London Parliament but had its own legislature and executive to deal with domestic matters. From 1921 to 1972 Northern Ireland had its own regional parliament that exercised considerable authority over local affairs. The Protestant, unionist majority dominated the parliament, which made the government unpopular with the Catholic, nationalist minority. Northern Ireland experienced a nearly continuous period of violent conflict between these two groups from the late 1960s through the mid-1990s. The violence extended beyond Ireland, as republican paramilitary groups—in particular the Irish Republican Army (IRA)—also struck targets in London and elsewhere in England. The clashes, bombings, and assassinations in this period were often referred to as “the troubles.” In the 1960s, encouraged by the successes of the American civil rights movement, Catholics began the opposition to the government of Northern. Civil disobedience