1. Make short notes on the role of history: ethnicity and religion, colonization and conquest that relate to the Irish controversy. 2. List the factors that came together to support the Good Friday Agreement. What were the 'sticking points'?

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Ulster/Ireland: Identity Blur
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth. To its east is the larger island of Great Britain, from which it is separated by the Irish Sea. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers just under five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, which covers the remainder and is located in the northeast of the island. The population of Ireland is approximately 6.4 million. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland and just under 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland. (Wikepedia)
In 1171, following permission from the Pope Adrian IV; Henry II landed in Ireland on an expansionist expedition. For the church, the ‘bull’ (papal order) encouraged Henry to take control in Ireland in order to oversee the financial and administrative reorganization of the Irish Church and its integration into the Roman Church system. For Britain, this represented an expansion of the empire and their European influence. In the subsequent centuries, Irish and English cultures were deeply intertwined, under the canopy of the Catholic Church. During these times, it is safe to say that the Irish identity experienced a strong redefinition. Even following the fall of the Roman Empire, the Catholic faith remained a strong thread in the fabric of Irish identity.
Henry VIII and his Reformation created religious chaos across the realm, with a larger part of Ireland remaining loyal to their Catholic ‘roots’, despite the royal decree. In a twist of