This course examines the development of Irish nationalism, the struggle for Irish independence and the development of a separate identity in the north-east of Ireland. The major focus will be on the partition of the island, the relationship between the two parts of the country and the relationships between the United Kingdom and both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The role of violent Republicanism in the creation of the Irish Republic and in the consolidation of defensive unionist attitudes in the north will be considered. The post-1969 campaign by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, the response in the unionist community and the political changes which resulted in the Good Friday Agreement will be examined in detail.

Related study trip

Optional weekend trip to Dublin, including historical and literary tours of the city, taking in Trinity College Library and the Book of Kells, a ninth-century manuscript of the Gospels, and either Kilmainham Jail, where leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were executed, or The Dublin Writer's Museum.

While subsidised by ASE, an additional fee of approximately £200 is payable for this trip.

ASE reserves the right to change the content of course-specific study trips where necessary.