History of the Conflict Throughout history, the island of
Ireland has been regarded as a single national unit. Prior to
the Norman invasion from England in 1169, the Irish had their
own system of law, culture and language and their own political
and social structures. Following the invasion, the island
continued to be governed as a single political unit, as a colony
of Britain, until 1921. At various times over the next 800 years
Irish men and women resisted British rule and attempted to
assert Irish independence. Between the years 1916 and 1921 Irish
nationalists waged a combined political and military campaign
against British occupation. In 1920 partition (dividing Ireland
into two sections - the 26 and Six Counties) was imposed by a
British Act of Parliament. The consent of the Irish people was
never sought nor freely given. Throughout the 19th Century and
until partition in the 20th Century the British Government
provided its colonial rule in Ireland with a cover of
‘democracy’. In the changed conditions