NORTHERN IRELAND

Today is the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Ulster Convenant, the document which ultimately led to the partition of the island of Ireland into north and south. During the nineteenth century, there was a growing recognition in mainland Britain that the governance of Ireland as - in effect - a colony was not tenable, and that some sort of devolved administration ("Home Rule" in the jargon) would need to be put in place. The leading proponent of Home Rule was the great Liberal Prime Minister William Gladstone. But his two attempts to find a solution foundered on the strength of the opposition from the Protestant north and their mainland supporters, notably in the House of Lords. In 1910, the general election resulted in a hung Parliament, so the Liberals did a deal; Parliamentary support from the (southern) Irish Parliamentary Party in return for a new Home Rule bill. Crucially, the deal also curtailed the powers of the House of Lords, which meant that they could only delay the bill, not kill it. Home Rule was scheduled to come into effect in 1914, a date that was then delayed by the outbreak of the First World War.

The Covenant was designed to show that whatever the politicians in Westminster chose to decide, Home Rule would not happen on the ground without a (literal) fight. Taking its inspiration from the Solemn League and Covenant taken by the Scots in 1638 prior to the Civil War, northern Protestants pledged to defend Ulster from Home Rule with "all means that may be found necessary". Hundreds of thousands signed up, in a very public demonstration. Six months later, in January 1913, the Ulster Volunteer Force was set up, a Protestant militia that armed itself with guns and ammunition smuggled in from Germany.

The events and aftermath of the First World War demonstrated that London had lost control of the situation. Shaken by northern resistance, the Government quietly offered Ulster an opt-out from Home Rule, thereby effectively killing it. Then the south of Ireland rebelled, and eventually gained independence. By 1921 the partition of Ireland was a reality.

Although Northern Ireland is part of the country of which I am a citizen, I have never really understood it. It doesn't help that I have never been there; but to be honest, I have never really wanted to. It is essentially made up of two tribes, the original Catholic Irish, and the Protestant majority, descendants in the main of Scottish settlers in the sixteenth century; since I am neither tribal nor particularly religious, I find the structure and totems both odd and disturbing. The IRA assassinations and famous trials of the 1970's (the Guildford Four, the Birmingham Six) made a big impression on me as a teenager. However, although horrified by the random violence of the IRA, I was even more horrified by the sight on TV of the people who seemingly wanted to stay yoked to me, not least by the intense hatred they seemed to show all of the time, and which seemed to be etched into their faces.

Today's anniversary will be marked by a huge march in Belfast. Marches are Northern Ireland's peculiar trait, as reflected in the phrase the summer "marching season". As is normal, this special march will pass at least one Catholic church, a potential flashpoint. The police will be out in huge force to try to ensure that there is no violence. As I say, this is Northern Ireland, and I don't understand it.

Walter Blotscher