In August, 1969 an outbreak of violence saw Northern Ireland's devolved Stormont government appeal to Westminster for assistance, marking the beginning of a conflict that would last nearly three decades. British troops, arriving as a temporary measure, would remain in the country for the next 38 years. The Republic of Ireland had repeatedly sued for involvement in the Northern Ireland political process, appealing to the UN, while across the Atlantic, Irish-American groups applied pressure on Nixon's largely apathetic administration to intervene. Senator Edward Kennedy campaigned for the...