Ever since the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, between the Catholic forces of James 11 and the Protestant army of William of Orange, Ireland became a troubled land. The partition of the island in 1920 led to even more conflict. The people of the six counties separated into two groups, loyalists under the Union flag and republicans under the Irish tricolour: the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) in the Loyalist camp and the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in the Republican camp; other dissident factions were to follow. Successive peace initiative failed when one side or the other began stirring...