I'm half Irish myself. My family is Daily/Quinlain on my mothers side. My middle name is even an old root name in gaelic of one of the clans.

That being said, and having been born, bred, and raised in America, I really don't understand the root of these problems and 'the troubles'. I understand some generalities, I think. The protestant british settlers are in place (for generations now) and the catholic irish feel they have been (wrongly) supplanted and uprooted by said protestants. Now that is probably Sinn Fein spin, or worse. I don't really know the cause. But I do know it's lead to a state where people are targets for seemingly random violence based solely on how they say grace at meals, or what place of worship the attend.

It sounds frighteningly sad, and scary. I know both sides are very certain of their 'rightfulness' and the 'evil oppression' of the other.

I wish I understood better, but it's not a subject that mainstream America hears much about, outside of Tom Clancy movies.