Ireland and its tumultuous history. No one can say the Irish are not strong willed and maybe a little head strong. In the late 1600's there was a chance that Catholic James of England may regain the throne that was taken from him by Protestant William of Orange. In 1690 in a town called Drogheda in County Louth along the Boyne River the two sides met. That day William won the Battle of the Boyne which assured Protestant rule in the 18th century.
The English enacted the Penal Laws.
Because the English wanted to encourage all residents of Ireland to join the Protestant church, they enacted the Penal Laws. What exactly did the penal laws do? The laws forbade anyone who did not adhere to the established Protestant church from holding public office, voting, owning land, teaching, publishing Catholic primers. So mainly these laws were for Roman Catholics and some Presbyterians.
In the 1790's there were calls for a Catholic Emancipation as the Penal Laws were being relaxed. Once again the bad feeling between the Catholics and Protestants were coming to a head. In County Armagh the Peep o' Day Boys, who were Protestant, were attacking their catholic neighbors who called themselves the Defenders. In 1795 there was a confrontation known as the Battle of the Diamond. Where the Peep o' Day boys won and immediately founded the Orange Order which were to defend Protestants in Armagh and beyond. The order is still around today and they have marches every July 12th to celebrate their win at the Battle of the Boyne.
The Orange Order is still around today.
As an aside, the Irish flag was created in the mid 1880's and is said to signify peace (white) between the republican (green) and the unionist (Orange).
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