Liam's Irish Traditional Music - Irelands culture and tradition

The partition of Ireland caused grave concern from the lime the idea was first suggested. The boundary became a permanent settlement in 1925. During the Second World War the gulf between north and south widened, since the Republic of Eire was not involved and guarded its neutrality with care, while the Ulster Unionists suffered greatly. Today the Dáil still supports the cause of republicanism and unification, but the reality of the "Troubles", as they have been called in Ulster, would pose too much of a problem to handle by a simple transfer of power from Westminster to Dublin. Nevertheless, this continues to be the focus of political dreams.

Here are other areas, which cause concern. De Valera's new constitution of 1937 stressed the basic freedoms and rights of citizens in Eire. The constitution guaranteed each citizen the rights of equality in law, politics and religion. Articles 41 to 44 deal with the family, education, private property and religion. The Catholic Church has a special position In the constitution, as the religion followed by the majority of Eire's citizens. The family clauses in the constitution reflect Catholic attitudes towards the role of women, and abortion, contraception and divorce are not allowed. Strict censorship is maintained by the state, in books, films, periodicals and magazines. There have been many changes in such attitudes over recent years because of the influence of the mass media in the Republic. Nevertheless, Ulster Protestants find these Catholic values unacceptable. This remains one of the most difficult areas to solve.