Although the people of Europe hold a firm understanding and connection to their cultural and historical roots, few Europeans do to such a degree as the Irish. And to the people of British Northern Ireland, this history plays a part of their every day lives; the political, class, culture and ethnic divisions run every bit as strong today as throughout Irish history. But why have these divisions hardened over time? Many European states manage religious and ethnic differences with tensions to a minimum. I propose that these tensions are the consequence of suppression of the Roman Catholic majority of a Protestant ruling elite for several centuries, which has left lasting implications on the modern class structure. Article Five of The Act Of Union, July 2, 1800 was a major contributing factor to the situation. While allowing Irish representation in Great Britain government, it did not allow for Irish Catholic representation. There was also the establishment of one Irish church under the law, Protestant Episcopal Church, to be called, The United Church of England and Ireland. This paper will outline the struggles between the Catholics and the Protestants in Ireland before and after the Act Of Union to compare relations before and after it's enactment to analysis the causes of its creation, and the results that it produced.
             When one culture rules another culture in the same country, the manner in which said culture is governed will always be debated. Should the dominating culture physically dispose of the weaker one, or allow it to continue within the structure of the country? When there are more than one distinct cultures within the same country, it will inevitably be compared to Ireland as it represents the definition of a "clash". But understanding the situation fully and completely may be an impossibility, because explanations and descriptions of events of most often dependent of the writers point of view. A prot...