“Catholic shackles visibly loosened.”
What an incredible partisan statement !!!
Centuries of English rule guaranteed that religion would be a crucial part of Irish history
The dissolution of the Monasteries, outlawing of the Catholic religion, the persecution and execution of priests guaranteed the Church the support of the people
Ireland is scattered with “Mass Rocks” where Catholics were forced to practice their religion secretly – two of them within a half-hours drive of my home.
Britain forced a partition based on giving Ireland Independence of the basis there being a six county state for Protestants – their original intention of a nine-county state (the whole of Ulster) was hastily abandoned when somebody did the math and realised that it would produce a Catholic majority.
The constitution of the sic counties was based on religion – giving the land-owning protestants the vote and deprive the Catholic third of the population of a say in their lives
The ant- Catholic riots, the boycott of Catholic businesses and trades and the refusal of many firms to employ Catholics acted as a daily and very visible wedge between the two communities as have the religion based triumphalist marches, which even spread to British cities like Glasgow and Liverpool
Members of my family fled Derry in the 1950s when their home was burned down by Protestant mobs objecting to “having to live next door to “Taigues”   
No so long ago Catholic schoolchildren were forced to take a different and much longer rout to school because of howling and threatening mobs
It was extreme Protestanint who introduced the gun into twenty century Irish politics and the first shots of the last “Troubles” were fired by Loyalist murderous thugs
“Catholic shackles” – what part of the Planet Zog do you live on Iains?
All religions have their own brand of chains
Jim Carroll
" Can some king moderator "
Emperor Joe perhaps
Grow up for crying out loud - haven'y toy learned your lesson yet?