The Irish troubles were about rule by Dublin or London, not religion."
By making the six counties a Protestant dominated sectarian state - they became a struggle between Catholic (the oppressed minority) and Protestants (the oppressor majority)
That is no different a situation than any other (Holy War)
GUEST,LK867 makes the point perfectly "he" had no trouble with anybody else's religion - which does not alter in any way, that if he fought for National independence, he would be fighting Protestants.
If Ireland was not a sectarian war, then neither is what is happening in the world today.

"This article considers the claim that the conflict in Northern Ireland was irreducibly religious. After a brief account of the history of the Northern Ireland conflict, the different arguments and counter arguments that bear on the role of religion in causing and sustaining the conflict are considered. An examination of the relationship of Islam to terrorism and the events of 9/11 provides a comparative perspective that is used both to identify similarities and differences between the situation in Ireland and elsewhere and to distinguish and discriminate between different ways in which religious sanction is given to violence. The implications of our findings are then explored with regard to our understanding of the Northern Ireland conflict and with regard to our understanding of the nature of religion more generally."
Taylor and Francis

YOUR FAVOURITE HISTORIAN

I have made a point of asking ever Muslim I have talked to how they feel about other religions - they have all, without exception given similar answers to that given by GUEST,LK867.
You can't have it both ways - is what is happening in the Islam is a holy war - then so was Ireland
If Ireland was not a religious conflict, then there is no religious threat from Islam -take your pick
Jim Carroll