Catholics in Northern Ireland: changing political attitudes, 1968–2018

The ‘hard’ border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the island that was put in place in the 1920s was not just an unwelcome fact with which the Catholic population of Northern Ireland had to deal; like other international borders, it had an impact on the attitudes of the people on either side. Coakley’s chapter assesses the evolution of Catholic public opinion in Northern Ireland over the past half-century, seeking to trace the manner in which it has shifted in apparent response to the reality of partition. He concludes that there is an increasing complexity in the manner in which Catholics define their identity patterns, a persisting loyalty to the main nationalist parties of the past, and a fluid, open attitude towards the question of Irish unity