"In the northern six counties of Ulster, both Catholic nationalists and Protestant loyalists display a siege mentality. Protestants, though they are a majority in the north, make up only one fourth of Ireland's total population. Thus, they fear any arrangement that leaves them as a minority in a predominantly Catholic united Ireland. Catholics, constituting slightly over 40 percent of Northern Ireland's population, see themselves as an oppressed minority there.

This produces an impasse since the number of Catholics in the north is too large to permit the Protestants to impose their will unilaterally within a stable political environment.".

"Present tensions between Catholics and Protestants are rooted in conflicting claims to Irish land and to unfairness suffered by Northern Catholics in their efforts to participate without bias in Ulster's political life. While the goal of the Irish Republican Army has been and remains the unification of Ireland, the Protestant strong men desire at all costs to maintain their close ties with Britain." "Voices of Ulster documents personal experiences, contacts and interviews."--BOOK JACKET.