Ordeal of explaining our history to foreigners

Trying to explain the recent commemoration of the 1916 rising and its conflicting background to foreigners is bit of an ordeal.

The fact that the imperial parliament in London passed an act giving limited self rule to the whole island of Ireland with a parliament in Dublin is clear enough.

The fact that the most powerful parliament in the world refused to implement that act because Ulster unionists, who by definition favoured the union, armed themselves and signed what they called the ‘Ulster Covenant’ threatening to set up their own parliament in Belfast is bit harder to explain.