The Troubles

In the timeline of the Long Winter, the troubles in Northern Ireland are still ongoing. At the game's start, there are 17,000 British soldiers in Northern Ireland.

Much like in reality, the Good Friday agreement was signed in 1997. Everything before this is identical to reality. After the agreement was signed, Northern Ireland's first post-Troubles elections went ahead. The Unionist vote was split by the popularity of the Ulster Popular Party, a Socialist party which saw an increase of popularity along with similar parties across western Europe. While not inherently being a problem, the party actively avoided the problems surrounding the division of Ireland. As a result, many of the more radical Unionist groups became discontent with the new influence enjoyed by the nationalist parties.

On the 5th May, 1999, the UVF detonated three nail bombs at a memorial service that was being held for Bobby Sands. The bombs killed 7 and wounded 38. The IRA did not respond at first, but it was later learned that a high-ranking official of the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) had assisted in planning the bombing and delaying the emergency services. Their retaliation came on the 27th May, when the official was assassinated by an IRA sniper, and a car bomb killed two perpetrators of the 5th May bombing. From here, the violence spiralled. In December 1999, the Army arrested 19 members of the IRA in Derry. The arrests provoked the local populace who rioted. After 4 days of clashes with the army, one platoon of the Parachute Regiment panicked and opened fire, killing 9 civilians. This caused uproar across the Republican areas of Northern Ireland, resulting in more rioting and paramilitary violence, leading to the deaths of 39 civilians, 3 IRA members, 5 UDA/UVF members, 16 policemen and 2 soldiers. On January 7th 2001 the Northern Irish Assembly was indefinitely suspended. By the time the rioting was under control, it was too late. The peace process in Ireland had been left in ruins.