<Li> Roermond killings (Netherlands) </Li> <Li> Osnabrück barracks (Germany) </Li> <P> The Troubles (Irish: Na Trioblóidí) was an ethno - nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century . Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, and the Conflict in Ireland it is sometimes described as a "guerrilla war" or a "low - level war". The conflict began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 . Although the Troubles primarily took place in Northern Ireland, at times the violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe . </P> <P> The conflict was primarily political and nationalistic, fuelled by historical events . It also had an ethnic or sectarian dimension, although it was not a religious conflict . A key issue was the constitutional status of Northern Ireland . Unionists / loyalists, who were mostly Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom . Irish nationalists / republicans, who were mostly Catholics, wanted Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland . </P>

When did the troubles begin in northern ireland