From an Irish perspective, the UK is very much a foreign power. The failure of all sides to understand how others percieve things is at the heart of this is so hard to resolve. Brings to mind Churchill's quote " the problem with the Irish is that they refuse to be English"
Its doubtful that the loyalists could have mounted any kind of meaningful insurgency. They had never faced any serious threat from the security forces. Some riots perhaps, not much more.
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