I meant to add - afaik. I visited both Northern Ireland and the Republic in the early and mid 90s - to stay with friends and for work, not just on a holiday trip - and the 'feel' was very different in the two areas. There was a real feel of cohesive community in the areas of the Republic I visited, and no real sense of there being any violence going on anywhere, whereas in the North the tension was palpable - even in sleepy little rural villages, the kerb stones were painted in the colours of choice.