WAS it the secret war carried out by British agents inside the IRA which brought the Troubles to a close? Did British intelligence manipulate Sinn Fein into peace? Did either side really “win” the war in Ulster? Northern Ireland turned 100 years old this week. It is a fitting time to reassess the Troubles. Like most conflicts, it’s only with the passage of time that the violence which shook the north of Ireland and the rest of Britain for 30 years can begin to be understood. We know why the Troubles began – Northern Ireland was essentially a sectarian state, the Catholic population demanded civil rights, Ulster’s security forces brutally mishandled the situation, the IRA seized its opportunity and the British army was dragged into the conflict. But why did the war follow the course it did? Why did the violence come to an end? And what’s the legacy that the Troubles leave behind today?