Suspense. Suspense is a feeling of anxiousness or curiosity. Writers create suspense by raising questions in the reader’s mind and by using details that create strong emotions. Writers also create suspense by using specific language that causes the reader to expect or wonder about an upcoming event in the story. Look for passages in this story that are suspenseful. What makes them suspenseful?

• World History Connection. Conflict between Ireland and England has existed since 1534, when English King Henry VIII took over Ireland and established the Protestant religion there. Many Irish people were Roman Catholic and resented the attempt to change their beliefs. Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII, went a step further and outlawed Roman Catholic church services altogether. As a result, Irish Catholics united and anti-English feelings were strengthened.
• During the late 1800s, after 300 years of English rule, some Irish people demanded Home Rule. This meant that Ireland would remain part of Great Britain but would have its own government and laws. These pro-independence Irish established a political party called Sinn Féin, meaning “We Ourselves,” in 1905, and a group called the Irish Republican Brotherhood, whose members were known as Republicans.
• The British government finally passed a Home Rule bill in 1914, but the outbreak of World War I prevented it from taking effect. The Irish Republicans thought that the war offered the chance that Ireland needed to gain independence from England. On the Monday after Easter in 1916, they started a rebellion against the English called the Easter Uprising. Fighting lasted for one week before British troops defeated the Republicans and kept control of Ireland. Political and military battles continued for the next five years. Then, in 1921, a settlement was reached between the English and the Irish. The settlement established self-government in southern Ireland (called the Irish Free State), but kept six counties in Northern Ireland (those with a Protestant majority) under British rule.
• However, the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland continues to seek independence from England and wants to join the Irish Free State. They formed a military group called the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) and since 1969 have used guerrilla war tactics against British and pro-British soldiers. Bombings and riots have occurred, and even small children participate in the conflict by throwing stones. Peace talks have long been under way and people are anxious to find a solution that will put an end to this 500-year-old conflict.

What images come to mind when you think about a war that is in progress or that you remember hearing about? What brings these images to mind?