The first half of the twentieth century was a period dominated by world wars and internal conflict. The constitutional division of Ireland reinforced the gap between the economy of the north-east and that of the rest of Ireland, and further complicated relationships with Britain. The new constitutional boundaries within which men and women worked inevitably impacted upon the opportunities open to them, and the degree of personal or professional independence that they could aim to achieve. Unionist dominance over a substantial Catholic minority in Northern Ireland and continuing Republican demands in the twenty-six counties seriously hampered the efforts of the governments of both states to introduce stability, while international events impacted strongly on the economy.