IRELAND PRIMED FOR PEACE

The prime ministers of Britain and Ireland today unveiled a plan for ending the violent Protestant-Catholic conflict in Northern Ireland. They proposed reviving an elected parliament for the British-controlled province and creating a lower house with members from both northern and southern Ireland. The next step: peace negotiations between Protestant and Catholic factions, who are presently honoring a six-month truce. But an angry reaction today from Protestant politicians, who do not want concessions to the anti-British Catholic minority in Northern Ireland, made it clear that negotiations will not be easy. TIME London bureau chief Barry Hillenbrand says the overall Protestant population in Northern Ireland is not as hostile to the plan. "There is a sense that the Unionist politicians are more opposed to this thing than the people," says Hillenbrand.