The result? Not more terrorism-virtually no terrorism now, compared to near constant terrorist agitation before the government capitulated and gave Sinn Fein nearly everything it asked for short of expelling all the loyalists.
That is really quite wrong - the Government did not capitulate to Sinn Fein, they just ensured that the vast majority of the causes of the revolt (the sundry injustices and harrassment faced by Catholics, the economic deprivation of the communities and the presence of the Army) were either totally removed or heavily mitigated. Once these had gone, there was a
lot of pressure from the communities that had supported PIRA (who, like nearly all terror groups, had unsportingly hid amongst the civilian population) to stop the violence or lose support.
It also helped that the last ten years of the Troubles had seen the Army and RUC be very successful in targetting PIRA members, and that the Conservative Government of Major was willing to make (and be publically seen to make) concessions and admit where it had gone wrong in the past, both legally and tactically. As you note, the end result has been a largely successful peace, which is its own reward.
edit: there is also the question of whether independence really matters that much anymore - Eire and the UK are both EU members, after all. If we ever take up the Euro then there will be virtually none.
