FOR most people over the age of 40, the prospect of Northern Ireland without British troops seems almost unthinkable.

But that is the reality in Ulster from today, as the Army yesterday withdrew after an operation that began in 1969.

There have been many dark days in the years since then. Many thousands of lives have been lost.

The removal of troops from the streets of Northern Ireland is a further sign that a permanent peace has arrived in the province.

Sworn enemies now sit by side by side in an elected assembly. The huge murals painted on the sides of houses in and around Belfast have now become tourist attractions.

Belfast, in particular, has attracted massive investment in recent years. It now looks little different to any other major UK city.

Yet it is only a few short years ago that Ulster was a place of fear and danger. Armed police escorted buses into Belfast city centre. It was a war zone within our own islands.

There is, of course, still much work to be done to ensure peace is fully embedded in hearts and minds on both sides of what has been a particularly bitter religious divide.

But what seemed during the latter half of the last century to be an impossible problem is now well on the way to being solved.

That should be a sign of hope to every divided community across our fractured world.