I think there was.
There must be parallels to Israel/Palestine in there somewhere.

Both sides need to recognize the right to co-exist - right now neither groups of leaders do.
The people need to elect leaders who recognize this.
The US has to apply pressure (read both diplomatic and monetary) to BOTH sides.
Dont know if blankets would work. Maybe some of Lee's brave new world ideals to modify the "I hate you" gene?

As to Ireland...
400 years? Didn't we start fighting each other around the time of Edward Longshanks (1300 ish).
The English did what they do best - get their enemies to fight each other.
Transplant Scots to Ireland and vice versa. Hey that worked in the past, lets do it again but this time we'll transplant protestant scots into the North.

And your feelings don't sound silly at all.
I grew up in Glasgow which had it's own local brand of sectarianism.
If you were Protestant you supported the Rangers football team (replete with chants such as "UDA all the way, **** the Pope and the IRA"), if Catholic you supported Celtic.
Religion was set in stone - each side was the anti-Christ - yet very few of us were actively religious.
It was just something you were - a little like the Irish/Italian/insert persecuted ethnicity here-Americans, no matter how many generations removed.
As prosperity improved Glasgow, and the Troubles lessened, the tensions are less prevalent.
(And Celtic signed Protestants and Rangers signed Catholics and even Englishmen (!!!!!) )