The Troubles Conflict in Northern Ireland Oliver Bernard

1
The Troubles

• Conflict in Northern Ireland
• Oliver Bernard, Charles Kim, Amber Schulte

2

• In literary evocation and political argument
  alike, the 1916 Easter Rising has been presented
  as a watershed in Irish history and politics.
  From W.B. Yeats terrible beauty, to the
  Provisional IRAs first statement in December
  1969, to the sexual adventures of Roddy Doyles
  unorthodox Irish rebel Henry Smart, the rebellion
  at Easter has been told as a central part of the
  Story of Ireland.
• Richard English, Armed Struggle The
  History of the IRA

3

• The Republic which was declared at the Rising of
  Easter Week, 1916, was Irelands expression of
  the freedom she aspired to. It was our way of
  saying that we wished to challenge Britains
  right to dominate us. Michael Collins

4

• Political separation of Northern Ireland from the
  rest of Ireland did not come until the early 20th
  century
• Protestants and Catholics divided over the issue
  of Irish Home Rule
• Most Irish Catholics desired complete
  independence from Britain
• Irish Protestants feared living in a country
  ruled by a Catholic majority

5
The Troubles

• 30 years of sporadic violence between
• Unionists - Protestant
• Nationalists Roman Catholic
• Late 1960s - mid-1990s
• often acknowledged to have begun in 1968,
• Widespread rioting broke out at the marches of
  the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association.
• This group initially intended a peaceful civil
  rights campaign in 1967.
• Generally seen as ended by The Good Friday
  Agreement on April 10, 1998

6
Groups involved

• Sinn Féin - "we ourselves"
• a series of political movements since 1905 in
  Ireland, each of which claimed sole descent from
  the original party
• Modern day Sinn Fein are an overwhelmingly
  Catholic, left wing, republican and Irish
  nationalist political party
• Established by Arthur Griffith in 1905
• Once led by Eamon de Valera
• Today led by Gerry Adams

7

• Irish Nationalist paramilitary groups
• Irish Republican Army (IRA)
• Split in to Provisional IRA (PIRA)
• determined to use violence to gain their
  objectives
• AKA Provos
• Established in late 1969
• Became known for being more aggressive / militant
• Original remnants of IRA
• became known as the Official IRA (OIRA)
• AKA Officials
• aimed at working-class unity across Ireland
• however became involved in some armed campaigns
  against the unionists and British.

8
Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association

• The government of Northern Ireland was
• dominated by Unionist party
• a part of the United Kingdom
• thus anti-Catholic laws that had been passed in
  the nineteenth century were still being practiced
• The NICRA was founded on 29 January 1967
• largely modeled after the American Civil Rights
  movement of Dr. Martin Luther King
• wanted anti-Catholic measures abolished and
  equality for Catholics in Northern Ireland.
• Wanted to abolish the Special Powers Act
• Allowed for internment without trial
• A number of other repressive measures that was
  seen as being aimed at the nationalist community.

9

• Irish Unionist paramilitary groups
• Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
• current UVF formed to counter-act the IRA in the
  mid 1960s
• As the Troubles intensified, the UVF began a
  campaign of murdering Catholic civilians
• claimed this to be a reaction to the Provisional
  IRAs campaign against the state of Northern
  Ireland.
• responsible for a series of attacks on utilities
  installations in 1969, in the expectation that
  the IRA would be blamed

10

• Ulster Defense Association (UDA)
• Largest of the Protestant paramilitary
  organizations
• emerged in 1971
• Initially had a mass base in Protestant working
  class areas especially in Belfast.
• Despite efforts to present political opinions
  through various documents, it was never more than
  a sectarian murder gang indistinguishable in its
  activities from the UVF. Killed under the title
  Ulster Freedom Fighters.(Marxist.net)

11

• Legitimate groups
• Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) police force in
  Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001
• Unionists
• See the RUC as the upholders of law and order.
• Irish Nationalists
• See the RUC as the security arm of a state that
  lacked legitimacy
• RUC faced allegations of improper behavior from
  many nationalists and republicans
• police brutality and political and religious
  bias.
• The force was overwhelmingly Protestant and
  unionist in membership.
• "97 Protestant and 100 unionist. Seamus
  Mallon

12

• British Military
• The government of Northern Ireland appealed to
  the British government that the British Military
  should be deployed in Northern Ireland to restore
  order.
• Nationalists initially welcomed the Army as they
  did not trust the police to act in an unbiased
  manner.
• Quickly seen as part of the problem.

13
1968 Civil Rights Protests

• The first Civil Rights protest took place in
  March
• The second took place in Derry in October
• This one was banned by the Minister for Home
  Affair
• Claimed the movement was a front for the IRA.
• The Royal Ulster Constabulary was sent to break
  up the march.
• used excessive force, which was televised and
  broadcast worldwide.
• Tactics of the RUC left Catholics fearful and
  untrusting of them.
• The British government forced Stormont (N.
  Irelands Parliament) to make reforms
• CHANGES WERE MINIMAL and did not meet the demands
  of the Civil Rights Movement.

14
1969 IRA DIVIDED

• IRA splits into two wings - the Marxist-oriented
  Official IRA and the more hard-line
  Provisionals. 
• Catholic demands were far from being met
• with the approach of the two main Unionist
  marches (the march of the Orangemen on July 12th
  and the march on August 12th to commemorate the
  siege of  Derry  in 1689 when apprentice boys
  closed the gates on King James) tension between
  Catholics and Protestants was high.

15
August 12th - 15th1969

• Battle of Bogside
• Apprentice Boys marched past Catholic Bogside
• clashes forced the intervention of the RUC
• rioting escalated and the police were stoned and
  petrol-bombed
• NICRA called on other Catholics to take the
  pressure off Catholics in Bogside
• So they mounted demonstrations in Belfast
• Consequently there was rioting in Belfast as well
  thus the RUC were unable to cope.
• Northern Ireland government had no choice but to
  call for British troops who arrived on the 15th
  August.
• They respected the No-Go areas set up by
  Nationalists.

16
August 9th 1971

• Internment Introduced
• Civil Rights Movement continued to protest
  despite a ban being placed on all marches
• IRA continued to make attacks on British troops
  resulting in the death of a British soldier
• internment is introduced on 9th August 1971
• 350 people were immediately arrested and
  interned.
• Next 48 hours, violence and protests against
  internment
• left 17 dead including 10 civilians.
• Protests Against Internment
• Throughout the remainder of the year protests
  against internment continued. The protests
  included violence, withholding of council rents,
  strikes and resignations by officials.

17
30th January 1972

• Bloody Sunday
• British soldiers shot dead 13 men and injured 14
  others. A further victim died later. The killings
  took place in the predominantly nationalist city
  of Londonderry.
• Victims were part of an illegal march against
  internment without trial.
• Organized by the NICRA as a protest against
  internment and a protest against the ban on the
  right to march

18
1972

• Direct Rule imposed
• Following Bloody Sunday there was a rise in
  support for the Provisional IRA
• February the British Embassy in Dublin was burnt
• British government had to try and subdue the
  situation
• In March the Northern Ireland government was
  suspended
• Northern Ireland to be directly ruled from
  Westminster
• One of the first actions by Westminster was to
  order the dismantling of the 'no-go' areas set up
  in 1969
• IRA responded by using increasing violence

19
1974

• Prevention of Terrorism Act
• British became increasingly active in Northern
  Ireland
• IRA launched a bombing campaign
• targeted public areas both in Ireland and Britain
• Bombs detonated in Dublin, Monaghan, Guildford,
  Woolwich and Birmingham killing and injuring
  civilians.
• The government responded by introducing the
  Prevention of Terrorism Act
• ALLOWED SUSPECTS TO BE DETAINED WITHOUT CHARGE
  FOR UP TO SEVEN DAYS

20
1980s

• Hunger Strikes
• In 1976 the British government had removed
  'special prisoner status' for those imprisoned
  for political acts.
• The prisoners had campaigned for 'political
  prisoner status' since 1976 by using both the
  'blanket protest' refusing to wear prison clothes
  and donning a blanket instead and the 'dirty
  protest' where prisoners refused to clean their
  cells and smeared excrement on the walls.
• When these had failed prisoners began going on
  hunger strikes. Bobby Sands was the first hunger
  striker in 1981.
• He and nine others died as a result of the hunger
  strike.
• They were considered martyrs - around 100,000
  people attended Bobby Sands' funeral.
• Although no concessions were won from the British
  government, support for the Political wing of the
  Provisional IRA increased considerably.

21
1985

• Anglo-Irish Agreement
• Leaders of Britain and Ireland met to discuss the
  situation
• The result was the Anglo-Irish agreement
• gave Dublin some control over Northern Ireland
  affairs.
• Unionists were outraged and the agreement was
  never fully implemented.

22
1993

• Downing Street Declaration
• Following talks between the British Prime
  Minister and the Irish leader, this declaration
  was issued
• the people of Northern Ireland should be free to
  decide their own future
• representatives of various groups should meet to
  discuss a solution
• Sinn Fein was offered a seat provided that IRA
  violence ended
• IRA declared a cease fire in August 1994 and were
  followed a month later by a cease fire
  declaration from Loyalist groups.

23
1996

• Peace Talks
• Multi-party peace talks began
• chaired by US senator George Mitchell
• proposed that disarmament should begin
• this led to a stalling of the talks and the IRA
  broke its cease fire and violence resumed. 

24
1998

• Good Friday Agreement
• 1997 British government proposed resumption of
  peace talks.
• Sinn Fein was invited on condition that a
  six-week cease fire be observed.
• July 1997 IRA announced the cease fire
• After months of discussion a settlement is
  reached on Good Friday 1998

25
Terms of Agreement

• Ireland shall not be one united country without
  the consent of a majority in Northern Ireland
• The people of Northern Ireland have the right to
  call themselves either Irish or British
• A multi party assembly will be elected to govern
  the community.
• A north/south council be set up to consider areas
  of mutual interest
• An Anglo-Irish council be set up to consider
  areas of mutual interest
• All people shall have basic human rights, civil
  rights and equality
• Linguistic diversity to be recognized - Irish to
  be taught in all schools
• Paramilitary groups to be decommissioned within
  two years
• A gradual reduction in the number of security
  forces deployed in Northern Ireland
• To work towards having an unarmed police force
• Political prisoners to be released providing the
  ceasefire is maintained

26
Works Cited

• English, Richard. Armed Struggle The History of
  the IRA. New York Oxford University Press, 2003.
• Electronic Sources
• Wars and Conflict. BBC. May 7, 2006.
  www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/troubles/.
• Monday, February 06, 2006 Understanding the
  Troubles in Northern Ireland By Everett A.
  Vieira III http//www.sdsuniverse.info/story.asp?
  id39897.
• The Troubles From Wikipedia, the free
  encyclopedia (Redirected from The troubles)
  http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_troubles.
• Marxist.net Glossary Political Terms this
  glossary was written in 1994 http//www.marxist.ne
  t/ireland/beyondframe.htm?ch10.htm
• Online Images
• Mural in Bogside commemorating the Troubles,
  Derry, Northern Ireland. Online image. Ireland,
  2003. May 7, 2006. ltwww.Kell167.ed.psu.edu//blood
  ysunday.htmlgt.
• British Army soldiers patrol the streets of
  Ballymurphy on the look out for the IRA (Irish
  Republican Army), Catholic West Belfast. The
  enemy is everywhere but nowhere to be seen.
  Online image. The Troubles in Northern Ireland.
  May 7, 2006. www.corsophotos.com.