Political Developments: Developments in The Troubles 1974-79

Question 1

What did the Provisional IRA (PIRA) announce in 1975?

Answer 1

A ceasefire proposal

Question 2

What happened to the ceasefire proposal by 1976?

Answer 2

It was nowhere to be seen

Question 3

Who became the new leaders of the PIRA after this?

Answer 3

Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness

Question 4

What did the 2 new PIRA leaders do in terms of conflict with Britain?

Answer 4

They planned a war of Attrition

Question 5

What is attrition?

Answer 5

Reducing your enemys resources slowly through continuous attacks

Question 6

Where did the PIRA get support from for Attrition?

Answer 6

United States and Libya

Question 7

What was the impact of the support that the PIRA got from these countries?

Answer 7

Weaponry in Ulster increased heavily

Question 8

What is possibly significant about Ulster receiving help from the US?

Answer 8

It showed that the US was supporting a cause to violently fight against the UK

Question 9

What 3 policies did Britain try to introduce to reduce tenions?

Answer 9

Ulsterisation, Criminalisation, Normalisation

Question 10

How would these 3 policies to reduce tensions be taken out?

Answer 10

They would be done one after another

Question 11

What happened in the Ulsterisation process? Who gained back control?

Answer 11

Removing some of the British Army from Ulster and giving control back to the Ulster Defence Regiment and Royal Ulster Constabulary

Question 12

What was the aim in the Criminalisation policy?

Answer 12

To make freedom fighters seem like nothing but common criminals

Question 13

What is an example of the Criminalisation policy taking place?

Answer 13

Freedom Fighter Prisoners lost their ‘Special Status’ category in Prisons

Question 14

What did Prisoners losing their special status category mean?

Answer 14

They now had to wear prison clothes and do prison work

Question 15

How did Freedom Fighter Prisoners protest?

Answer 15

They refused to wear prison clothes and also smeared excrement on their prison cell walls

Question 16

What was the protest which the freedom fighters in prison called?

Answer 16

Dirty Protest

Question 17

How did Labour try and bring Peace to Northern Ireland in the early days of being in season from 1974-79?

Answer 17

Make another power sharing agreement

Question 18

Which law did Labour pass for Ulster that was similar to Internment law? When?

Answer 18

1974 Prevention of Terrorism Act

Question 19

What was the 1974 Prevention of Terrorism act?

Answer 19

People could be arrested without warrant and held for 48 hours while their property was searched

Question 20

How new was Wilson in to being PM when the general strike began?

Answer 20

3 months in

Question 21

What was the voting turnout for the Labour Power-sharing agreement?

Answer 21

66%

Question 22

What was significant about the voting turnout for the Labour power-sharing agreement?

Answer 22

The majority of people wanted a peaceful ending to the conflict

Question 23

What happened with the power-sharing as soon as it passed?

Answer 23

All 83 Convention members quickly adopted a political bias to Protestant positions

Question 24

What happened to the Labour Power-Sharing agreement by 1976?

Answer 24

It no longer existed

Question 25

Why was a solution to The Troubles unrealistic from 1974-79 in terms of militance of opposition?

Answer 25

Violent acts had spread to Britain

Question 26

What is an example of a series of Freedom Fighter bombings that happened in the UK in 1974?

Answer 26

1974 Birmingham Pub Bombings

Question 27

How would it have been seen if Labour tried to make agreements with the militant individuals to end the conflict quickly?

Answer 27

It would seem like Labour was giving in to terrorism, making them look weak

Question 28

Why would Labour not want to lose Labour supporters in Northern Ireland?

Answer 28

Because for the 5 years, their seat majority was immensely weak

Question 29

What did many Labour Backbench MP’s support for Ulster?

Answer 29

Supported republican efforts in Northern Ireland

Question 30

What was the scale of deaths in Northern Ireland in 1974?

Answer 30

220 people died

Question 31

How many shootings and bombs planted were there in 1976?

Answer 31

1000 bombs planted and 2000 shootings

Question 32

What happened to Northern Irish tensions from 1974-76?

Answer 32

They increased heavily

Question 33

How many shootings and bombs planted were there in 1979 compared to 1976?

Answer 33

1/3 as many shootings as 1976 and half as many bombs planted

Question 34

How many people were killed and injured in the 1974 Birmingham Pub Bombings?

Answer 34

21 Killed, 182 people injured.

Question 35

What can be seen about scale of violence by the end of the 1970’s?

Answer 35

It had gone down slightly but there were still many violent acts taking place

Question 36

How did The Troubles impact politics by the end of the 1970’s?

Answer 36

Labour were unable to make a heavy change in Ulster in this time partially due to a small majority and also the increase in violence

Question 37

What was the impact of The Troubles on society by the end of the 1970’s?

Answer 37

People in Britain especially in cities such as London feared for their lives as bombs could go off at any time.