How were the Catholic Minority Treated in Northern Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s?

Question 1

Describe the population in Northern Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s:

Answer 1

• 2/3 of Northern Ireland populations were protestants

- 1/3 of Northern Ireland populations were catholics

Question 2

When was the Partition of Ireland?

Answer 2

Partition of Ireland in 1921

Question 3

What are Protestants who wanted to stay part of Britain called?

Answer 3

Unionists

Question 4

What are Catholics who want to be part of a United Ireland called?

Answer 4

Nationalists

Question 5

What was the police force like in Northern Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s?

Answer 5

• part-time armed police force who supported RUC and who had a reputation or being violent towards Catholics were called B - specials

Question 6

Who always held power at Stormant and why?

Answer 6

Unionists always held power at Stormant due to the protestant majority. This was ‘majority rule’.

Question 7

How were the Catholic minority treated in Northern Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s?

Answer 7

• in Belfast, the biggest employer was the shipyard but it had a 95% Protestant workforce
• only householders were allowed to vote and often Catholics were not householders
• The armed police force in the late 1960s comprised mostly of Protestants and had a part-time Special Constabulary - A, B and C specials
• The Special Powers Act gave the police powers to do almost anything it liked in an emergency: impose curfews, keep people in prison without trial, censor the press and search houses without a warrant

Question 8

What was set up as a result of the inequality between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland?

Answer 8

As a result of the inequality between Catholics and Protestants in 1967 the Northern Ireland Rights Association (NICRA) was set up