ireland 1939-1964

Question 1

what was the situation in Ireland like during the 1930s?

Answer 1

in the 1930s friction between the north and the south was lessening as although some Irish nationalists wanted a united Ireland there was growing acceptance among the majority

Question 2

what was declared in 1949?

Answer 2

1949 Ireland Act
NI would remain a part of the UK and would continue to do so unless thier parliament decided otherwise

Question 3

what rumours were spread in 1945?

Answer 3

rumours were spread that the IRA were involved in a Nazi plot to attack Britain via Northern Ireland

Question 4

what was the impact of the rumours in 1945?

Answer 4

De Valera unsettled

Question 5

why were the rumours in 1945 unlikely to be true?

Answer 5

Germany were unlikely to interfere at all with Ireland as they would not want to alienate America with its strong Irish links

Question 6

what was Churchill’s attitude towards Ireland by 1945?

Answer 6

Churchill offered De Valera unity in exchange for support against Hitler after trying to get Eire on their side - betray ulstermen

Question 7

what was Craig’s attitude towards Ireland by 1945?

Answer 7

outraged by Britains offer - betrayed and anrgy
spurred on rumours about De Valera’s involvement with Hitler

Question 8

what was De Valera’s attitude towards Ireland by 1945?

Answer 8

Didn’t want to get involved in war by joining the wrong side

Question 9

Why did the British government pass the 1949 Ireland act?

Answer 9

Northern Ireland remained part of the UK and would continue to do so unless their parliament decided otherwise
angry with Ireland after war

Question 10

culture in Northern Ireland

Answer 10

NHS in operation

Question 11

culture in Eire

Answer 11

90% catholic
Gaelic was asserted + compulsory in schools
Censorship banned unwholesome literature
Education and welfare in the hands of the church
Health Minister Noel Browne abandoned scheme to give free medical care to women under 16 as it would undermine family responsibility
divorce and contraception illegal in the 1930s
little thought for women’s rights

Question 12

economy in Northern Ireland

Answer 12

economy booming and living standards rising, less in Catholic areas
welfare state
NHS - death rate fell
111 new factories
full employment
scholarships introduced

Question 13

how many new houses were built in Northern Ireland?

Answer 13

100,000

Question 14

how many people in Northern Ireland had insurance against sickness and unemployment?

Answer 14

500,000

Question 15

how many new jobs were there in 1946 in Northern Ireland?

Answer 15

4700

Question 16

economy in Eire

Answer 16

limited industry
rising unemployment
farmers falling foreign competition
no welfare state
Lemass PM in 1957 - embraced foriegn capital investment and increased state spending
set up Programme for Economic Development
tourism expanded
outward looking

Question 17

why did some catholics change the focus of their campaigning?

Answer 17

catholics in the north realised benefits of welfare state and focused on abolishing discrimination in the North rather than trying to achieve a United Ireland
set up NICRA

Question 18

what was NICRA and when was it established?

Answer 18

1964
Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association

Question 19

examples of discrimination and segregation in Northern Ireland
ECONOMY

Answer 19

90% of Harland and Wolff workers were Protestant
94% of senior civil servants Protestant
90% of RUC members Protestant
B- Specials had less than 6% catholics
jobs allocated on recommendations from families and orange order played a role in recruitment
3x more unemployed catholics

Question 20

examples of discrimination and segregation in Northern Ireland
EDUCATION

Answer 20

mixed schools and colleges were a rarity
Segregation in sports teams, scout troops and youth clubs
little funding to catholic schools

Question 21

examples of discrimination and segregation in Northern Ireland
VOTING AND ELECTION

Answer 21

property qualifications were imposed for general and local authorities
Vote was restricted to owners or tenants of dwellings
Majority of the 25,000 people denied the vote were Catholics
catholics were under represented in local councils
some businessmen and university graduates got to ahve 2 votes - gerry mandering

Question 22

examples of discrimination and segregation in Northern Ireland
POLICE

Answer 22

RUC and B -specials could be aggressive in dealings with Catholics caused growing resentment among nationalists
Orange order marchers re-routed through Catholic areas
Flags and Emblems Display Act 1954 made it illegal to interfere with the union flag
the police had the right to remove flags from public and private property
numerous tri-colour flags removed
B specials had the most power in the police force
could search houses without warrant and send to prison without trial

Question 23

examples of discrimination and segregation in Northern Ireland
HOUSING

Answer 23

in Derry, 2/100 new houses built were given to Catholics even though they were poorer and needed it more
Catholics began living in disused army camps with rats
Dungannon, 53% nationalists and 300 families in need
20% of catholic houses had no piped water supply and 23% didn’t have flushing toilets
denied council housing so they wouldn’t meet the property requirements needed to vote

Question 24

what impact did Craig have on Protestant/catholic relations?

Answer 24

calmed anti-Catholic feelings but didn’t try to to heal divisions
did nothing to to promote a far government
regarded catholics with suspicion
discrimination continued and he did nothing to stop it

Question 25

what impact did Brooke have on Protestant/catholic relations?

Answer 25

openly anti-catholic - thought that thye lacked committment
unbending in unionist beliefs
did nothing for them
perpetuated divide
makes catholics dislike protestant

Question 26

what impact did O’Neill have on Protestant/catholic relations?

Answer 26

wanted better relationship with ulster catholics and cross border relations
proposed reforms such as banning the business vote but did not carry them out
upset catholics and unionists by suggesting reforms but not carrying them out

Question 27

what was operation harvest?

Answer 27

1956
IRA campaigning to make border ungovernable so Britain would have to reunify Ireland
ended in 1962
used guerilla warfare - blew up roads and attacked military borders
killed 6 RUC members and 10 IRA members

Question 28

how did operation harvest effect relations in Ireland?

Answer 28

proved Protestant suspicions that the Catholics wanted reunification and justified keeping catholics in an inferior position
made Protestants more determined - more joining the UVF and B specials

Question 29

who was Ian Paisley and how in
did he exacerbate tension in Ireland?

Answer 29

called off loyalist march
against all comprimise with catholics and republicans
formed ulster resistance in 1980s
became first minister, power sharing with Sinn Fein
caused/ contributed to the troubles in 1969
thought that the pope was the anti christ
led anti-catholics demonstrations
thought NICRA was a front to the IRA

Question 30

why did riots break out in Belfast 1964?

Answer 30

tricolour flag was flown from Republic Party HQ despite Flags and Emblems Act
threats were made to burn down HQ
2000 republican supporters blocked the RUC’s way as they were going to remove the flag
replaced the flag the next day, RUC came armed and republicans petrol bombed and stoned street
30 people injured incl 11 RUC members

Question 31

why did the civil rights campaign emerge?

Answer 31

O’Neill wanted to limit catholic desire for a united ireland by improving civil rights

Question 32

what was the CSJ?

Answer 32

Campaign for social justice
CSJ was a minority pressure group that hoped to expose the Unionists’ discriminatory policies