Ireland Chapter 2 Flashcards
Explain how violence increased in NI in the Summer of 1969
The Troubles started in Derry / Londonderry in August during what became known as the Battle of the Bogside. This was provoked by the violence after the annual Apprentice Boys march. Marchers were pelted with stones by Catholic youths from the Bogside.
When the police tried to force the youths back into the Bogside, violence ensued. This was largely due to the fact that Nationalists at the bogside remembered that earlier that year after Burntollet, some police and B-Specials had rampaged through the Bogside. This action of pushing the youths back therefore was viewed as a second invasion of the Bogside.
Violence spread to Belfast but the violence there was more sectarian, with Nationalists and Unionists directly targeting each other. 1820 families were forced from their homes due to burnings and of these, 80% were Catholic. A famous example of this is Bombay Street.
This violence in Belfast and Derry also saw the RUC responding more forcefully than ever before. In Derry, it was the first time any British police force used CS gas and in Belfast the RUC responded to the violence with machine guns. In one incident, police peppered Divis Street flats with gunfire and as a result, a 9-year-old boy was shot.
The result of the Battle of the Bogside and violence in other areas was the 10 people were dead, 754 were injured and a huge number of people were homeless. This was only stopped by the enforcement of some troops.
Then when the British Army was deployed on to the streets of N.I to actually defend the Nationalist population this was seen as an embarrassment. The IRA was referred to as I Ran Away. This fact led to a split in the IRA and the Provisional IRA were born.
In what ways did violence increase in NI in July & August 1969?
The violence broke out first in Belfast in July. The main victims of the sectarian summer of 1969 were Catholics in Belfast who received little protection from the RUC.
The violence took the form of house burning mostly by loyalists.
Thousands of people were burned out of their homes and there seemed to be a real possibility of a massacre of the city’s Catholics. emergence of paramilitaries in Belfast – gunfire began to replace stones and petrol bombs there.
In Derry/Londonderry the conflict began after the annual Apprentice Boys’ parade on 12th August.
The conflict became known as the Battle of the Bogside.
Two days of intense rioting followed between RUC and nationalists. It lasted for 50 hours and was captured on television
Violence also flared up in several provincial towns
Explain how and why the British government responded to the outbreak of violence in Northern Ireland in the summer of 1969
Families in both communities were burned out of their homes, Loyalists believed there was a catholic programme against them while Catholics reported B specials were helping them being burned out of their homes in Bombay St
The Battle of the Bogside the 50 hrs of violence which started over tension during the annual Apprentice Boys march escalated to such an extent that the RUC exhausted & with limited numbers could not deal with the violence in Derry and Belfast and other provincial towns
Nationalist leaders were asking for protection for the Nationalist community. This coincided with the Irish Taoiseach Jack Lynch saying that Stormont ‘had no longer control of the situation’ & the Republic would not just ‘stand by and let innocent people injured’
With the RUC failing to end the violence, Chichister Clark asked the British Home Secretary for help. So the British Government now were forced to get involved. Initially they sent in the British army, primarily to protect the Catholic community
The follow up action was the Downing Street Declaration Aug 69. The British government hoped this would be the political solution to the issue of N.I They had been dragged back into the Irish issue to a certain extent with the five point programme stemming from the embarrassed on the World stage with the violence at Civil Rights marches been shown around the world by the RTE cameras
For Nationalists it said firstly that both communities were entitled to the same equality of treatment & freedom without discrimination. Unionists were told that NI would not cease to be part of the UK without of the consent of all the people of NI
Thus The British got involved with troops and a political iniative because by the summer of 69 the RUC were not coping and the British could no longer ignore what was going on in part of the UK
Why & how did nationalist attitudes to the presence of British troops change between 1969 & 1972
Nationalists had at first welcomed the British army as protectors against sectarian attacks.
The army was used to implement the security policy of the Stormont government. As they were directly under the control of the Stormont Government. The heavy- handed methods of the army in house searches and in dealing with riots led to a change in attitude.
The Falls Road Curfew, July 1970, was a major event in worsening relations. Stormont had ordered the army into the Falls against the advice of the army commander after four Protestants were killed by the IRA in the process of defending Nationalist areas
This was a turning point in the relationship between Nationalists and the army. The curfew lasted 34 hours and people were left without food.
In gun battles during the curfew four civilians were killed by the army this reinforced the IRA’s view of the army as an army of occupation not defenders amongst Nationalists.
Indeed that the Provisionals achieved widespread support among Belfast Catholics was due more to the actions of the British army than what the IRA had done.
The British army’s role in implementing internment against the Nationalist community in 1971further damaged the relationship. Again under the orders of Stormont the Army carried out Operation Demetrius; arrest & detention without trial
Finally, the events of Bloody Sunday also increased distrust between nationalists and the army leading to support for the PIRA. The deaths of 14 civillians at the hands of the parachute regiment was seen as murder of innocent unarmed people by an army of occupation.
Why Provisional IRA was formed
To achieve a united Ireland by force
To defend Catholics – anger among nationalists that the IRA was doing nothing to protect them from attacks from loyalists and the RUC, summer 1969. Some Catholics in Belfast claimed that “IRA” stood for “I Ran Away”
To achieve civil rights for Catholics
To destroy the Stormont government
To remove the British presence from Ireland
A feeling that the “official” IRA had gone soft on the struggle for a united Ireland
How did people in NI respond to the introduction of internment in 1971?
Unionists
Happy at introduction of internment and hopeful that those carrying out the violence would be interned it had worked in the past.
Disappointed at the failure of internment and the rise in bombings and killings Frustrated at the failure of the courts to convict IRA suspects
Unionists saw internment as an unpleasant but necessary way of dealing with the growing IRA threat. Loyalist violence increased in response to the increase in IRA violence. The UDA was formed in September 1971. The UDA bombed McGurk’s Bar in Belfast in December – 15 were killed
Nationalists
Anger at one-sided use of internment; number of innocent people interned and treatment of internees hated that it was one sided. It was directed against nationalists. The first loyalist wasn’t interned until February 1973
Lack of accurate intelligence led to arrests of innocent people causing great anger among the Nationalists as many were totally innocent. The Provisional IRA leadership escaped almost untouched. Prime Minister Brian Faulkner had to admit that many of the most wanted“escaped the net”
Increase in IRA activity and support 1971 over 140 were killed between then & dec 1971 from the time internment was introduced to the end of the year there was 143 deaths five times more than in the first half of 1971 before internment.
Revival of civil rights marches over internment; – led to Bloody Sunday,
which was itself a result of an anti-internment march. There was also a clash between the army and civil rights protesters at an anti-internment march outside Magilligan Internment Camp
Why & how was internment introduced in NI in August 1971?
Increased IRA violence: bombing campaign mainly against unionist-owned businesses and attacks on British soldiers. The level of violence was on the increase at the end of 1970 and the start of 1971. By the time the marching season arrived, it was at an all time high
Frustration of Unionists that very few IRA men were caught and convicted for violence & the IRA was continuing to grow. Its numbers had been boosted by events like the Falls Road Curfew in July 1970
Pressure on Faulkner to act decisively to reduce IRA violence. The Special Powers Act had been used in the past and had worked tactic against the IRA in the past. It was used successfully by both the governments of Northern Ireland and of Éire. The government of Northern Ireland had the power to introduce internment under the terms of the Special Powers Act so it should use it, the government of Northern Ireland believed that a stronger response was needed to the IRA than the one taken by the government in Britain at the time
Activated the Special Powers Act with the approval of the British Government. Internment was introduced on 9 August 1971 452 people were arrested by the army but as the information used was out-of-date, no leading members of PIRA were interned
Why was Direct Rule introduced?
Firstly the response to the deaths was an upsurge of violence in NI. Recruitment to the Provisional’s also increased exponentially. The Provo’s responded with a series of bombings two of the worst were in Belfast one in the Abercorn Bar and the other in Donegal St. both resulted in huge civilian causalities. The British believed that NI had descended into an uncontrollable vortex of violence.
The second result of the deaths of Bloody Sunday was the international condemnation that the British received particularly from the Republic & the USA. This condemnation and criticism from the USA was particularly embarrassing as the British and the Yanks were cold war allies and a special relationship was meant to exist between them. Heath believed he had to get control of NI to avoid further embarrassment.
The third consequence of Bloody Sunday was alienation from Nationalists towards the Stormont regime. Any progress that had happened as a result of O’Neill’s concessions had been destroyed. This alienation had already started when the SDLP had pulled out as the official opposition in Stormont over two deaths in Derry which involved the army. They had then withdrawn from local councils over internment. Bloody Sunday just exacerbated this alienation and Nationalists were boycotting every level of Government. Heath realised that if Nationalists couldn’t be persuaded to take part in Government and Unionists couldn’t be persuaded to introduce more reforms then Westminster would have to get involved.
The fourth consequence of Bloody Sunday was that the resulting IRA violence had led to the formation of the Ulster Vanguard under the sacked OUP minister William Craig. This was as far as its members were concerned a force of last resort. Heath realised that Vanguard had links with the UDA and were they to put their threats into action it would lead to an equally grave response from the IRA. NI would then be in the grips of civil war.
How & why was power- sharing introduced in N.I. from 1973 to 1974
The British Government had never wanted Direct Rule in the first place. It was introduced initially for one year when the NI Government resigned over Heath’s decision not only to not rearm the RUC & set up the B specials again but also for the British Government to take over control of Security & Justice, end internment & have a referendum on the border.
A move was made to achieve community government. This would mean Direct Rule would end but both Unionists & Nationalists would share power as opposed to the Unionist controlled Stormont Governments that had existed prior to direct rule and had discriminated against the Nationalist community which in turn led to the Civil Rights movement.
This power- sharing Government would consist of three parts. The Assembly, the Executive & an Irish Dimension through the Council of Ireland
An election was held for an assembly of all parties in 1973. Most seats were won by parties which supported power-sharing Faulkner Unionists 24 seats; SDLP 19 seats; Alliance 8 seats. However, Unionism was split with more anti power-sharing Unionists winning seats than pro
The British Government stated if the Majority of people in NI wanted a United Ireland it would not oppose it. Dublin said it accepted that a United Ireland could only happen peacefully with the consent of the Majority of people in NI
How did unionists oppose the introduction of power-sharing to Northern Ireland in 1973 and 1974?
• Many unionists saw Faulkner as betraying unionist principles
• Most unionists disliked the idea of power-sharing with nationalists
• There were deep misgivings and fears about the Council of Ireland whose powers were not clearly defined in the Sunningdale Agreement
• Unionists were fearful that it would lead to a united Ireland. Many unionists were determined to destroy power-sharing because of the “Irish Dimension” – the Council of Ireland, which would allow the Irish Republic a significant contribution into the way Northern Ireland was run
• Anti-power sharing unionists felt excluded from the process
• Unionists supported the Ulster Workers’ Council (UWC) strike in May 1974. This general strike led to the collapse of the Power-Sharing Executive
Explain Nationalists responded to the introduction of power-sharing in 1973 and 1974.
•Gerry Fitt spoke out against the General Election being held so soon, arguing that people did not yet understand what power-sharing was all about
•The SDLP took part seeing the Council of Ireland as a chance to build links with the Republic of Ireland and give it more of a role in Northern Ireland’s affairs
•The Alliance Party took part in the Executive. They believed it was a chance for peace and progress.
•The IRA opposed power-sharing, believing it fell short of what they wanted, a united Ireland. They continued their bombing campaign.
What were the effects of workers Strike?
In protest against the power-sharing Assembly and executive of June and November 1973 and the Sunningdale Agreement of December 1973 the Ulster Workers’ Council (UWC) was formed
On May 14th 1974 the UWC called a general strike. Road blocks began to appear and work was disrupted across Northern Ireland. Gradually more and more unionists supported the strike and supplies became disrupted.
When Prime Minister Harold Wilson appeared on television and criticised the strikers they became more focused. Given the seriousness of the situation with fuel supplies low and power outages the SDLP were persuaded to delay the introduction of the Council of Ireland.
Then in spite of warnings the government used the army to provide fuel and open roads the strikers called for a total shutdown. Brian Faulkner who was the leader of the pro-power- sharing unionists stated he could no longer support power-sharing and resigned from the power-sharing executive. As it was a power-sharing arrangement there could be no Executive without unionists and so the power-sharing Executive collapsed and the experiment with power-sharing ended on May 28th 1974. The UWC had achieved their aim of bringing down power-sharing.
How did nationalists & unionists respond to the events of Bloody Sunday on 30 January 1972
What was bloody Sunday/ why people marching?
“Bloody Sunday” is seen as a major turning point in the course of troubles of Northern Ireland. In Derry on Sunday 30th January 1972, there was a huge protest march against the use of internment which was organised by the Civil Rights Movement. It was an illegal gathering.
What happened?
The British Parachute Regiment troops sealed off the area and as a result of this stones were being hailed towards them by youths and objectors in the streets. The soldiers of the regiment claimed that they were fired at and returned fire. The result of the shootings ended with unarmed 13 marchers being killed one later died of his injuries & another 13 were injured. This happened in full public and press view & led to increased sectarian division in N.I.
How did Nationalists respond?
The scale of the atrocity and the vivid images on TV were to have a deep impact on the Nationalist community. For Nationalists in general there was immediate out pouring of grief & anger. Rioting took place in Nationalist areas. It also led to increased hostility at British government and Stormont government. In Dublin too there was the burning of British Embassy reflecting the anger in the Republic of Ireland. It increased the status of and recruitment into the Republican Army. Ivan Cooper who is best known for leading an anti-internment march which ended up in the massacre of Bloody Sunday stated ‘’You’ve destroyed the civil rights movement, and you’ve given the IRA the biggest victory it will ever have.’’ As a result the number of bombings & shootings increased.
The anger felt by Nationalists was exacerbated by the findings of the Widgery Inquiry. The report accepted the army’s version that the IRA had shot first. To Nationalists the report was a whitewash. They believed all of the victims were innocent as they were unarmed with the Inquiry unable to find evidence of weapons on the victims.
How did Unionists respond?
Within the Unionist Community there was little sympathy for what had happened. The Civil Rights march had being illegal and therefore should not have taken place in the first place. There was also the belief that some of those killed had provoked the army and that the IRA had been involved in the march. In fact, despite the inquiry finding no evidence of arms many Unionists believed this simply meant the guns had been smuggled out rather than meaning that those who died were innocent.
There was anger too at the increased IRA violence after Bloody Sunday and failure of government and security forces to stop it. However, there was continued support for the Government.
Ulster Vanguard was also formed in response to the resulting IRA violence, this was led by William Craig. Vanguard was a coordinating body for traditional loyalist groups. During one of its meetings in Ormeau Park attracted 70,000 Craig spoke of liquidating the enemy.
In essence Bloody Sunday led to the views of Nationalists & unionists becoming further polarised.
