Northern Ireland Flashcards
When was Northern Ireland formed?
1921, after the partition of Ireland as a result of the civil war
What religion were the Northern Irish people, mostly?
Protestant
What religion were the Irish people, mostly?
Catholic
Which people wanted a united Ireland
The republicans/ nationalists
Which people wanted Northern Ireland to be independent from Ireland?
The unionists/ loyalists
How many protestants were there in Northern Ireland, compared to Catholic?
-1,000,000 Protestants
-500,000 Catholics
Discrimination against the Catholics in Northern Ireland
-The Protestants monopolised the best housing, jobs and schools
-Protestants dominated the local government in Northern Ireland
-Protestants dominated the police force in Northern Ireland
The Battle of the Bogside
-1969
-A Unionist march through Londonderry was attacked by Catholic nationalists
-There was significant violence between the sides
-The Royal Ulster Constabulary found themselves in clashes with the Catholic rioters
-James Callaghan eventually sent the British army to quell the violence in Londonderry
Nationalist organisations
-The IRA
-The INLA
Unionist organisations
-The UVF
-The UDA
Internment in Northern Ireland
-Internment meant that political prisoners could be held without trial
-Heath had supported internment in 1971
-Internment was a disaster
-95% of those interned between 1971-1975, were Catholic
Bloody Sunday in 1972
-NICRA organised a march against internment
-Attempts to control the march led to British soldiers firing live ammunition
-26 unarmed civilians were shot, with 13 being killed
-Support for the IRA grew as a result
How many explosions were there in Northern Ireland in 1972?
1382
How many shooting incidents were there in Northern Ireland in 1972?
10,628
How many trouble-related deaths were there in Northern Ireland in 1972?
480
The Widgery Report of 1972
-A report by Lord Widgery
-It said that the rioters had fired shots at the British Army first, on Bloody Sunday
-It increased the hostility and worsened relations between the British government and Northern Ireland
The Sunningdale Agreement of 1973
-A complex plan for a power-sharing government
-The agreement offered the Catholics a share in government for the first time since 1921, which frightened many Protestants
-Both sides denounced The Sunningdale Agreement as a sell-out
-11/12 constituencies voted for candidates who were opposed to The Sunningdale Agreement, in 1974
-The agreement was abandoned in 1974
The removal of the ‘special category status’ for political prisoners in Northern Ireland
-1976
-Met by ‘blanket protests’
-Protests turned to ‘dirty protests’ in 1978
-By 1979, over 250 prisoners were taking part in the dirty protests
Evidence of violence in Northern Ireland during the 1970’s
-1974: Loyalist car bombs kill 26 in Dublin and 7 in Monaghan
-1974: Birmingham pub bomb kills 19. IRA suspected
-1975: 12 people killed in Northern Ireland in a series of UVF attacks
-1979: Airey Neave, the Conservative spokesman on Northern Ireland killed by an IRA car bomb in House of Commons car park
-1979: Lord Mountbatten was killed by a bomb whilst holidaying on his yacht in Ireland
The death of Bobby Sands
-Hunger strikes began in response to the removal of the ‘special category status’ for political prisoners in Northern Ireland, in 1980
-9 hunger strikers died alongside Bobby Sands, until the strike was eventually called off in 1981
-Before his death, Sands had ran in the by-election as the anti-H-block candidate
-Bobby Sands became a martyr, and a hero for the republicans
Rolling Devolution in Northern Ireland, in 1982
-Margaret Thatcher re-established the Northern Ireland assembly in 1982
-This was boycotted by the nationalist parties
-The idea was a failure, and was abandoned in 1986
The Brighton Bombing
-An IRA attack on the Grand Hotel in Brighton, in 1984
-An attack on the government and Thatcher
-5 people were killed, and 30 were injured by the bombing
-Norman Tebbit’s wife was amongst the injured, and she was permanently disabled for life as a result of the bombing
-Thatcher gave a speech the next morning, in which she showed her tenacity, which helped to improve her popularity
The Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985
-The republicans would have to recognise Northern Ireland as a part of the UK
-The British government gave full support for the civil rights of those in Northern Ireland
-The agreement was bitterly condemned by both sides
-However, it did improve co-operation between the British and Irish governments in the long run
Evidence of violence in Northern Ireland during the 1980’s
-1986: The Remembrance Day Bombing saw the deaths of 11 people, and the injury of 60 more, after the IRA detonated a car bomb at a Remembrance Day service in Enniskillen, in Northern Ireland
-1988: In Gibraltar, the SAS shot and killed 3 IRA members before they had time to detonate a car bomb, intending to kill British soldiers. This became known as ‘The Death on the Rock’
-1988: 3 were killed and 50 injured by a loyalist gunman, at the funeral of the 3 men killed in Gibraltar
-1988: 2 off-duty British soldiers were dragged from their car and killed, after accidentally entering an area which was holding an IRA parade
