Northern Ireland And The Troubles Flashcards
Who were the unionists?
-wanted NI remain part of UK
-mostly protestant
Who were the republicans?
-wanted NI unite with republic
-under ‘home rule’
-mostly catholic
What was the civil war?
-‘the troubles’ in NI since 1968 between paramilitary groups
-Br security forces destroyed
-sectarian violence between two sects
What is a paramilitary group?
-defence political cause not the state
-thatcher viewed them as terrorists who create death, destruction + terror
Who were the IRA?
-acts of terrorism highlight cause of Irish nationalism
-pressure Br gov give NI independence
-not officially affiliated with repub pol party
What was Sinn Fein?
-political party repub Ireland + NI
-Republican social democracy - left wing
-Gerry Adams leader 1983 - elected MP west Belfast but refused attend parl
What did Gerry Adams do to Sinn Fein?
-changed from abstentionism policy to contesting elections gain rep democratically
-‘twin-track strategy’ - using armalite + the ballot box — didn’t denounce IRA
Why didn’t Adams attend parliament when MO for west Belfast?
-attending would be acknowledgment of queens sovereignty
-wanted secure Repub court through Dem means not terrorism
What assassination happened in 1979
-assassination of Airey Neave - shadow NI minister
-car bomb outside Westminster by INLA
-an ‘incalculable loss to BR ruling class’
Who was Airey Neave?
-hard line against republicanism
-thought military success = political success
How did this assassination impact thatcher?
-took a more hard line attitude to NI
What was Thatchers attitude to NI in 1979?
-said her ‘own instincts are profoundly unionist’
-not domestic issue but security pursuing unionist objective
Who else was assassinated in 1979?
-Lord Mountbatten prominent member royal family
-brother to prince Phillip
-bomb on his boat
What did the IRA say about the assassination of Lord Mountbatten?
-‘a discriminate act to bring to the attention of the eng people the continuing occupation of our country’
What happened in 1981?
-Bobby sands + the Irish hunger strike
-not crime of state but political crime
