Northern Ireland - Historiography Flashcards
Jackson (Northern Ireland) (2) on O’Neill
- Economics*
1. O’Neillism was an economic modernisation agenda which was designed to affirm unionist supremacy in Ireland, failed- investment unevenly caused issues and contributed to civil rights movement
2. Not the challenge of the IRA that threatened to destabilise the Unionism, but rather the economic condition of the state
3. The economic planning of the 1960s, designed to copper fasten Unionist rule, instead contributed to its demise. Unionists became the victim of their own success - job creation an impressive annual industrial growth rate of 5.7% was recorded in the 1960s. But the location of this investment, disparities amongst the beneficiaries and the simultaneous loosening of sectarian frontiers created resentments and fed into social disorder.
Hennessey (Northern Ireland) (1) - Sunningdale
- The conditions for a settlement of the Northern Ireland conflict did not exist in the period 1972-76. Beginning with the Sunningdale Agreement it might be argued that this was one of the greatest diplomatic coups of any Irish government since independence in 1921.
Prince (Northern Ireland) (1) on protesting
- Focuses on the wave of New Left thought behind the belief in a social revolution to dispel the issues faced by the Irish State.
In particular, homes in on the actions of students to go for non-violent, peaceful protest with the intent on finding out how the actions of SNCC relate to the protest actions of students in Ireland. Invariably, these actions are responsible for the introduction of police violence in Ireland, leading to greater British military imposition in Ireland, leading to IRA actions.
Shapiro (Northern Ireland) (1)
- Irish Troubles legacy - high walls in Ireland dividing the ethnic populations “physically divided by 30-foot high walls”
Bew (Northern Ireland) (2) British and IRA
- British interest to stay in Ireland is, claims Danny Morrison, to “only now be explained in terms of strategic interest, of NATO and can properly be defined as ‘political imperialism’”
- “The degree to which the provisionals were now setting the political agenda was increasingly evident… the clear declaration that they were working for direct rule… made it all the more difficult for the British ruling class to consider this option - outside of conditions of near catastrophe in Northern Ireland”
Gillian and Tonge (Northern Ireland) (2) British Govt
- Since the outbreak of conflict in 1969 the British government has introduced a range of community relations initiatives aimed at containing, if not ending, the violence.
- It is fair to conclude that up until the mid-1980s most of these measures were of a fairly disparate and largely incoherent nature.
Ginty (Northern Ireland) (1) British Govt
- Highlights difficulty of talking about Ireland in Westminster and timidity of the press in highlighting discrimination in NI
Dummingham (Northern Ireland) (2) Economics
- Before the troubles, Northern Ireland had the worst economy in Western Europe - failed to provide work for a vast number of people, and encouraged institutionalised economic and social inequality 2. The Troubles “retarded Northern Ireland’s participation in the world economy”
Harris (Northern Ireland)(2)
- Familiarity certainly led to consent. Distancing and disengagement had caused Anglo-Irish elite to oscillate only between different level of mutual hostility, miscomprehension and suspicion, their adverse on Northern Irish community relations cannot be overestimated.
- The region is still struggling to overcome this poisoned inheritance. EEC/EU membership though not the antidote, has redressed some of the problems left in its wake. Regular contact between the Anglo-Irish elite, particularly on the fringes of European council summits, increased mutual awareness, thereby eroding mutual distrust
English (Northern Ireland) (1) IRA
- 1982 - Raymond McCartney - former IRA hunger striker - “the armed struggle in fact needed a sound political machine heard to use itself as another weapon to help rid us of foreign imperialism north and south of our falsely divided country”
Edwards (Northern Ireland) (2) Irish Govt
- While the winding down of military dimension effectively took the gun out of Irish politics, it did not bring an end to sectarianism or the underlying cause of the Troubles.
- British government ignorance of the Troubles brewing on the streets of Belfast and Derry/Londonderry was matched only by ambivalence toward the difficulties facing the Stormont government.
Ginty (Northern Ireland) (1) Irish Govt
- Realisation of paramilitary for the need for political action in the 1980s, low level political feud not enough for fast action - civil society more engaged, outlines significance of Anglo-Irish Agreement
- A triangular low intensity conflict developed in 1970s between British state, Republican paramilitaries and loyalist paramilitaries
- Violence persistent, but of a relatively low level in comparison with other ethnic wars. The conflict in Mindanao in the Philippines claimed 120,000 lives. Approximately 50000 had been killed in Sri Lanka since 1983, only 2.6 million live - not significant enough to worry about
Bloomfield (Northern Ireland) (1) AIA
- Bloomfield is highly critical of the AIA - With the Irish government as a substitute for the SDLP at the negotiation tables - Unionist parties had legitimate right to be concerned - a unilateral process, by which the deep intervention into Northern Irish affairs by the Irish government, but with no reciprocal role in relation to the Republic, extended to members elected by constituencies in the 26 counties of the Republic formal consultative rights not available to members elected in the 6 counties of Northern Ireland.
Guelke (Northern Ireland) (4) Extraction
Issues with extraction
- Sovereignty issues
- Appearance on a global stage
- Transitional period to peace would require resources physically not possible to manage
- Potential likelihood for the PIRA or another Republican army to continue assault against UK
McKittrick (Northern Ireland) (4) British Govt
- Absence of Westminster supervision, the establishment of what was in effect a permanent unionist government and the unionist party’s domination of local government represented the top strata of Unionist power in NI.
- Special Powers Act - sweeping legislation which allowed arrests without warrant, internment without trial, unlimited search powers and bans on meetings and publications, as well as providing far-reaching catch-all clauses
- The Canary Wharf bomb delivered the message that the gun and the bomb had not yet been removed from Irish politics
- The IRA itself had had a major rethink since the abject failure of its 1950s campaign, and in the process had swung sharply to the left with prominent Marxists taking control. It moved away from the idea of using violence as its only tactic and became a left-wing pressure group agitating on issues such as housing, particularly in the south.
When and what was the Sunningdale Agreement?
1973 - Establishment of power sharing arrangement
When and what was the Hillsborough Agreement?
The Anglo-Irish Agreement, 1985 - guaranteeing right of RoI intervention in NI politics
When and what was the Downing Street Joint Declaration?
1993 - declaration affirmed both the right of the people of Ireland to self-determination, and that Northern Ireland would be transferred to the Republic of Ireland from the United Kingdom only if a majority of its population was in favour of such a move.
When and what was the framework document?
1995 - Codification of North-South relations
When and what was the Good Friday Agreement?
Belfast, 1998. Est. devolved multi-party system with defined relations between Ireland and England, Ireland and RoI and RoI and England. Also accounted for civil rights, decommissioning of weapons, justice and policing
When and what was the Patten report?
1999 - inquire into policing in Northern Ireland
When and what was the Parades commission?
2002 - Parades Commission is a quasi-judicial non-departmental public body responsible for placing restrictions on any parades in Northern Ireland it deems contentious or offensive.
What was the Special Powers Act?
Special Powers Act - sweeping legislation which allowed arrests without warrant, internment without trial, unlimited search powers and bans on meetings and publications, as well as providing far-reaching catch-all clauses
Was Wilson hostile to Stormont?
Yes, instinctively anti-unionist.
What was Wilson’s reaction to discussions in Ireland?
opening the meeting with a reminder that Stormont was subordinate to Westminster and following up with a direct threat to cut off some of Northern Ireland’s money
What happened in 1974?
Re-election of Wilson, who was mainly hostile to the Sunningdale agreement, allowed to fall through
Major’s reaction to the death of James Bradwell, 1994
Warrant Officer James Bradwell was 43, with a wife and with children, Mr Adams. He joined the army, prepared to lose his life defending the British nation. Soldiers do. But he was murdered in cold blood in the United Kingdom. I sent him there, Mr Adams, so save me any crocodile tears. Don’t tell me this has nothing to do with you. I don’t believe you, Mr Adams, I don’t believe you.
Bogdanor
New generation of Catholics, less deferential, pushed for rights - unionist majorities reacted harshly Paisley cited violence to push Catholics into ghettos British government did not want to intervene
Who ruled Ireland under British direct rule?
Secretary of Ireland
Who was not involved in the Good Friday Agreement?
DUP
What is a significant barrier in modern Ireland?
Educational segregation
Where else was the decolonial paradigm in effect?
Malaya
Was Bloody Sunday a mistake?
Lawrence - Potentially not - demonstration of British dominance in order to subdue the populace
What did secretary Roy Mason do? 1976-79
Mason important for bringing in 3 pronged strategy of normalisation, ulsterisation and criminalisation to fight for the just argument behind IRA terrorism - not solely economically motivated
Timeline of N Ire. secretaries
Whitelaw - 1972-73 (Con) Pym - 1973-74 (Con) Rees - 1974-76 (Lab) Mason - 1976-79 (Lab) Atkins - 1979-81 (Con) Prior - 1971-84 (Con) Hurd - 1984-85 (Con) King - 1985-89 (Con) Brooke - 1989-92 (Con) Mathew - 1992-97 (Con)
When was the British Army sent into N Ireland?
1969 - Callaghan
Why are political conditions volatile?
Floating vote in Ireland lends to extremes rather than moderates - like Paisley and Adams - no dominant 2 party system.
What was happening at the time of O’Neill’s modernisation programme?
traditional industries such as shipbuilding and linen were in steep decline, shedding tens of thousands of jobs and forcing unemployment up to levels generally more than double the UK average
Summarise O’Neill’s government
O’Neill’s economic difficulties were accompanied by political problems. The sharp drop in economic activity towards the end of the 1950s coincided with the emergence of a new political challenge in the form of the Northern Ireland Labour party
Summarise the Mason era
The Mason era was a true turning-point in that violence fell dramatically, and would never again rise to the scale experienced in the 1971–76 period. But the highest hopes of the Mason era were dashed: the theories that the De Lorean project could help turn round the economy, that Castlereagh would crush the IRA, that a military solution was possible without the need for political action. August 1979 cruelly shattered hopes that the troubles might be tailing off, leaving Northern Ireland to face the unpalatable fact that violent conflict looked set to continue indefinitely, and that the long war still had a long way to run
Jackson on Unionists in 1980s
The Unionists had once again backed themselves into a tactical dead-end in order to demonstrate the intensity of their convictions. Unionist tardiness and negativism had led inexorably towards marginalisation and humiliation”
British operations to tackle IRA
Operation Demetrius - troops and police to round up IRA
How was internment seen?
attracted much condemnation of Britain and never looked like defeating the IRA. The fact that the IRA was able to escalate its violence in the wake of internment showed that in its strongholds it had a substantial and indeed rapidly expanding reservoir from which to draw recruits and other support.
What did Dams write about Bloody Sunday?
Bloody Sunday brought in “money, guns and recruits”
How long did it take to get the assembly to work?
9 years, suspended 4 times to get bitter opponents to work together
What was happening to the IRA during the 1980s?
As northern leadership that was urging more emphasis on politics was simultaneously reshaping the IRA into a more effective killing machine. The IRA was partly reorganised into a cell structure in order to guard against the effects of informers and interrogation.” - “They did so with the help of the Libyan ruler, Colonel Gaddafi, who gave the IRA an unprecedented amount of weaponry. (due to Yvonne Fletcher) - Gaddafi had provided guns and money to the IRA in the early 1970s but his interest appeared to have cooled until 1984, when his relations with Britain sharply deteriorated.
What weaponry did Gaddafi supply?
6000x rifles Semtex plastic explosives Heavy machine guns AP rounds SAM-7 missiles Anti-aircraft guns Flame-throwers M60 machine gun FALs HKs
IRA current stance
Accepts ballot, not bullet
Why is the peace not absolute?
The new peace was not absolute, since rogue elements within loyalism and especially dissident republicanism remained sporadically active Can a democracy function without a viable alternative?
How many jobs lost in Linen since WWII and 1960s?
10,000
Birth rates in Northern Ireland
2:1 majority of Protestants
Why did Sunningdale collapse?
- Collapse of Sunningdale due to unionist misinterpretation - Mcloughlin - threats were imaginary, not real - “any sensible reading of Sunningdale was overshadowed by the apocalyptic rhetoric of the anti-agreement unionists - fear it represented pre-selling towards unification. “slippery slope” thesis
Why did the 1975 ceasefire fail?
Ideological rigidity of the is identified as a central reason for the failure of these negotiations after 4 weeks of genuine and sustained suspension of hostilities, the response of British Government was considered unsatisfactory
McGrattan
Provisional Republicans consider themselves victims of British oppression - story is easily told and fits the decolonial paradigm: an imperial power thwarted legitimate self-determination claims, and PIRA reaction/defence follows oppression.
When was the legitimacy of the PIRA undermined?
‘Archival evidence suggest that Bloody Friday marked a definitive end for any legitimacy the PIRA may have enjoyed outside of its own core supporters”
How many died in the Troubles?
3700
