Northern Ireland: Internment - Reasons, actions and effects Flashcards
When did James Chichester Clark resign
20th March 1971
Who replaced James Chichester Clark as Prime Minister of NI
Brain Faulkner
What is the definition of internment
Act of imprisoning a person without access to a trial.
Why did Brian Faulkner introduce Internment
Show hard line against violence
Hoped it would increase support from unionist community
Internment successful in ROI in 1950s
Issues with the implementation of internment
Information used to make arrests out of date and didn’t jail any leadership of PIRA
Rumours that those arrested were being tortured
No loyalists (UDA/UVF) were interned until Feb 1973 even though they were also involved in violence and bombings
Increase in Violence due to internment
Levels of violence got much worse. In last 4 and a half months of the year 143 people were killed and many homes and businesses were destroyed. before internment was introduced there had been fewer than 30 deaths in 1971
Why did internment cause loss of unionist support
Despite happy at start. Unionist support began to decline when it didn’t lead to a drop in levels of bloodshed and destruction in NI
Actions of NICRA due to internment
Responded by holding protest marches. However these soon ran into trouble. When NICRA staged a march close to an Internment camp Magilligan, Co Londonderry, in January 1972, the army responded by firing CS gas and charging the marchers with their batons down
What was the reason for nationalist opposition due to internment
politicians from SDLP, Nationalist + republican labour parties urged supporters to show opposition to internment by refusing to pay either rates or rent due on homes. In addition politicians stopped attending council meetings
As a result of internment what happened to PIRA membership
It increased
When and where was Bloody Sunday
30th January 1972. Londonderry
How many people did the Parachute Regiment kill
13 had been killed and an additional 13 were wounded
What events was caused by bloody sunday
PIRA members grew - particularly in Londonderry - as did the violence
Unionists spoke of regret at the numbers of deaths in Derry, they said that civil rights march had been illegal and so should not have taken place at all.
British Embassy in Dublin was burned by a crowd of nationalists protestors. Event showed how angry some nationalists were at the actions of the BG
Public opinion across world criticised the BG actions.
What did the London government do to respond to Bloody Sunday
Setting up an Inquiry into events of Bloody Sunday. Investigation was led by Lord Widgery, the most senior British Judge. He decided that the army hadn’t been to blame for what happened. However stated army’s actions were reckless.
Why was the Ulster Vanguard set up
Angry at failure of government to deal with increase in levels of IRA violence.
Headed by former Minister William Craig, Vanguard described as a co-ordinating body for traditional loyalist groups. One of its meetings attracted 70,000 people.
