What can you remember from last lesson? Why didn’t partition end the problems in Northern Ireland Why was there a Civil War in the Irish Free State (The Republic/the South) What were some of the problems in the 1920s and 30s?

What do you think is happening?

Why were British troops sent to Northern Ireland in 1969?

Lesson objectives... To explore why British troops were sent to Northern Ireland in 1969 To realise how they were received and the consequence of their presence in Northern Ireland To investigate the cause and consequence of Bloody Sunday

Before the troops were sent in... Terence O’Neil (promised to restore order and give both sides what they want – promised promises that he couldn’t keep) NICRA (Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association – peaceful protests against Catholic discrimination) 1968 Civil Rights demonstrations

The need for troops… By August 1969 fighting between Catholics and Protestant police was out of control and so the British government stepped in and sent British troops to restore order British troops were meant to be a short-term emergency measure but they ended up staying long term At first the troops were welcomed by both sides (Catholics did not really want to see the return of the violent IRA) – but the friendly atmosphere did not last long

Troops in... January 1969 – series of riots in Londonderry April 1969 – rioting in Belfast O’Neil (leader of Unionist party and Northern Irish PM) resigned Tension increases over summer. The Londonderry Apprentice Boy’s march was followed by large scale riots in the Catholic Bogside district This became known as the Battle of Bogside – thousands were burnt out of their homes In August, the British Government agreed to send in troops to keep the warring factions apart

Battle of Bogside… Nationalist Catholics protested against a Loyalist Apprentice Boy (celebrating the Boyne – they held off James II – see A3 sheet King Billy) parade in Londonderry – a predominantly Catholic area Fierce rioting lasted 3 days between the two sides – Nationalist and Loyalists/Army Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) couldn’t sort out the trouble and so the British army was sent in Sparked other fights in Northern Ireland

Re-emergence of IRA 1969-70... Troops soon clashed with both Protestant and Catholic crowds Troops killed two Protestants in a protest on the Shankill Road in October 1969 Behind the scenes, the IRA was reforming Unionists were worried and the new PM James Chichester-Clark ordered searches of Catholic areas for IRA weapons This turned many nationalists against the army and increased support for the IRA The IRA exploited the situation by destroying Protestant property and attacking officers from the RUC

Internment - 1971... In August 1971, the Northern Ireland PM (Brian Faulkner) introduced internment under Northern Ireland’s Special Powers Act Internment meant that anyone suspected of terrorism could be arrested and held in prison without being charged or put on trial It was to cripple the IRA – IT WAS A DISASTER Wrong people were targeted due to wrong intelligence The loyalist paramilitaries were not arrested Irish descendants in USA were shocked and support for the IRA increased It added to the violence of Northern Ireland – violence and torture were often used. People were angry

Bloody Sunday, 1972... A Civil Rights protest against internment was taking place in Derry on Sunday 30 January 1972 15,000 people defied a ban on marches and gathered in the centre of the city British troops of the Parachute Regiment sealed off the area and were met by a hail of stones thrown by youths What happened next is unclear, but the troops say they were fired on and so they returned fire…

Bloody Sunday… British troops opened fire on the march and killed 14 people (apparently unarmed)- some were shot in the back An enquiry followed led by Lord Widgery – criticised the shootings, but no action was taken against any soldiers Report accepted army’s version of events that soldiers had first been fired upon by IRA gunmen To Nationalists it was a whitewash – a cover up Controversy still raging when Tony Blair announced a new enquiry into the events in 1998 Bloody Sunday was a propaganda victor for the Republicans

Consequences of Bloody Sunday… Funding for the IRA from the USA increased The British Embassy in Dublin was burned down Hard-line Republicans said that the IRA had to go on the attack to get the British out of Ireland

Lesson objectives... To explore why British troops were sent to Northern Ireland in 1969 To realise how they were received and the consequence of their presence in Northern Ireland To investigate the cause and consequence of Bloody Sunday