5. The Troubles of Northern Ireland

6. I. Background
12th Cent.: England (Protestant) conquered & colonized Ireland (Catholic)
17th Cent.: British Protestant pop. increased w/Scottish & English settlers into Northern Ireland
Irish Catholic farmers were displaced & given less fertile land
NORTHERN IRELAND = BRITISH PROTESTANT MAJORITY!

7. 1800: Ireland = United Kingdom
Later 1800s: Irish Caths sought Home Rule & hostilities increased against Brits
Sectarian violence =
conflict betw. different sects of one particular ideology or religion w/in a nation/community
1921: Ireland was divided based on population
North = British Protestant
South = Irish Catholic
1949: Complete liberation (Republic of Ireland)

8. II. Causes of Conflict in N. Ireland
1) Divided loyalties
Prots & Caths see themselves as 2 different groups
Lack of common identity prevents understanding & cooperation
2) Unequal housing opportunities
3) Unequal employment opportunities
4) Voting inequality
5) Education inequality
Fully funded public schools for Prots & only partially funded private schools for Caths
6) Lack of opportunities for social interaction
Privately funded integrated schools attract only 5% of school-aged children
Prots & Caths live in separate residential areas
Religious differences cause tension BUT ARE NOT a cause of conflict

9. Why do British Protestants refuse to join the Republic of Ireland?
b/c they would lose the advantages of majority status!
Demographics of Northern Ireland:
Brit Prots = 60%
Irish Caths = 40%

12. Rugby (British)

13. Field Hockey
(British)

14. Cricket (British)

15. Hurling
(Irish version of
Field Hockey)

16. III. Peace Turns Violent
Mid 1960s: Civil Rights Movement (Irish Catholics)
Began a period known as The Troubles
1972: “Bloody Sunday” –turning point
Bloody Sunday Video
Sinn Fein (“We Ourselves”) (Irish Catholic Political Party)
(1969) Irish Republican Army (IRA)—used violence
Goal: to liberate N. Ireland of Brit rule & reunify Ireland

17. Bloody Sunday:
January 30, 1972: Derry, Northern Ireland: 26 unarmed civil-rights protesters were shot by soldiers of the British Army (14 were killed—7 were teenagers)
It began when a group of protestors were marching around the town. The numbers of the group kept escalating and at one point it was up to around 3,000 people. Troops were brought in to disperse the crowd, and at that point, people began throwing stones at the troops. Roadblocks were set up to restrain the marchers in certain sections of the town. The crowd became more and more lively and the troops began to make arrests. As the arrests were taking place, the army came under fire and they fired back. The results of this day led to the death of 14 at the hands of the First Battalion. The IRA responded with the orders to "kill as many soldiers as possible in retaliation"

19. Bloody Friday July 21, 1972: Belfast: I.R.A. detonated 22 bombs
9 killed, 130 injured

20. IV. Violence turns to Peace
*Gerry Adams (Sinn Fein President)
*Tony Blair ( = U.K. Prime Minister)
--helped negotiate Good Friday Peace Agreement

21. Good Friday Peace Agreement (1998)
Created the Northern Ireland Assembly
Power sharing law making body of N. Ireland made up of Prots. & Caths.
Democratic Unionist Party (Peter Robinson) & Sinn Fein (Martin McGuinness) share power
IRA renounced violence
Integrated police force
The Troubles officially
ended in 2007 following
the St. Andrews Agreement

22. V. Some more detail…

23. 1990s… 1994: IRA & militant Prots. declared ceasefires
1998: Good Friday Peace Agreement
Voters in N. Ireland elected an assembly which moderate Prots. & Caths. shared power (Northern Ireland Assembly)
BUT…snags remained
Prots. wanted full disarmament of IRA
Caths. wanted an integrated police force

24. Modern day… Northern Ireland Assembly was broken up until…
2006: IRA disarmed & renounced terrorism, &
police force was integrated
2006: St. Andrews Agreement restored the Northern Ireland Assembly which led to the election of 2007
2007: Ian Paisley (DUP) & Martin McGuiness (Sinn Fein) shared power (Northern Ireland Assembly)
2008: Peter Robinson = current First Minister