Northern Ireland: creation in 1921 is part of the UK (six counties of Ulster)

Three periods 1921 to the 1960s: discrimination 1960s to 1998 : The Troubles Northern Ireland today

1921 to 1960S : mainly peaceful Successive Prime ministers practised a policy of discrimination against the nationalist/Catholic minority: Employment (led to emigration of catholic population) Political representation: abolition of proportional representation so the Ulster Unionist Party had majority in Parliament. 1935: 11 died at the Orange Order Parade in Belfast (a protestant celebration: tribute to William of Orange who defeated Catholic James II in 1690) over 2000 catholic homes destroyed

Northern Ireland THE TROUBLES : 1968 to 1998 Over 3,600 killed and many injured (50,000) Violence on the streets of Northern Ireland was common place and affected the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain, even Gibraltar This period of violence ended with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998

Unionists and nationalists streets in Belfast

AIMS of the two communities the Unionists making up a Protestant majority wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom. the nationalists and republican, almost exclusively Catholic, minority wanted to become part of the Republic of Ireland. This was a territorial conflict, not a religious one.

THE MAIN ACTORS IRA : Irish Republican Army PIRA : Provisional IRA used violence during the Troubles against the Ulster Constabulary Sinn Féinn: Irish Republical political party dedicated to reunification of Ireland RUC : Royal Ulster Constabulary : police force in Northern Ireland British Army

A few events…in brief 1969: British army sent in to Northern Irelandto try and solve social and political tensions . 9-10 August 1971 : Operation Demetrius . 1972: situation worsens and GB imposes direct rule. Northern Ireland Parliament is suspended 30 January 1972 : BLOODY SUNDAY: British paratroopers shot 27 unarmed Catholics, five of them in the back. 13 died. The Catholics were protestinc peacefully against operation Demetrius, rejecting hate and revenge.

1968 : rise of violence in Belfast and « Londonderry » October 1968 : Civil Rights march demanding for equal rights between catholics and protestants (voting, political boundaries, housing, employment…). The protesters march in a Protestant area (banned) and met the RUC… International news coverage Escalation of protests and violence. The police was unable to cope British troops moved in…

British troops in the city streets during the Orange Day Parade in Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 13, 1970.  Catholic youths throw stones and gasoline bombs at British troops, Aug.12,1979.

A British paratrooper takes a young girl in his arms to comfort her after she had been hurt in the bomb blast in Donegal Street, Belfast. (20th March 1972)

Internment : 9-10th August 1971 This morning though, the dawn gloom was broken by the piercing headlights of British Army armoured cars, which disgorged squads of beret-wearing paratroopers. Doors were kicked in and men, often addled by sleep, dragged away. Before long, the predominantly nationalist area had woken up amid howls of rage from the families of those who had been taken.

OUTCOME OF INTERNMENT (Operation Demetrius) . 342 arrested accused of being involved with IRA Balimurphy massacre also known as Belfast Bloody Sunday (11 unarmed civilians killed by British soldiers who stated they had been shot at so they returned fire) Increase in violence 7000 people fled or were forced out of their home 1981 interned between 1971 and 1975

BLOODY SUNDAY 30 January 1972 : BLOODY SUNDAY: British paratroopers shot 27 unarmed Catholics, five of them in the back. 14 died. The Catholics were protesting peacefully against operation Demetrius, rejecting hate and revenge.

Patrick ('Paddy') Doherty (31) Gerald Donaghey (17) John ('Jackie') Duddy (17) Hugh Gilmour (17) Michael Kelly (17) Michael McDaid (20) Kevin McElhinney (17) Bernard ('Barney') McGuigan (41) Gerald McKinney (35) William ('Willie') McKinney (26) William Nash (19) James ('Jim') Wray (22) John Young (17) John Johnston (59) John Johnson was shot twice on 30 January 1972 and died on 16 June 1972. His family is convinced that he died prematurely and that his death was due to the injuries received and trauma he underwent on 'Bloody Sunday'.

Bono writes…. "It was a day that caused the conflict between the two communities in Northern Ireland — Catholic nationalist and Protestant unionist — to spiral into another dimension: every Irish person conscious on that day has a mental picture of Edward Daly, later the bishop of Derry, holding a blood-stained handkerchief aloft as he valiantly tended to the wounded and the dying,"

Drummer Mullen said in 1983 "We're into the politics of people, we're not into politics. Like you talk about Northern Ireland, 'Sunday Bloody Sunday,' people sort of think, 'Oh, that time when 13 Catholics were shot by British soldiers'; that's not what the song is about. That's an incident, the most famous incident in Northern Ireland and it's the strongest way of saying, 'How long? How long do we have to put up with this?' I don't care who's who – Catholics, Protestants, whatever. You know people are dying every single day through bitterness and hate, and we're saying why? What's the point? And you can move that into places like El Salvador and other similar situations – people dying. Let's forget the politics, let's stop shooting each other and sit around the table and talk about it... There are a lot of bands taking sides saying politics is crap, etc. Well, so what! The real battle is people dying, that's the real battle."[

Consequences of Bloody Sunday: a turning point The catholic population was outraged the suspension of the Northern Ireland government in March 1972, which led to the decades of direct rule from London. Increased Provisional IRA recruitments to fight against the British "occupying army" Increase in paramilitary violence: 1972 was the worst year with 479 deaths (321 civilians) divisions

Results of the enquiry….almost 40 years later…. The results were published on 15 June 2010. Then British Prime Minister David Cameron addressed the House of Commons that afternoon where he acknowledged, among other things, that the paratroopers had fired the first shot, had fired on fleeing unarmed civilians, and shot and killed one man who was already wounded.[5] He then apologised on behalf of the British Government ,saying he was "deeply sorry"

Terrorist attacks in Great Britain Grand Brighton Hotel after the IRA bomb attack in October 1984 during a conservative conference attended by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (5 died) Hyde Park bombing in 1982killing 11 soldiers and seven horses and leaving dozens injured.

Bobby Sands (member of the provisional IRA – Irish Republican Army: died following a hunger strike in 1981 (Margaret Thatcher refused to give in)

In the Bogside of Londonderry, British paratroopers shot 27 unarmed catholics, five of them in the back. 13 died.Another man died 6 months later .

Free Derry : a nationalist enclave 1969 to 1972

An agreement is reached between the different parties 10th April 1998 The Good Friday Agreement brought to an end the 30 years of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland known as 'The Troubles'. Within Two years, decommissioning of all paramilitary arms. The process of normalisation, committed the British government to the reduction in the number and role of its armed forces in Northern Ireland

Peace walls to minimize inter-communal violence in Belfast… The peace lines range in length from a few hundred yards to over three miles (5 km). They may be made of iron, brick, and/or steel and are up to 25 feet (7.6 m) high. Some have gates in them that allow passage during daylight but are closed at night. There are 34 kms of walls