Countries Divided Today you will learn about: Introduction to Northern Ireland Causes of conflict in Northern Ireland Consequences of conflict in Northern Ireland

People of Northern Ireland In 1993 1 million Protestants, mostly of Scottish and English origin 600 000 Catholics, mostly descendents of local Irish inhabitants of the island

Government in Northern Ireland Since 1972 ruled by the British parliament in London Secretary of State for Northern Ireland chosen by the British Prime Minister finance,commerce,health and education controlled by N Ireland government Foreign affairs and defence matters were in British hands

Causes for the Conflict between the Protestants and the Catholics Divided Loyalties The Education System Employment Housing Voting Rights

1. Divided Loyalties The Protestant and the Catholics are intolerant of one another. Give their allegiance to different countries. Protestants want to continue to be part of United Kingdom Fear union with Republic of Ireland Fear Catholics would not be tolerant of the Protestant beliefs

What about the Catholics? Catholics want N Ireland reunited with the Republic of Ireland Remember persecution suffered by the Catholics during England’s conquest of Ireland Distrust the Protestants eg. still celebrate the Battle of Boyne as a mark of Protestant dominance

2. The Education System Education system in N Ireland deepened the rift between the Catholics and the Protestants Schools in N Ireland can be divided into 3 categories: The Protestant Schools The Catholic Schools Mixed Schools ?

In the Protestant Schools Students are taught British History, play British sport and are loyal to Britain In the Catholic Schools Students learn Irish History, play Irish sports and taught Irish language and culture. See Britain as a foreign country In Mixed Schools Subjects cater to both the Catholics and Protestants Schools run by private individuals Unpopular

Results of the Educational System: Generations of children grow to be distrustful of each other Hostility between them increases.

3. Employment Competition for jobs Catholics felt there is no equal opportunity for them in getting the jobs Number of Catholics engineers and civil servants was not proportionate to their numbers in the country Fewer Catholics in senior positions in the public or private sectors

4. Housing The provision of housing by city council- caused great concern to the Irish The Councils made up of largely of Protestants Catholics were delayed in getting their houses They became frustrated as the shortage of houses meant they have to wait for many years to own a house Catholics felt the provision of housing was unfair to them

5. Voting The right to vote was a problem to the Catholics prior to 1968 Each household was given to 2 votes while companies had more votes depending on their sizes Many companies owned by Protestants- so they ended up with more votes many voting districts were often drawn up to include large proportion of Protestants Catholics were unhappy ?

Since 1968, changes have been made due to the changes voting rights ceased to be a problem in Northern Ireland everyone is entitled to one vote must be a British subject must be above 18 years old has to be born in Northern Ireland or must have lived in the United Kingdom for 7 years voting districts have also been redrawn to ensure fairness

Peaceful Protest Marches vs Violence Civil Rights movements started in 1960s : demanded equal rights protested against unfair treatment of the Catholics made peaceful demands for basic rights such as housing, jobs, education and voting Civil Rights Movement in 1968 was a beginning of the period called the ‘Troubles’ ?

How did the Protestants react to these marches? Protestants reacted with hostility and violence Saw the movement as an attempt to weaken the government

In 1969, the British Army was sent to Northern Ireland to help keep peace Catholics welcomed their protectors Catholics soon lost faith in the British Army when the army started to search their homes and made arrests

In 1972, A peaceful civil rights march was shot at by the British soldiers 13 civilians were shot dead and many more were wounded This incident is called the ‘Bloody Sunday’ incident It marked the beginning of violent conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants

Violence The Catholics suffered at two fronts : 1. The Protestant Mob Catholic homes were petrol-bombed by Protestant mobs forcing families to flee Their homes were looted Catholic businesses and pubs were burnt and destroyed

2. Security Forces: The Police and British Army The police did not help to ease the tense situation The British Army attacked Catholic homes and damaged their property.

Involvement of Irish Republican Army (IRA) IRA was an illegal organisation formed by the Northern Irish Catholics Its mission was to use violence to rid Northern Ireland of the British Army and the representatives of the British government Within 2 decades of the conflict, many people were killed IRA was said to be responsible for 2/3 of the deaths and even the killing of innocent Protestants

Effects of Protestants–Catholic Conflict The conflict resulted in : Many deaths involving innocent victims Increasing number of people growing up with intense prejudice towards each other Adverse development in the economy:  Decrease in investment  Decline in tourism trade

Conclusion Throughout 1980s and 1990s attempts were made to resolve the conflict but attempts failed Peace accord was discussed in the 1990s but failed New agreement reached in 1998( Good Friday Agreement) Peace is uncertain as there is still tension

Mural photographs ‘Building new citizenship' - learning from change in Derry