Conflict in Northern Ireland Road to Peace

Background  1200  1690  17thC  1800  1846  1921  1949  Conquered and colonised by England  Battle of Boyne – William of Orange (Protestant) defeated King James II (Catholic) in N Ireland  Many Protestants were brought into Northern parts of Ireland. Local farmers were pushed out.  Ireland became part of UK  Potato Famine – 1 mil people out of 8 mil died  Ireland divided into 2 – Northern Ireland (Protestant majority) & Irish Free State (Catholic majority)  Irish Free State became Republic of Ireland

Background  Mid-1960s  1968  Aug 1969   1972  Civil Rights Movement  “Troubles”  British Army units sent in to keep peace  IRA fought for Irish Cause  Bloody Sunday – led to direct rule from London

Causes of Conflict  Divided loyalties – intolerance  Education system – differences perpetuated, segregation  Unfair treatment /discrimination/ sectarian prejudice -  Competition for jobs  Housing  Voting (Proportional Representation not implemented / gerrymandering)  Distrust!

Violent reaction to the civil rights movement  Working-class Protestant resentment  Economic problems  Radicalism in the civil rights movement  Fear of IRA (extreme nationalists)  Marching and Confrontation  Media attention  O’Neill’s Failings (Unionist Party)

Bloody Sunday On 30th January 1972, 13 Catholics were killed when soldiers of a British paratroop regiment opened fire during a civil rights march in Londonderry. The day became known as Bloody Sunday. Its impact led to a resurgence of violent opposition to the British presence in Northern Ireland. Although the details of what took place that day remain controversial, many of the basic facts are not disputed.

Bloody Sunday  1450: The march begins The demonstration was held in protest at the policy of internment without trial. It was organised by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association. About 10,000 people gathered in the Creggan Estate planning to walk to Guildhall Square in the centre of the city, where a rally would be held. The march itself was illegal because the Stormont Parliament had banned all such protests.

Bloody Sunday  1540: Confrontation Paratroopers had sealed off the approaches to Guildhall square. In order to avoid trouble the march organisers led most of the demonstrators down Rossville Street towards Free Derry Corner. A group of protesters stayed behind to confront the soldiers at the barricades. Stones and other missiles were used to bombard the soldiers who responded with rubber bullets, CS gas and a water cannon. The gas forced many of the remaining protesters to take refuge in the Bogside.

Bloody Sunday  1610: Soldiers open fire The paratroopers had orders to move in and arrest as many of the civil rights marchers as possible. They advanced down Rossville Street into the Bogside. What exactly happened next is not clear. The soldiers say they were fired upon from the Rossville flats as they moved in to make arrests and that they returned fire. The Catholic community says soldiers on the ground and army snipers on the city walls above the Bogside shot unarmed civilians.

Bloody Sunday  1640: Thirteen dead After 25 minutes of shooting, 13 civil rights marchers were dead. An inquiry by Lord Widgery reported that the paratroopers’ firing had "bordered on the reckless". It also concluded the soldiers had been fired upon first and some of the victims had handled weapons. The Catholic community rejected these findings and began the long campaign for another inquiry. In 1998 a fresh inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday was announced.  1640: Thirteen dead After 25 minutes of shooting, 13 civil rights marchers were dead. An inquiry by Lord Widgery reported that the paratroopers’ firing had "bordered on the reckless". It also concluded the soldiers had been fired upon first and some of the victims had handled weapons. The Catholic community rejected these findings and began the long campaign for another inquiry. In 1998 a fresh inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday was announced.

A slice of life Loyalist Murals Republican Murals

Hunger Strikes and Death of Bobby Sands  By March 1981 when Bobby Sands refused food, the hunger strike became world news and the international press was sympathetic to the prisoners' demands. Pope John Paul II sent his Papal Envoy, Monsignor John Magee, to persuade Sands to give up the hunger strike.  Three weeks after his election Sands fell into a coma and died on 5 May. He had been on hunger strike for 66 days. A hundred thousand people attended his funeral. His death provoked riots in Northern Ireland and street protests in many cities around the world.  By the time the hunger strike ended on 3 October 1981 ten men had starved themselves to death.

Riots break out in Belfast each time a hunger striker dies. As the Thatcher government dug in its heels and refused to accede to the prisoners' demands, a Dungannon priest, Fr Denis Faul, sought to end the hunger strike by persuading the prisoners' families to intervene. On 28 July as Kevin Lynch approached the 69th day of his fast, Fr Faul met some of the prisoners' families. He told them he believed Thatcher would not make any further concessions and that nothing could be gained by more deaths. Impact of the hunger strikes?

Paramilitaries  Loyalists – Ulster Defence Association, Ulster Defence Force,UVF….  Nationalists – IRA, INLA (Irish National Liberation Army) Economic factor poverty, unemployment – easy target for recruitment

The IRA  1919Founded  1948 Fought for union with Rep. of Ireland  1969Provisional IRA (more violent) & IRA  1994Pro. IRA declared unconditional ceasefire for peace talks, but failed (issue of disarming the IRA) Followed by series of bombing  1997ceasefire, Sinn Fein was allowed to join the peace negotiations  April 1998Good Friday Agreement – power sharing  May 1998Referendum  Aug 1998Omagh bombing – Real IRA (formed after 1997 ceasefire)

Consequences  Loss of innocent lives  Disillusionment and prejudice – difficult to achieve peace despite peace agreement in 1998 (Good Friday Agreement)  Stagnant economy – fall in investments and tourism  Social implications of stagnant economy

Peace Efforts  1973Power-sharing executive  1974Defeated  1985Anglo-Irish Agreement  Violence continued  1993Downing Street Declaration  1994Paramilitary ceasefires  1998Good Friday Agreement

Peace Efforts  Peace Movements  Community Groups  Trade Unions  Education (Education for Mutual Understanding) and Churches (Peace Education Programme)

Go To:  / / /  For detailed study of the conflict  Variety of sources and commentaries  Art and music

The Orange Order  Largest Protestant organisation in Northern Ireland with at least 75,000 members, some of them in the Republic of Ireland  In 1795, "Battle of the Diamond" led to some of those involved to swear a new oath to uphold the Protestant a new oath to uphold the Protestant faith and be loyal to the King and his heirs, giving birth to the Orange Order.  Parades on 12 July.

Causes of conflict  Unhappiness may arise over the following factors : Inability to keep their traditional way of life, instead forced to adopt a different set of customs and traditions. Anger unfair laws - languages/education policies that did not consider their interests (real or perceived) Fight for control of power by different racial or religious groups Disagreement over how country should be ruled – management of resources - job opportunities, economic resources  these issues may lead to conflict if there are no peaceful solutions to the problems.  ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT?

Consequences of conflict Political  law and order disrupted  Violence, loss of lives, etc.  Foreign intervention  Could have affected international relations with foreign countries (depending on the nature of the conflict)

Economic  Disruption of the economy.  Conflict would have led to the destruction of properties, factories, warehouses, etc.  affected industrial growth.  The instability in the country would result in the loss of confidence amongst foreign investors.  decrease in investments.  Drop in revenue of the country  Could result in unemployment.  This could in turn affect the livelihood of the people  standard of living dropped, etc.  Effect on Tourism = with instability, no tourist would be willing to visit the country. Consequences of conflict

Social  E ducation could be disrupted eg. Schools might have to close down.  Hospitals might be affected too. Might be overcrowded with injured people, etc. Might not be able to cope. Expenses on hospital care would increase too.  Standard of living dropped. Health facilities might also not be upgraded in view of the drop in revenue. Consequences of conflict

WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS?  Ulster will remain part of the UK, governed by a Protestant majority. ->The Catholics and the Nationalists who want to be joined to Eire will not accept that.  Ulster will become part of a United Ireland, so the Protestants will be minority in the new nation. ->Protestants who want to keep their links with Britain will not accept that.  Ulster should become a small, independent state with no links to any other country. ->It would be difficult to persuade people on both sides of the argument to agree to that. Whatever it is, the solution has to be acceptable to both sides, until then, the killings and bombings will continue.

LESSONS FOR SINGAPORE Being multi-racial,  -Sensitive to one another’s needs.  -Understanding and respect for the different ethnic, racial and religious  -Peace and unity is the best defence against foreign interference and intervention