1. How did Ireland caused problems for the Labour government between 1964 and 1970?
Starter: You will be given a copy of this cartoon from the 1960s. The figure at the front is Harold Wilson, and the others are members of his cabinet: Callaghan, Healey, Jenkins and Castle.
Use the information on pp.45 to annotate and explain the author’s interpretation.

2. A brief history of Northern Ireland
Since the 1920s, Northern Ireland (made up of 6 mostly Protestant counties) was partitioned from the Irish Free State (the remaining 26 and mostly Catholic counties).
Due to the majority of people in Northern Ireland being Protestant, Catholics became largely marginalised in employment, education and even political power between the 1920s and 1960s. Northern Ireland became dominated by Protestant Ulster Unionists (those who were loyal to British rule)
Catholics growing up in Northern Ireland faced poverty, unequal job opportunities and even police corruption. By 1964, a large civil rights movement had developed to campaign for better rights for Irish Catholics.
Many Protestant ‘loyalists’ feared that the civil rights movement was actually the IRA beginning a new campaign so began to form into their own paramilitary groups to put down any republican movements. The clashes between Protestant ‘loyalists’ and Catholic ‘republicans’ became known as ‘The Troubles’

3. What did the Civil Rights Movement hope to achieve?
In the mid-1960s, a non-violent civil rights campaign began in Northern Ireland.
an end to job discrimination – it showed evidence that Catholics/nationalists were less likely to be given certain jobs, especially government jobs
an end to discrimination in housing allocation – it showed evidence that unionist-controlled local councils allocated housing to Protestants ahead of Catholics/nationalists
one man, one vote – in Northern Ireland, only householders could vote in local elections, while in the rest of the United Kingdom all adults could vote
reform of the police force (Royal Ulster Constabulary) – it was over 90% Protestant and criticised for sectarianism and police brutality
repeal of the Special Powers Act – this allowed police to search without a warrant, arrest and imprison people without charge or trial, ban any assemblies or parades, and ban any publications; the Act was used almost exclusively against nationalists.

4. When did the violence begin to start?
In March and April 1966, Irish republicans held parades throughout Ireland to mark the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising. On 8 March, members of the IRA blew up Nelson’s Pillar in Dublin.
Worried that the IRA was warming up, many Protestant Unionists started to form their own “defense leagues”. In April 1966, loyalists led by Ian Paisley, a Protestant fundamentalist preacher, founded the Ulster Protestant Volunteers (UPV) in order to oust Terence O'Neill, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
At the same time, a loyalist group calling itself the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) emerged in the Shankill area of Belfast. It was led by Gusty Spence, a former British soldier. In April and May it petrol bombed a number of Catholic homes, schools and businesses. On 21 May, the UVF issued a statement declaring "war" against the IRA and anyone helping it. The shooting of Catholic civillians began on the 27th.

5. The Battle of the Bogside, 1969
In 1969, an Apprentice Boys march through the mostly Catholic area of Bogside, Derry, turned violent. As the parade passed the perimeter of the Bogside, Catholics hurled stones and nails, resulting in an intense confrontation. This was a reaction to the RUC having beat to death two Catholic men who were wrongly accused of having taken part in earlier riots.. Samuel Devenny (42) and Francis McCloskey (67).
Whilst the police fought with the rioters at William Street, officers at the Rossville Street barricade encouraged civilian Protestants throwing stones across the barricade at the Catholics. The IRA began pouring in members, weapons and other military supplies to help the Bogside defenders fight the RUC and Protestant loyalists.
Tensions reached a peak when, on 13th August, the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland made a televised speech promising to send an army to the border to help deal with the injured. Unionists were appalled at this prospect, which they saw as a threatened invasion of Northern Ireland and the riots escalated.
As the violence escalated, Wilson had no choice but to deploy troops to Northern Ireland. his marked the first direct intervention of the London government in Ireland since partition.

6. What is Northern Ireland like today?
Although the violence has stopped; Northern Ireland is still deeply divided; cities like Belfast are still largely segregated between Protestant and Catholic communities. Large walls known as “peace walls” separate them and schools are largely separated by faith.
Sinn Fein still refused to take their seats in the House of Commons, as it would mean swearing allegiance to HM Queen Elizabeth II.
Within the Protestant communities of Northern Ireland, there are organisations that seek to grasp onto their shared history and culture by holding marches. Two such groups are the Orange Order and the Apprentice Boys.
The Orange Order celebrate the Protestant King William’s victory over the Catholic King James at the Battle of the Boyne in The Apprentice Boys organise march to commemorate the closing of the gates of Derry to Catholic forces in 1688.

7. Learning Tasks
Using the information from today’s lecture, as well as pp.45-47, create a “narrative timeline” showing how Northern Ireland escalated from a Civil Rights movement to British military presence.
You may wish to use a laptop or IT (smartphones, tablets etc.) to pad out your timeline.
As it is a ‘narrative’, try to focus on consequence – how did one event lead to another?
Top tip: make sure you use the following key words: sectarian, nationalist, republican, unionist. You may wish to make a glossary to define each word!
Debate question: is violence ever a valid form of protest?