NORTHERN IRELAND AND “THE TROUBLES,” 1969–1998 term paper

For more than four hundred years, the bitter tensions between the oppressed Irish Catholic majority and the dominant English Protestant ruling minority in Ireland frequently erupted in grim scenes of bloody, sectarian violence (commonly called “The Troubles”). In 1912, while the British Parliament was seriously considering greater autonomy for Ireland (Home Rule), the powerful Ulster Unionist Party, representing the Protestant majority of the six northern counties of Ireland, declared its unalterable opposition to Home Rule.

During Easter week 1916, the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein (“We ourselves”) led a bloody, weeklong rebellion in Dublin protesting British rule, culminating in the Declaration of a Provisional Government for an Irish Republic. The Easter Rising was brutally suppressed, but the political agitation, violence, and fighting among Irish Republicans, Ulster Unionists, and the British troops continued until a truce was signed on 6 December 1921 recognizing the twenty-six counties of southern Ireland as the Irish Free State. In 1937 the Irish Free State changed its name to Eire, or the Republic of Ireland.

The six counties of Northern Ireland (Ulster) withdrew from this Irish Free State and have remained part of the United Kingdom. Unfortunately these political arrangements did not end the violence. The outlawed Irish Republican Army (IRA) has advanced its goal of unifying the two Irelands by attacking British military units in Northern Ireland and by terror-bombings throughout the United Kingdom. Although there were sporadic attacks in the 1950s and 1960s, 1969 marked the beginning of a sustained campaign that lasted until 1998. So, too, the political authorities of Northern Ireland have a well-established record of denying the Catholic minority of Northern Ireland civic and economic rights and have used brutality and torture in interrogating IRA suspects and their supporters.

In 1969, following riots in Derry and Belfast, the British army was deployed in force throughout all of Northern Ireland. In the next thirty years more than 3,500 people were killed in the sectarian violence. At the root of the violence are two groups with differing views of Northern Ireland: Unionists, who are largely Protestant, and wish to remain part of the United Kingdom; and Nationalists, who are largely Catholic, and wish to affiliate with the Irish Republic. The most promising moment for cessation of the troubles came on 22 May 1998, when both Irelands approved the Good Friday Accords of 10 April, brokered by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell. Key elements of the accords are (1) a new 108-seat legislature ensuring that Catholics have a real voice in governance; (2) a cross-border ministerial council linking northern and southern Ireland; (3) changes in Ireland’s constitution renouncing the Irish Republic’s claim upon the six northern counties; and (4) a commitment by all parties to disarm and to turn away from violence. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, and David Trimble, head of the Ulster Unionist Party, signed the accords. Gerry Adams, head of Sinn Fein, did not sign but pledged his support. Suggestions for Term Papers
1. What happened during the Dublin Easter Rising of 1916? Why is this event important in Irish history?
2. What was the strategy of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the 1970s and 1980s? How effective was it?
3. What was the strategy of the British army in Northern Ireland during the 1970s and 1980s? How effective was it?
4. Evaluate the role of former U.S. Senator George Mitchell in brokering the Good Friday Accords of 1998 (see Suggested Sources).
5. Write a paper analyzing the impact of the Good Friday Accords on Northern Ireland (see Suggested Sources).
6. Investigate the parts played by Great Britain and the Irish Republic in helping the people of Northern Ireland resolve “The Troubles.” Should or could they have done more?

Research Suggestions

In addition to the boldfaced items, look under the entries for “Terrorism in the 1970s” (#78) and “Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Revolution in Britain, 1979–1990” (#81). Search under Long Kesh, Orange Lodges, Ian Paisley, and Bobby Sands.

SUGGESTED SOURCES

Primary Sources

Amnesty International, UK. Killings by Security Forces in Northern Ireland. London: Amnesty International, 1990. First-person accounts of the difficulty of using the military in counterinsurgency operations against civilians.

Mitchell, George J. Making Peace. New York: Knopf, 1999. Valuable personal reflections by the chief U.S. negotiator who assisted in the diplomacy of the Good Friday Accords.

Thatcher, Margaret. The Downing Street Years. London: HarperCollins, 1993. Prime Minister Thatcher’s candid admission of how difficult “The Troubles” were for her government.

Secondary Sources

Aughey, Arthur, and Duncan Morrow, eds. Northern Ireland Politics.New York: Longman, 1996. An excellent overview of political and administrative issues. The appendices have a good bibliography and a helpful chronology.

Bartlett, Thomas, and Keith Jeffrey, eds. A Military History of Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. The chapters on “The Troubles” provide a succinct analysis of their human costs.

Bell, J. Bowyer. IRA Tactics and Targets. Dublin: Poolberg, 1990. An incisive examination by the IRA’s leading historian.

Bruce, Steve. The Red Hand: Protestant Paramilitaries in Northern Ireland. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. A useful summary of Irish Protestant military organizations.

Hart, Peter. The I.R.A. and Its Enemies: Violence and Community in Cork, 1916–1923. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. A poignant case study of the early troubles, along with an extensive bibliography.

Kennedy-Pipe, Caroline. The Origins of the Present Troubles in Northern Ireland. New York: Longman, 1997. The best starting point for understanding the issues.

Ruane, Joseph, and Jennifer Todd, eds. The Dynamics of Conflict in Northern Ireland: Power, Conflict and Emancipation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. A solid analysis of the economic, military, and cultural dimensions of the conflict.

World Wide Web

“Northern Ireland Assembly: The Agreement.” http://www.ni-assembly.gov.uk/agreement.htm. The full text of the 1998 agreement with links to other aspects of “The Troubles.”