Years of Concensus 1964-79: 5 British policies in Northern Ireland 1969-79

Question 1

when did formal links with Ireland end?

Answer 1

1949

Question 2

what was the 1921 Treaty?

Answer 2

the anglo-irish agreement that had partitioned the island of Ireland between an independent south Ireland and Northern Ireland which remained part of the UK.

Question 3

which religion was predominant in NI?

Answer 3

Protestant - they used their majority to dominate the separate parliament set up in 1921.

Question 4

who was NICRA and what did they stand for?

Answer 4

Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association. they condemned gerrymandering elections in Ulster and demanded disbanding of B Specials as well as fair distribution of social and financial resources.

Question 5

what is gerrymandering?

Answer 5

manipulating constituency boundaries.

Question 6

who were B Specials?

Answer 6

a wholly Protestant reserve police force on which the fulltime police could call.

Question 7

who were RUC?

Answer 7

Royal Ulster Constabulary: an almost exclusively Protestant armed police force.

Question 8

where were NICRA’s major public protests?

Answer 8

Dungannon in 1968 and Londonderry in 1968.
Londonderry ended in violence and the RUC had to help break up the ‘illegal march’.
Sometimes seen as the beginning of ‘the troubles’.

Question 9

what were ‘the troubles’ in Ireland?

Answer 9

the cycle of violence between 1960s and 1990s whose main feature was terrorist conflict between the nationalists and the unionists, with British troops from the mainland caught amidst trying to preserve peace.

Question 10

when did the first deaths occur?

Answer 10

the summer of 1969, the season of traditional Protestant marches in Ulster (held to commemorate the victory in 1690 of William of Orange over Catholic James I).

Question 11

when were British troops sent to NI?

Answer 11

in August 1969 with the aims of keeping peace. at first the troops were welcomed by the Catholic community though the happy relationship did not last.

Question 12

who were the IRA?

Answer 12

Irish Republican Army - dedicated to the creation through armed struggle of an all-Ireland republic. its political front was Sinn Fein, a legitimate political party. at the end of 1969 the movement split into the Official IRA and the Provisional IRA.

Question 13

what did the IRA do in 1969?

Answer 13

reorganised itself and resolved to attack unionism and head the Catholic nationalist protest movement. it targeted troops in NI as representatives of the British imperialist government who were seen as the root cause of Ireland’s problems.

Question 14

what was internment? (1971)

Answer 14

the arresting of suspected troublemakers and holding them without trial.

Question 15

what were the consequences of internment?

Answer 15

increased tension in NI, feeling that Catholics were being persecuted, strained Irish-British relationship, breaking of the cross-party understanding in the House of Commons since many Labour MPs opposed it and called for British troops to be withdrawn.

Question 16

when was Bloody Sunday?

Answer 16

January 1972

Question 17

what was bloody sunday?

Answer 17

a prohibited civil rights march in Londonderry which resulted in 14 shot and killed by British troops.

Question 18

when was the Widgery report published and what did it state?

Answer 18

1972 - inquiry that stated it was shots fired at the soldiers before they started firing that caused the casualties.

Question 19

how did the Widgery report make matters worse?

Answer 19

convinced Catholic population that the British government was hostile, increased tensions between London and Dublin government, gap between iRA and non-violent Social Democratic Party widened, gap between moderate Official Unionist Party and the DUP widened.

Question 20

who were the DUP?

Answer 20

Democratic Unionist Party which had broken away from the Official Unionist Party in 1971.

Question 21

what did Heath do as a result of Bloody Sunday?

Answer 21

imposed direct rule of Northern Ireland from London.

Question 22

what was the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973?

Answer 22

an effort to produce a workable governing arrangement where rival parties would cooperate in a power-sharing experiment. Backed by London and Dublin governments, it was the first time Catholics had been offered a share in government.

Question 23

why were Catholics unhappy after the Sunningdale Agreement?

Answer 23

violence continued.
- unemployment
- presence of British army
- slow progress gaining civil rights
- law seemed against them in the Diplock Courts.

Question 24

what were the Diplock Courts?

Answer 24

set up in 1972 to hear cases without a jury, the aim being to avoid the problem of jury members’ being intimidated.

Question 25

what protest was held against the Sunningdale agreement?

Answer 25

May 1974 - a 15 day strike organised by the pro-Paisley Ulster Workers’ Council.

Question 26

what did Wilson introduce as a solution for Ireland?

Answer 26

A Northern Ireland Act in 1974. created a Constitutional Convention, a way of introducing the power-sharing principle. However this was resented by Ulster Unionists. It was dissolved in 1976.

Question 27

what did the government do after dissolving the Northern Ireland Act in 1976?

Answer 27

withdrew the ‘special status category’ for prisoners serving sentences in NI for terrorists acts. In future they were treated as common criminals not political prisoners.

Question 28

why was it difficult to find a realistic settlement?

Answer 28

• IRA were such a major culprit of outrages that it was difficult to act without appearing to give in to terrorism. e.g. Birmingham pub bombings, the government a prevention of terrorism at in 1974
• Labour’s slim majority meant that they couldn’t afford to anger the Ulster Unionists.
• the Labour MPs who openly supported the republican cause in NI and the ‘troops out’ campaign inhibited the government.