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Home , Ian Gow, The Troubles

August 1969- The arrival of British Troops • Nationalists at first welcomed the troops. • They were seen as protectors from Loyalist attacks. • They were viewed as being fairer than the RUC and the B Specials. • Many famously made tea, sandwiches and attended army discos. Unionist Reactions

• The army received a hostile welcome from many Protestants. • Many resented British interference in a Northern Irish problem. • Some criticised Chichester-Clarke for giving the army control of security in Northern . Nationalist hopes shattered! • The army’s potential to act as a neutral, and therefore impartial, peacekeeping force was shattered when the Conservative government at Westminster gave the government at Stormont powers to direct army operations. • The Catholic communities then perceived the army as a tool of the Unionist government. Re-emergence of Paramilitary Organisations The O.I.R.A & P.I.R.A THE U.V.F & U.D.A Key points: aims and methods of the UVF, IRA split: Provisional and Official, aims and methods of each. Attitudes of unionists and nationalists to these. Autumn 1969 –1970: Revival of the IRA

Troops accused of being violent towards Catholics IRA was reforming in the background – Provisional and official wings were recruiting and gathering weapons. Army searches for weapons on the Falls Road – turned many Nationalists against the army and increased support for the IRA Paramilitary murders increase The Falls Road

• Between 3rd and 5th July 1970 the Falls Road residents were placed under an army curfew. • 3,000 British soldiers searched houses, ripped up floorboards and arrested men and women on suspicion of . • The soldiers were acting on out- dated information and orders from Stormont. • Tear gas was fired on angry residents. • During the curfew four people died, and there were seventy- five other casualties. FACT FILE THE EMERGENCE OF PARAMILITARY GROUPS IN NI

Compile a fact file of key information on the following using the following information slides..

The revival of the IRA. • Split? • What did they stand for? • What did they do?

The Loyalist Paramilitaries. • Groups? • What did they stand for? • What did they do? I.R.A Winter 1970 Provos trained in guerrilla Roots date back to warfare, the 1916 rising ideology and anti- interrogation I.R.A 1956-62 IRA warfare border campaign had failed, the group had all 1970 IRA but died splits By late 1960’s IRA stood for ‘I ran away’, after their failure to protect Official IRA Provisional the nationalist community during the IRA violence in Split in the I.R.A

Official I.R.A Provisional I.R.A • Aim: wanted a • The Official IRA remained active, however, albeit with • Aim: united Ireland and the a more restricted level of end to British occupation activity than the through the use of force Provisionals. Unlike the Provisionals, it did not establish de facto control over Catholic areas of Belfast and . Provisional I.R.A • Recruits Largely working class youths from Londonderry, Belfast, Tyrone, and Down. • Support Rapidly increased after , people needed an extreme solution. NORAID: Irish Northern Aid Committee is an Irish American fundraising organization founded after the start of in 1969. Millions of dollars were donated by Irish- Americans to help the Provisional I.R.A. Activities of the P.I.R.A • The Provisional IRA was very poorly armed, having available only a handful of old fashioned weapons left over from the IRA's Border campaign of the 1950’s. • In the first years of the conflict, the Provisionals' main activity was providing firepower to support nationalist rioters, often very young, defend nationalist areas against attacks from loyalists, the Royal Constabulary, and the B-Specials • The IRA looked on itself as the police force of nationalist areas of Northern Ireland during the Troubles instead of the RUC Details of Activities • In their role as the unofficial police force of Catholic communities the PIRA made drug dealers, protection racketeers and thieves report to them • The PIRA also handed out punishments to those in the community who broke the rules….. This included punishment beatings, kneecapping, tarring and feathering, shaving women’s hair, forced exile and execution Targets

• The main targets were the RUC and the • Shooting and bombing campaigns were used Deaths • The PIRA was responsible for the following number of deaths….. • 1969- 2 • 1970- 18 • 1971- 86 • 1972- 235

The overall aim was to create so much chaos and destruction that NI would be ungovernable and that the British would pull out Loyalist Paramilitaries Aims of the groups and methods used Emergence of Protestant Paramilitaries • UVF formed to fight the IRA in the mid • The group was concentrated around East Antrim, and the Shankill district of Belfast Mural of 1st • First deaths of the ‘troubles’ carried out by Battalion UVF West Loyalists Belfast Emergence of Loyalist Paramilitaries

• The UDA was formed in 1971 as an umbrella organisation for various loyalist groups (also know as the UFF) • It originally had the motto 'law before violence' and was in fact a legal organisation until it was banned in August 1991, as the authorities deemed it to large to ban • The group favoured Northern independence • The UDA was involved in some killings in the early 1970s • Vigilante style group aimed at protecting Protestant communities What did Loyalist Paramilitary groups want? • End to the Stormont regime and a return to Unionist domination • Maintain links with Westminster and remain part of the UK, ‘remember 1690’ • Stop the appeasement of Catholics • Stop the development of civil rights for Catholics • To defend their religion and communities • The right to use force against those who attacked their communities Tactics used…

• In March and April 1969 they bombed water and electricity installations as part of a broader political campaign to force O'Neill to resign. The bombings were blamed on the IRA.

• According to the book Lost Lives between 1966 and 1999 the UVF and an affiliate group, the , killed 547 people.

• 1971-75 were the years in which the UVF carried most killings.

• Tit-for-tat killings, Catholics killed in retaliation, eg ‘’ The Hunger Strikes

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zx49cj6/ video Task Time “A State Apart” - The Watch the programme carefully, think about the key questions and note your findings – YouTube - A State Apart 4 The Hunger Strike Campaign 1981 www..com/watch?v=KNeBLX40eU8 1. Why did Republicans go on Hunger Strike?

2. What did they hope to achieve?

3. What were the key events of the Hunger Strikes?

4. Did the Republicans succeed in their aims?

5. How did the Hunger Strikes affect the relations between the communities in NI? Summary Diagram – Changing Republican Strategy 1981 Hunger Background to Aftermath of 1981 Strikes Hunger Strikes Hunger Strikes • Different • Continuing violence • Concessions strategy • New Gouv. Policies granted • - Ulsterinsation • Political reactions elected MP - Criminalisation • Changing • Deaths of - End of Special Republican prisoners Category Status Strategy • Violence on the • IRA Response - Armalite & Ballot streets - Box • End of Hunger - Growth in support Strikes • 1980 Hunger Strike for Sinn Féin FOLLOWING THE CONTINUED LEVELS OF VIOLENCE IN THE 1970S & 80S – THE BRIISH AND IRISH GOVERNEMNTS DECIDED TO WORK MORE CLOSELY – THE OUTCME WAS THE ANGLO-IRISH AGREEMENT

IRISH TEASOICH (GARRET FITZGERARLD) AND BRITISH PRIME MINISTER () SIGNED THE AI AGREEMENT 15TH NOV 1985 Key Term1 Key Term 2

The establishment A permanent secretariat of an inter- made up of northern and governmental southern civil servants. conference, headed This would provide by the Secretary of administrative support State & the Irish to the conference. Foreign Minister Terms of the A.I Agreement Key Term 4

The Agreement recognised Key Term 3 that they Republic had a role to play in the running would only of Northern Ireland. occur of there was accepted that a agreement on power- united Ireland would only sharing happen with the agreement of a majority within Northern Ireland ULSTER UNIONISTS AND PROTESTANTS OPPOSED THE AI AGREEMENT BETWEEN DUBLIN AND FOR SEVERAL REASONS Reactions to Anglo Irish Agreement

ROI BRITAIN NATIONALISTS/ UNIONISTS REPUBLICANS

•Accepted by ROI •Cross party support •SDLP welcomed •Appalled – Ulster Says government. Between Conservative & Agreement – had No! Labour biggest role of all NI •Rejected by Fianna Fail Parties •Felt abandoned by – opposition party = •Some individual British Gouv anger at recognition of opposition () as •Framework to deal with NI state and GB’s right they felt the agreement problems •Fearful of one step to be in NI was won by violence and closer to a United would not improve life in •Created an opportunity Ireland •Senator Mary Robinson NI for a better future resigned as she felt it •Felt left out of would not secure peace •Sinn Fein condemned it negotiations especially and stability due to as SDLP had been Unionist opposition. •Felt it made partition consulted permanent •Only the Alliance Party •Anger at ROI did not condemn it recognising NI state outright Task Time – The Anglo-Irish Agreement

1) Using the Terms of the Anglo-Irish Agreement, why would both the British & Irish governments be supportive of it?

2) How were Nationalists split in their reaction to the Anglo-Irish agreement?

3) Why were Unionists so angered at the Anglo-Irish Agreement?

4) Do you think the Anglo-Irish Agreement was a significant turning point for the Troubles? (Did it bring NI closer to Peace or further separate the two communities?)