History-northern ireland!

What year did terrence O’Neill become prime minister?

March 1963

O’Neill’s economic policies

• Invest in £900 million into the local economy

• Modernisation of existing industries and help bring new ones into the province

• Modernisation of road and railway system

• Beginning cooperation with trades union congress

• New city of Craigavon (named after Protestant James Craig)

• New university in ColerIne

Successes of O’Neill’s economic policies

• Several factories built

• Work started on m1 linking Belfast and Duncan on

• Agreement signed with Dublin over supply of electricity

• Belfast benefited from new oil refinery

• Development started on new airport

• 35,000 new jobs created

Failures of O’Neill’s economic policies

• Unemployment levels were now below 7%

• Over 20,000 jobs lost

• Government gave money to Harland and Wolff to keep the company open

• Barely any factories opened west of the barn

“A hand in friendship”- Dublin

• The prime ministers of north and republic hadn’t met since 1925 until jan 1965 when O’Neill met with Taoiseach Sean Lemass in stormont

• They discussed issues such as the economy while their colleagues discussed tourism and electrical link-ups

• In dec 1967 o’nell met Lemass’ successor jack lynch in Dublin.

“Hand in friendship”- Nationalists in NI

• O’Neill met cardinal William Conway who was the archbishop of Armagh and therefore, spriritual leader of countries catholics. ( O’Neill was originally Protestant)

• When pope John XXII died, O’Neill offered the governments official condolences.

• O’Neill visited catholic hospitals and schools

• He increased the funding the the NI government had given to catholic schools and hospitals.

Nationalist reactions to O’Neill’s policies

• It was good that a unionist leader was giving them some consideration

• However they felt he hadn’t given enough to catholic areas ( out of 217 firms established between 1946-66 only 9 were west of bann)

• New town was in Protestant area, it should have been in the west where there was high unemployment

• Both m1 & m2 ended when they reached nationalist areas

• New university should’ve been in Derry (70% catholic)

Unionist reactions to O’Neill’s policies

• Worried and angry about pm meeting with Taoiseach (1st step towards united Ireland)

• Unionist parties angry about meeting as they were not informed about it (O’Neill was never popular with most of party)

• Ian paisley emerged as the greatest critic of O’Neill’s actions. He claimed that N. Ireland should have nothing to do with republic as it was controlled by the Catholic Church & articles II & III (stated that dubbing was the rightful ruler of ALL 32 counties)

Influences of NICRA

• Us civil rights movement: Martin Luther king- he used non violent methods & civil disobedience to make voice heard

• France, may 1968- young people demanded change

• Vietnam- young people demanded end to Vietnam war

• Prague spring

• President Kennedy

• 1947 education act

Reasons for emergence of NICRA

they didn’t want to end partition, only the violence that came with it. In particular:

• Achieve “one man, one vote” removing the right for business owners to vote multiple times

• Fair allocation of council houses being able to vote depended on being a ratepayer(householder). The fewer the no. of catholics who possessed a property, the fewer the no. Of catholics who could vote

• End gerrymandering

• Prevent discrimination in the allocation of government jobs. The Cameron commission found widespread evidence of favouritism toward Protestants in the allocation of jobs.

• Remove special powers act , 1922, which allowed the government to arrest and detain people without trial.

• Disband the B specials

• Establishment a formal complaints procedure against local authorities to report breaches in^ areas.

Attitudes towards NICRA

• New generation of catholics supported them as they were unhappy with their own nationalist party led by Eddie McAteer whose only policy seemed to be ending partition.

• Liberal Protestants sympathised with some demands and beloved making NI fairer would undermine demands for united ireland.

• There wa suspicion among unionists, some felt its intent was just causing trouble & it was a front for the IRA; others believed it was only interested in catholic rights. Others thought that NICRA wanted a united Ireland thus threatening the continued existence of NI.

Early civil rights marches and responses

• 1st march was on 24th august 1968. Went from Coalisland to Dungannon, it took place because the dungannon rural district council gave a council house in Tyrone to a 19-year old Protestant woman, rather than a nationalist family. In result an Austin Currie, nationalist mp from east Tyrone, squatted in the house. Although the march was prevented from reaching its destination by the police, an alternative rally was organised at the police barricade & the event passed w/o incident.

• The 2nd march was organised for the 5th of October 1968, also to highlight inequalities among housing allocation only this time was in Derry. In response the unionist apprentice boy’s organisation threatened to hold a rival march which led to the stormont government banning the holding of any march. It went ahead although the crowd that turned up was small. It was accompanied by powerful allies: 4 west minister MP’s(including Gerry fit MP for west Belfast),& more importantly, an RTÉ camera crew which showed the world the heavy handed tactics of the police to break it up.

The five-point reform program

O’Neill, Faulkner and Craig were summoned to westminister on 4 November to meet the British pm Harold Wilson which resulted in the announcement on 22 November of a reform programme:

• The allocation of council housing on a points system.

• The replacement of Derry corporation by a development commission.

• The removal of parts of the special powers act.

• Reforms within the local government, including the ending of extra votes for business owners.

• The appointment of an ombudsman to investigate complaints.

All of these were to be in place by the end of 1971.

Responses to the 5-point reform programme

NICRA: gave O’Neill a chance & gave him time to implement reforms, suspended their marches temporarily in the hope of progress. The programme only addressed some of NICRAs key demands, even O’Neill felt they did not go far enough.

Unionists:deeply divided, many felt O’Neill was simply giving in to nationalist threats of violence & British governments pressure. Others within O’Neill’s government criticised him & threatened revolt.

People’s democracy:some nationalists also were determined to keep marching and demanding more. Such group was peoples democracy.

Effectiveness of NICRA

A conclusion might depend upon the political viewpoint of who is being asked. The announcement of 5-point programme would suggest that some of NICRAs demands had been fully-or partially-achieved, and yet, the emergence of pd would suggest that they were not all satisfied.

The emergence of People’s Democracy

The group mainly consisted of university students, it emerged out of anger at the violence that NICRA had faced in October 1968(police attack with rté camera crew there). Its leading figures were Michael Farrell and Bernadette Devlin(Westminster MP for mid ulster from April 1969). Their demand included:

• One man, one vote

• Fair boundaries

• Houses on need

• Jobs on merit

• Free speech

• Repeal of the special powers act ( get rid of/ revoke)

Actions and impacts of people’s democracy

• Burntollet bridge incident(outside Derry) :pd organised a march, NICRA & nationalist leaders condemned it but condemnations were ignored and the demonstration began on schedule, most of it was to go through Protestant areas, forcing police to use different routes to avoid confrontation until the 3rd day where ambush began which police seemed to do little to deflect. Police rampaged through nationalists areas in Derry the same night, raising tensions.Results of this was that NICRA started to march again because they believed that nothing had changed- they realised that burntollet bridge represented a massive new challenge.

• The Cameron commission: created by worried O’Neill. Was firstly designed to show the catholic community that the government recognised the seriousness of the situation. Secondly, it was investigating the causes of the continuing trouble with a hope of finding ways to end it.

• Resignations & political changes: -increasingly hostile political challenges on O’Neill as party leader & pm. -one of O’Neill’s biggest rivals, Brian Faulkner, resigned, protesting that O’Neill wasn’t a strong enough leader to defend unionism & deal with an increasingly difficult situation. -12 other unionist MPs supported Faulkner and demanded O’Neill resign.

• Crossroads election (feb 1969): O’Neill reacted to the criticism by calling an election, believing that the people of NI would support his leadership & his policies for reform.

Results of the crossroads election

It didn’t go how O’Neill wanted:

• Decline in the OUP vote- unionist party didn’t do well, clear divisions, decline at polls.

• Paisley challenging O’Neill, O’Neill polled 400 more votes than paisley.

• Lack of anticipated catholic support-he thought many catholics would support him but there was little evidence of this at the polls.

Downfall of O’Neill- reasons for resignation April 1969

• Political opposition & internal party conflict: the UUP opposed him.this weakened his position and eroded his support base.

• Civil rights movement & public unrest: O’Neill’s inability to effectively manage the escalating protests further undermined his authority e.g. burntollet

• Electoral setbacks: poor performance of moderate unionists was a clear indication of declining support for O’Neill’s policies.

• Violence & security issues: bombings by UVF.these attacks, Particularly on belfasts water supply created a climate of fear & instability. O’Neill stated that it ‘quite literally blew me out of office’ April 1969 bombing campaign.

• Personal isolation & leadership style:often perceived as out of touch with the ordinary unionist. His Anglo-irish backround did not resonate well with many in NI, making it difficult for him to gather widespread support. William Craig opposed O’Neill- he was dismissed bc he didn’t like 5-point programme.

Overall his resignation marked the end of a turbulent period in NI’s history. His efforts at reform, although well intentioned, were ultimately unsuccessful. His downfall highlights the challenges of leading a divided society during a time of upheaval.

Increasing tensions & violence-summer of 69’

• The storming government was worried if the security forces would be able to cope with a bigger increase in violence.

• After basically ignoring NI since 1921, the London government were concerned enough to establish a cabinet committee on NI.

• The Dubliner gov. Was anxious about the safety of the minority community & sent an intelligence officer to NI to watch what was happening.

• Armed groups seemed to be emerging -among loyalists angry at what they saw as concession after concession to nationalists -among republicans who were apprehensive at their own seeming inability to protect nationalists.

Battle of the bogside

It was a riot caused by the aftermath of burntollet & serious rioting in Belfast. It lasted 50 hours in august 1969 (marching season). People threw petrol bombs and raided a dairy factory before the riot. The republic became worried about the violence so they sent their guards to border areas and the country was worried that a full civil war would start in NI.(house burnings)

After the riot, violence broke out in several provincial towns, particularly Belfast. Troupes in NI & IRA re-emergence coming back, deployment of British army on 14th & 15th August in attempts to restore law & order.

Reasons for & consequences of government intervention

On 19 august, Chichester Clark(catholic) travelled to London to meet British pm Harold Wilson. Which resulted in the publication of the Downing Street declaration which aimed to reassure both communities:

• Nationalists were told that ‘every citizen of NI is entitled to the same equality of treatment and freedom from discrimination as in the rest of the UK, irrespective of political views or religion’.

• Unionists were told that ‘NI should not cease to be part of the UK without the consent of the people of Northern Ireland’.

Downing Street declaration- additional reforms

• One man, one vote, and end to gerrymandering

• A committee on policing was established under Lord Hunt.

• Following pressure from the British Home Secretary James Callaghan during a visit to NI, the stormont gov. Announced that it was setting up the scarman tribunal to investigate recent disturbances.

• Single housing authority was established, taking over from local councils.

• Measures to prevent discrimination in public employment was announced.

Reactions to DSD (intervention of gov.)

Unionists:

• The hunt committee report recommended that; -the B specials be disbanded and replaced by a new force(the ulster defence regiment UDR). This new part-time force would be controlled by the British army.

• Some unionists were so angered by the hunt report that rioting broke out on shankhill road.

Nationalists:

• Following the frustrations of the O’Neill period, it finally seemed as if the reforms sought by NICRA & other groups were now within their grasp.

Split in the Ira

• 
  The official ira, which continued to focus on the establishment of a socialist Ireland. At the same time violence was still used until a cease.

• Fire was called in may 1972. In 1974, the movement split again, with the emergence of the Irish republican socialist party & the militant Irish nationalist liberation army(INLA).

• The provisional IRA, which claimed for itself the traditional role of defender of the nationalist community.

The provisional Ira

Reasons for emergence:

• They believed the OIRA hadn’t done enough to protect the nationalist community- I ran away.

• Younger membership, saw themselves as the defenders of the minority community within NI.

Aims:

• Full independence from Britain.

• Defend the catholic community in the north.

• Create an independent united ireland.

• Remove the British presence in Ireland.

• The British army now found itself a target in NI as this was extreme & a sign of how things were getting more divisive.

the falls road curfew

The British army imposed a 34-hour curfew to search houses for weapons, barely any weapons were found but politically it was a disaster.

• The British army’s previously good relationship with the nationalist community was severely damaged, they were now seen as aggressive, the enemy & part of the unionist/loyalist state.

• Pira membership show up from 100-800 members.

Re-emergence of UVF & setting up of UDA

UVF

Protestant military that dated back to 1913 & the Thame rule crisis. Re-emerged by 1960 to deal with the perceived threat from the civil rights movement, it was felt that this was simply the IRA in disguise & a way of achieving a united ireland. It sought to oppose the actions of republican paramilitaries & ensure that Northern Ireland remained apart of the UK.

UDA

Formed in sep 1971 to fill a gap in the defences of the loyalist community. It remained a legal organisation for most of its existence. It sought to protect Protestant areas and resist republican aggression. It was viewed as too large to ban by the authorities as its membership grew to 30,000 within a year.

Internment ( being confined as a prisoner) 9th august 1971-introduced through operation Demetrius.

Introduced by Brian Faulkner as he was unable to reduce the levels of violence & he faced strong unionist pressure for firm action to be taken, they thought this would work as it was previously successful.

When & why did it fail?

It started to fail towards the end of 1971 as violence was getting worse, unionist support was decreasing when the policy failed to reduce violence levels. It left many dead & thousands left homeless due to the bombings. One was by the UVF was in Belfast, 5 people lost their lives due to this.

Reactions to internment

• The levels of violence got much worse in the last 4 ½ months of 1971, 143 people were killed & many homes & businesses were destroyed. Before internment was introduced, there had been fewer than 30 deaths in 1971.

• Politicians from the SDLP, nationalist & republican labour parties urged their supporters to show their opposition to internment by refusing to pay their rates or the rent due on their homes, in addition, politicians from these parties stopped attending council meetings.

• NICRA responded by holding Protest marches. However when NICRA staged a march close to an internment camp at Magillian ,Derry in jan 1972, the army responded by firing CS gas & charging the marches with their batons drawn.

Bloody Sunday(1972)

On 30 January 1972 NICRA held a civil rights march, where they protested about civil rights & internments. During the march13 men were shot dead (1 died later)by the parachute regiment in the bog side, all were unarmed.

1972 ended up being the most violent year in ‘the troubles’, nearly 500 would die.

Reactions to Bloody Sunday.

Unionist:

• Continued support for the government from the unionist community, which, while regretting the deaths, saw the march as illegal & provocative. Some unionists believed that the IRA was involved in the organisation of the march & that some of those killed had been armed.

• The resulting increase in violence & the government’s failure to end it led to the formation in February 1972 of the ulster vanguard. Headed by William Craig, the former stormont minister, vanguard was described as a co-ordinating body for traditional loyalist groups. One of its largest meetings, in Ormeau Park, attracted 70,000 people, a powerful symbol of the levels of unionist discontent.

Nationalist:

• Given the belief that all the victims were innocent & the parachute regiment attack unprovoked, nationalist hostility to the state was increased. This was symbolised by rioting in Nationalist areas & by the burning Dow of the British embassy in Dublin.

• IRA membership grew-particularly in Derry- & its bombing campaign intensified.

• Additionally, Britain faced international condemnation for the role it was playing in NI.

Direct rule-stormont suspended

Brian Faulkner(Stormont)- unhappy, Edward Heath(Westminster)- believed dr was needed.

William Whitelaw took over the functions of stormont after.

Key demands of direct rule:

• The transfer of security control to Westminster.

• A referendum on the future of the border.

• The gradual removal of internment.

• A Secretary of State for NI.

• Political talks involving all parties should be held to find an agreed solution n NI.

Reactions in NI & republic to direct rule.

NI:

• Most unionists were horrified as they had seen stormont as a barrier against a united Ireland. Ulster vanguard organised massive strikes and shutdowns in protest at the suspension(failed to open stormont up again).

• There was an increase in support for loyalist paramilitaries and a spare of sectarian killings, mainly in Belfast. Support for the DUP & other strongly unionist parties also increased.

Republic:

• SDLP & Dublin government welcoming the chances for a new beginning.

• The Ira, although achieving one of its aims, stated its opposition to direct rule & announced its determination to continue its struggle to achieve a united ireland.

• NICRA stated that it’s campaign for civil rights would continue.

The reasons for & responses to the introduction of a power-sharing executive

Reason: by 1972 496 people had lost their lives.

Responses:The British government responded on 31 July with operation motorman, which aimed to allow army & police to reclaim control of the paramilitary controlled no-go areas. The success of this encouraged the British gov. To make moves towards a political settlement.

1973 began with increased levels of violence. Loyalist violence led to their internment in early February. It wasn’t until 20 march that British gov. Published plans which proposed a new law-making assembly (parliament) elected by proportional representation, but not given control over security Or justice.

For this to work, the British insisted on:

• The sharing of power between catholics or Protestants.

• The formal recognition of an ‘Irish dimension’, the creation of a council of Ireland.

Reactions ^

Nationalists: broadly supportive,

unionists: divided:

• Some of OUP remained loyal to Brian Faulkner(who supported white laws plans)

• Other unionists-rest of OUP, DUP & the new vanguard unionist progressive party(set up by William Craig to oppose power-sharing), joined together to for the United Ulster Unionist Council(UUUC) to oppose the plans. They saw plans as undemocratic and believed that power should not be shared with those disloyal to the union.

This became clear when the outcome of the assembly elections were announced June 1973:

Party	Pro/anti power-sharing	Number of seats won
OUP(Faulkner Unionists)	Pro	24
UUUC unionists	Anti	26
SDLP	Pro	19
APNI(alliance)	Pro	8

Why powersharing failed

• Majority of unionists were anti-powersharing.

• Nationalists. & unionists had different views on what it meant.

• UWC strike-arranged by UDA & UUUC

• 1974 general election (11/12 unionists got seats-majority were anti-powersharing)

• Result of the election meant new power of state (now nothing)

Additional reasons:

• Change in UK government.

• Dublin & Monaghan bombings (worst event of troubles)

• British response to UWC strike.

The Sunningdale agreement

Agreed on 9 December:

• London agreed not to oppose Irish unification if majority of Northern Ireland population desired it.

• Dublin accepted that Irish unity could only ever be achieved peacefully and with the consent of the people of Northern Ireland.

• A council of Ministers with 14 members was to be established. The powers were vague but it was agreed it would help with the development of co-operation between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and would eventually be given decision-making powers.

• A 60 member consultative Assembly would be elected by the Dáil and the assembly at some future date.

• Also at some point, control over internal security issues would be returned to the assembly at Stormont.

Approval of these decisions were to be made at a future conference.

The ulster workers council strike

14 may 1974-29 may,shortly after assembly voted to continue support for Sunningdale agreement, the strike began.

Organised by the ulster workers council (a group of Protestant trade unionists who gained lots of support), its aim was to show the levels of unionist opposition to the Sunningdale agreement. Most of NI had came to a standstill due to UDA intimidation and improved co-ordination by the UWC. Some of NI’s trade unions attempted to organise a back-to-work demonstration on 21 may but only 200 people turned up.

Harold Wilson called the organisers ‘spongers’.

Reasons: put pressure on British government to end Sunningdale agreement & power-sharing.

Result: Brian Faulkner & his pro-assembly unionists resigned. The assembly & executive collapsed & direct rule brought back.

Methods:

• Port of Larne sealed off.

• Road blocks enforced.

• Any businesses which disobeyed the strike-attacked.

• Disruptions to electricity & gas.

• Shops, bars & petrol stations were ordered to close.

• The Dublin & Monaghan bombings

• 39 civilians killed & over 300 injured by loyalist paramilitaries.

• Loyalist paramilitaries undertook a bombing campaign.

They were successful.

Re-introduction of direct rule

Faulkner resigned as chief executive on 28 May, the other unionist executives resigned with him, thus ending power-sharing. After 5 months of absence, direct rule was re-introduced.

It is Impossible to know if power-sharing could’ve worked if it had more time. It seems clear that any involved were not as fully committed to power-sharings success as needed. This, coupled with intense opposition, was enough to ensure the failure of this attempted solution & the continuation of political unrest.

reasons for the hunger strikes 1980-81

Background:Dual policy- Ulsterisation and criminalisation, removal of special category status. Ira prisoners angry- saw themselves as ‘prisoners of war’

Early tactics:

1. Blanket Protests-1976: refused to wear prison issued uniforms

2. Dirty protests-1978: refused to ‘slop-out’.

By 1980 out of 837 Republican prisoners 340 were involved in the protests.

Hunger strikes

1st- 1980

• Aim: pressure British government to reinstate Special Category Status.

• Republican prisoners began to refuse food - would starve until their demands were met - were prepared to die - always be someone else to take their place on hunger strike.

• Callled of December 1980 - believed that they had achieved some of their aims. This was not the case.

2nd- 1st march 1981

• Led by IRA officer Commanding in the maze, Bobby sands.

• Unlike the previous strike - prisoners joined in intervals, why?

  • To maximise its impact - to show they were serious.

  • Get lots of publicity for their cause - it made the news every single night.

Bobby sands elected

New tactic - hunger strikers contest elections. Aim: more pressure on British.

Purpose was twofold:

• It would be wrong for an MP to be treated like this.

• It would highlight the support the strikers had within their own community.

1981 - Fermanagh/south Tyrone sitting M.P. Frank Maguire died - sands was put up as Anti H Block candidate. He won.

other hunger strikers were elected to Dáil Éireann during the Irish general election.

Effectiveness:

• Support for Sands shocked many Protestants

• British refused to make concessions.

Reactions to hunger strikes & concessions granted

• The hunger strikers: their cause was just - they were political prisoners.

• Sinn fein supporters: prisoners should be treated as PoWs - criminalisation a ploy to break them.

• Catholics in NI: sympathy for their demands. Felt it was a humanitarian issue. British were being cruel/unreasonable.

• British government: crime was crime, murder was murder - these people were criminal & would be treated as such.

• Unionists: nothing more than an attempt to undermine Northern Ireland’s position in the UK. Catholics supporting those who were killing members of their community.

Concessions

5th May 1981, Bobby Sands died - widespread rioting and violence in Nationalist areas. Around 100,000 people attended his funeral. The strike continued until 3rd October 1981 by which time 9 other prisoners had died. Some 61 people had died in violence outside the maze.

Prisoners achieved concessions but only after the protest had been called off.

1. Prisoners were allowed to wear their own clothes

2. The 50% reduction in length of sentence was restored.

3. A greater degree of association amongst prisoners would be allowed.

4. Greater number of prison visits permitted.

The effect of Sinn Féin electoral success on the SDLP

The British government & the SDLP were worried that Sinn Fein might replace the SDLP as the main nationalist party in Northern Ireland. There was a possibility that the SDLP might again have a significant input into the future direction of the Province. Which mean the party, led by John Hume since 1979 was looking more towards Dublin for support.

The Anglo-Irish agreement, reasons & terms. Signed by Margaret Thatcher & Garret Fitzgerald.

Why was it signed?

• Constitutional nationalists & British government were afraid that Sinn Fein might overtake the SDLP & become the main nationalist party in NI. Which could make agreements more difficult in NI, worsen the security situation & threaten the stability in Ireland.

• Thatchers main reason: security. She realised she had to deal with nationalist alienation in NI in order to improve security. The IRA’s attempt to kill her at the 1984 Conservative Party conference made her realise this.

• Fitzgerald hoped that reduced nationalist alienation & reform of security forces would undermine the minority’s toleration of the IRA.

terms

• the establishment of an intergovernmental conference, dealing with issues such as security, illegal matters, political questions and improving cross-border co-operation.

• A permanent secretariat made up of northern and southern civil servants to provide administrative support to the conference.

• Devolution would only occur if there was agreement on the sharing of power.

Significance of the agreement fr relations between the Republic ,Northern Ireland and britain.

Unionists:

• Appalled by the agreement.

• They felt that they had been abandoned by their own government & believed that they were heading towards a united ireland.

• They were mainly annoyed about being kept in the dark during the negotiations.

• Only the alliance party did not condemn the agreement outright(neutral-ish party)

SDLP:

• Had been given more of a role in the creation of the agreement than any other party in NI.

• Thought it would improve way of life In the province.

Republican parties:

• Most seen the agreement as acceptable, apart from Fianna Fáil opposition party led by Charles Haughey condemned it.

• A prominent Irish Labour Party senator, Mary Robinson, resigned from her party because the agreement was unacceptable to the unionist community.

Westminister:

• Over whelming cross-party support

• Individual members of the British parliament were not so happy.

• The pm’s former private secretary (now treasury minister) resigned from his position & argued that the agreement was won by violence & would make the situation worse.

The campaign against the agreement

It took many forms:

• Bonfires burning models of Margaret thatcher, Irish foreign minister Peter Barry and other member of the Dublin government.

• Marches to the headquarters of the new Anglo-Irish secretariat. On a number of occasions the marches became violent.

• A huge protest rally was held at Belfast’s city hall on 23 November 1985, attended by an estimated 100,000 people. The crown was addressed by the OUP leader, James Molyneaux, and the DUP leader, Rev. Ian Paisley.

• All 15 unionist MP’s resigned their seats at Westminister on 17 December but then stood for them again in the resulting by-elections. The aim was to show the strength of unionist opposition through the total number of votes the candidates received.

Hume-Adam’s talks

Began 1988 & lasted 8 months. The outcome of the talks was the Downing Street declaration. Gerry Adam’s- Sinn Fein leader, John Hume- SDLP leader.

Results:

• John Hume was deeply criticised for meeting with Gerry Adam’s-from ALL sides- even his own party. Adam’s & Sinn Fein were widely hated across the British isles, especially after the Enniskillen bombings. Unionist tpregarded it as talking w/the enemy.

• The talks were very useful for discovering the key differences in each other’s political stance & viewpoints. Sinn Fein felt that the British has strategic, economic,, political & military interests in NI. The SDLP felt it was the opposite (British gov. Were neutral & peaceful).

• The talks convinced John Hume that Sinn Fein were serious about moving towards peace - he was prepared to risk his personal & his party on this. This would later pave the way for the first agreements & eventual ceasefire.

The Downing Street Declaration Irish-Albert Reynolds. British-John Major.

1. They confirmed that:’no selfish strategic or economic interest in NI.’ (Aimed at convincing Sinn Fein but annoyed unionists).

2. They would follow the Democratic wishes of the majority of people in NI ‘whether they wanted continued union with Britain or wanted a united Ireland.’ Reaffirming their neutrality. Confirmed support for united Ireland - if people wanted it.

3. To keep unionists happy, the British government maintained their sovereignty (right to rule) over NI.

1. A united ireland would only come about with the consent of the N. Irish people. Therefore there would never be a united ireland unless the people of NI voted for it.

2. They accepted that parts of the Irish constitution were not acceptable to unionists. They announced their preparedness too change these for more unionist acceptance.

Responses to DSD

Unionists:

• The UUP (largest unionist party) welcomed British statements regarding British sovereignty of NI & the need for consent of the Northern Ireland population for any united ireland to happen.

• They felt the declaration had ‘green tinge’ meaning it was aimed at republicans & nationalists. They didn’t trust the Irish gov.’s commitment to change the constitution.

• The more hardline DUP argued it was another clear step to a united ireland that it had to be resisted.

Sinn Fein:

• While they welcomed the British settlements & felt that they accepted the concept of self-determination, the documents language allowed unionists to veto over its exercise.

Collapse of the ceasefire

The background to the Canary Wharf bomb of feb 1996: The bomb was an obstacle that Mitchell had to overcome to provide a way out of the impasse.

Role of senator George Mitchell in the NI peace process: He was to look into the issue of decommissioning. He was to find a way around the standstill.

The PIRA blamed the collapse of the ceasefire on the British governments continues Reluctance to move the peace process forward & conservative didn’t want to annoy the UUP, etc.

Key terms of the Good Friday agreement

Key people:

• Bertie Ahern

• Tony Blair(led the new labour government)

• Bill Clinton (American President)

• John De Chastelain (Canadian General)

• Senator Mitchell

Terms of the Good Friday Agreement:

1. Strand One would focus on a new governmental structure for Northern Ireland.

2. Strand Two would be concerned with cross-border relations between the two parts of Ireland.

3. Strand Three would deal with British–Irish relations.j

Other terms

• Irish constitution - Irish gov. Removed articles II & III from Irish constitution after vote.

• Prisoner releases:

  • Political prisoners were released on license

  • If they committed they would be sent back to complete their full sentence.

• Policing:

  • Would be the reform of the RUC

  • renamed PSNI (police sr ice of N. Ireland)

  • Badge was changed & it was to adopt 50-50 recruitment

• Arms: Decommissioning of military arms was to take place.

Referendums

They were held on both sides of the border on 22nd May 1998.

It resulted in 97% of nationalists giving their support towards the agreement while unionism was at about 52% in Northern Ireland.

In the republic nearly 95% voted in favour of the agreement.

Reactions to the Good Friday agreement (possible 9mk)

Unionist:

• They were deeply divided by the agreement. Only 54% of Protestants voted in favour of the agreement at the referendum. Many remained to be convinced.

• The UUP (lead by David Trimble) signed up the agreement. They were at that stage the largest unionist party by a large margin. The agreement saw many in the party & many of their votes unhappy about the agreement. Some key members of the UUP were so opposed to the agreement that they changed parties to the DUP. Two of the most famous are Arlene Foster & Jeffrey Donaldson. 6 Of the UUP’s 10 MP’s opposed the agreement.

• Large numbers of ulster unionist supporters began to vote for the DUP in future elections, making it the largest unionist party.

• The DUP deeply opposed the agreement & aimed to bring it down from within - by refusing to operate once their members were elected.

• Unionists were particularly angry at the amount of areas within the agreement get were expected to compromise on. They were angry at reform of the RUC. They didn’t like prisoner release.

Nationalists:

• PIRA announced that despite the agreement on prisoners £& the PSNI it would not decommission as the agreement ‘fell short of its expectations’. This was to become a huge stumbling block & undermined unionist support very quickly. It would eventually decommission on its weapons in 2006.

• Sinn Fein agreed to take part in the New Northern assembly. This was a big decision as it ‘recognised the Northern state.’ It had previously refused to recognise what they had called ‘the partitionist parliament’ it had to change its constitution to allow its members to take up seats in the new NI assembly.

• It did however remain deeply suspicious of the policing & justice system seeing the PSNI as simply the RUC under a new name. Again it would take until 2007 until Sinn Fein would fully support the justice system.