Ireland

Ireland

1. key words- Paramilitary Organisation

   • IRA- Irish Republican Army
   • Provisional IRA Republican formed in 1970
   • INLA- Irish National Lib Army
   • UDA- Ulster Defense Organisation
   • Key words- Political Parties
     • SDLP- Social Democratic Labour
     • UUP- Ulster Unionist Party
     • DUP- Democratic Unionist Party
     • Alliance (1970) become neutral
     • SDLP- Social democratic and Labour party
     • Sinn Fein- Republican Party, supported provision of IRA
   • UVF- Ulster Defense Force

2. Wilson

   • 1968 Civil rights planned to protest through predominantly protestant area.
     • Confronted by RUC with batons and water canons and violence broke out
   • 5 point plan (O'niell)
   • Jan 1969 NICRA marches met with violence off duty B-specials
   • April 1969 UVF bomb led to resignation of O'Neill
   • 1969 British troops were posted to Northern Island 6000
   • 12th July 1969 Wilson banned all further marches but RUC did not have recources to stop marches
     • British troops ordered to patrol streets in NI

3. Heath

   • Attempts
     • British troops became a common feature on the streets of NI
     • August 1971 Faulkner (Northern Irish PM unionist) internment (with support of Heath) to stamp out the IRA
     • 300 people held under internment (mainly elderly as young provisional IRA crossed the border list was out of date)
     • Heath attempted to work with Irish PM with joint talks between Faulkner and Lynch (Irish PM) in London
     • March 1972- Heath imposes Direct rule from London
     • British troops rose from 6000 to 20000 in 1972
     • Sunningdale agreement- 1973 impose power share government
     • March 1972- Heath imposes Direct rule of Northern Ireland from London
     • Sunningdale agreement 1973 aimed to create a power-sharing government
     • January 1974- Republicans and Loyalist opposed the plan. Problems in England (miners strike, Feb 1974 election) Prevented the plan from going ahead
   • Impact
     • Paramilitary oranisations were formed in response to the riots in 1969
     • Violence and terrorism ensued: March 1971 3 British soldiers killed by Provision IRA
     • December 1971 15 killed by UVF bomb
     • 13 killed by British army
     • Dec 1972 Irish Parliament in Dublin- 2 killed by IRA bomb
     • Irish Terrorism reaches mainland Britain: Parachute regiment barracks in Hampshire bombed by IRA killed 7

4. Wilson and Callaghan 1970s

   • Impact
     • October 1974 Guilford pub bomb kills 5
     • Nov 1974 Birmingham pub bomb kills 19
     • October 1975 UVF attacks in NI kill 12
     • 1976 Maze prison opened with H block for 'special category' status
   • Attempt
     • The Sunningdale agreement collapsed and Wilson imposed direct rule
     • Internment was to be phased out by 1975, replaced with the 'special category' status.
       • Identified them as terrorists, thus defying IRA claim to be war of independence. Stopping the world for thinking of them as peacekeepers
     • 1974- Labour passed the Prevention of terrorism act, giving British police special powers of arrest over potential terrorists and prevented individuals from travelling to the British mainland

5. 1980's Thatcher

   • Attempts
     • 'Rolling devolution' where power would be handed back to NI if violence subsided.
     • 1985 Anglo-Irish agreement- Inter-governmental conference between English and Irish government to discuss NI
       • Extradition of political prisoners from Ireland to northern Ireland and Increased boarder controls.
   • Impact
     • Hunger strikes by Rebublican prisoners in 1981 led to the death of 10 hunger strikers
     • Rise in support for the IRA
     • 1984 Provision IRA denoted a bomb in the Brighton hotel where the conservative party conference was being held- 5 people were killed
     • 1987 Remembrance day service at Enniskillen 11 killed
     • Service men killed in Kent 11

6. 1990's Major

   • Impact
     • March 1993 2 boys killed in Warrington
     • Provisional IRA declared a ceasefire on 31st August 1994
     • Canary Wharf bombing 1996
   • Attempt
     • Pressure placed on Britain to end troubles in Northern Ireland
     • SDLP leader Hume, aimed to bring Sinn Fein into peace making process through secret negotiation
     • Major and Reynolds (Irish MP) had a constructive talk
     • 1993 Downing Street Declaration says basically 'united Ireland up to the people'
     • Jan 1997 Major established a Parades Commission to deal with the issue of parade routes

7. Blair 97-07

   • Impact
     • Provisional IRA announced a ceasefire July 1997
   • Attempt
     • Good-Friday agreement proposed similar principle to the Sunningdale Agreement except that it included representation from paramilitaries, Sinn Fein, UDP and UPP
       • Some parties refused to sign the agreement
   • Obstacles to peace
     • Some parties refused to sign the agreement; DUP and UK unionist party
     • 1998 car bomb planted by real IRA killed 29, wounded 200 in Omagh
     • Resentment amongst Northern Ireland residents following the release of some paramilitary prisoners
   • Progress
     • Dec 1999 a Northern Ireland executive created
     • A referendum in Ireland was held and agreed to changing articles 2 and 3 of the Irish constitution claiming sovereignty over NI
     • April 05 Sinn Fein made a public appeal for the IRA to lay down arms