Back to Main Page Bernard MacLaverty: CAL

Background Information on Ulster

• Spots on Irish - English history
• Ulster and the Civil Rights Movement
• Bloody Sunday
• Peace Talks & The Agreement
• The Main Parties
• The Management and Resolution of the Conflict
• Useful links

Summary of the main historical events:

 

4th century BC Celts settled in Ireland; high level in the fine arts and music

432 Romans conquered England but not Ireland

1014 Ireland defeated Norsemen aggressors

1066 local warlords maintained their power

1169 Irish warlord invited help from an English Earl

1171 Royal English Army invaded Ireland; small part around Dublin under English control; Henry II becomes Lord of Ireland

 

After the Norman Invasion in 1170, Henry II of England attached Ireland to his kingdom by establishing control in an area around Dublin. The Irish adopted English administrative practices and the English language while receiving protection and leadership from London. The British tried to extend their domination on the rest of Ireland, but did not succeed until the sixteenth century. For the Irish population England therefore became a threat for Ireland.

16th century England settled Protestants from Scotland in Ulster on the best land

In 1609, under the reign of Queen Elizabeth, England controlled Ireland, with the exception of the provinces of Ulster. They had built an effective alliance against the British Kingdom and their Army. After long fights Ulster was brought under English control and the leaders of Ireland left Ulster for Europe. By 1703, barely 5% of Ulster was in the hands of Catholic Irish. The native Irishmen were then excluded from the towns and had to settle in the mountains and bogs on the margins of the land they had owned. The plantation of Ulster was the beginning of a new culture in Ireland with different languages and several foreign communities. Mainly, two hostile groups occupied the region. That's why the situation then could be called the beginning of the conflicts today.

1650 Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland; population nearly halfed within 10 years; Irish shipped to America

 

1801 Ireland under British control; Irish language forbidden;

In 1801, Westminster abolished the Irish parliament and government to gain more direct control over the Irish. The Act of Union created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. During the next century movements were attempted to overthrow the Union. Some of these movements were parliamentary, some of them took place with physical force.

1845 ff. Great Famine; more than 1.000.000 people immigrated to the US

1916 Easter Rising in Dublin

During the Easter week of 1916 an armed rising was attempted, but did not succeed. The leaders were executed which created a wave of sympathy for the IRA and Sinn Fein.

In 1918, Sinn Fein replaced the old Irish Parliament and established its own Irish Parliament. The resulting Anglo-Irish War between Republicans (IRA) and Britain was ended by peace treaties. From then on, Ulster Protestants succeeded in their position to exclude Northern Ireland (Ulster) from the Home Rule arrangements.The Government of Irish Act recognised and confirmed their suggestion by partitioning the island.

The following Civil War in 1921 saw two positions. Those, who were willing to accept the treaty and those, who thought that living in Northern Ireland was a betrayal. Northern Ireland consisted of six county administrations which could be easily held by the British Union.

For the security of Northern Ireland, the British MPs established a police force and a police reserve to prevent the Irish from beginning another civil war.

 

1949 Republic of Ireland (Eire) founded; Ulster remained British

 

 

 

Civil Rights Movement after 1969

 

The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was founded in 1967 to demand liberal reforms including a policy change of the discrimination in the allocation of jobs and houses. The resulting civil disorder could not be managed by the local administration, therefore the British government sent in troops to enforce order and imposed Direct Rule on Northern Ireland.

Around 1969-70 the militant fights between the IRA and the British Forces started, reaching a sad top in 1972 with 468 people killed.

 

On January the 30th 1972, the British Army's first Parachute Regiment opened fire on unarmed civilian demonstrators in Derry, killing 13 of them. This day is also known as Bloody Sunday. It still is one of the key-events of 'The Troubles' which actually were rather a civil war.

 

Peace Talks & The Agreement

It took another 22 years on the long road to the talks table until the first Ceasefire Declaration on August 31st, 1994 was announced by the IRA. This marked the beginning of the Peace Process which in April 1998 resulted in an "Agreement covering civil rights issues and relationships".

 

The next months will show, whether this agreement can be put into practise despite the neglecting attitude of fringe groups on both sides. The old thinking still prevails with people like Ian Paisley and his Ulster Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), cf. their statement "10 ways in which the Union is fundamentally weakened" (no longer online).

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The Main Parties

 

Unionists:

Unionists are the successors of those who opposed Home Rule in the 19th century. The two main parties are

 

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) with party leader David Trimble.

The UUP formed the government from 1921-1972. The UUP is rather unwilling to share the executive power with non-Unionists parties and is opposed to the involvement of the Irish Republic in Northern Ireland.

 

 

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) with its party leader Ian Paisley.

 

The DUP holds all positions much more extremely than the UUP. Ian Paisley, Reverend of a Free Presbyterian Church in Belfast, is an absolute opponent of the Catholic church.

 

 

 

Nationalists:

 

The main party of the Nationalists is the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SLDP), led by John Hume. The main aim of the Nationalists is to unite Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland.

 

Unlike Sinn Fein, who wants to "free" Northern Ireland of the British by more drastic and perhaps more militant methods, the SLDP campaigns for peaceful reforms.

Sinn Féin ("We Ourselves") is committed to a united Ireland. This party has historic links to the IRA although it has long insisted that the organisations are separate. It is led by Gerry Adams.

"Our objective is to end British rule in Ireland. We seek national self-determination, the unity and independence of Ireland as a sovereign state" (from: Sinn Féin Homepage).