History 1124
Section 2:
“The Troubles”
Introduction
Section 2 is tied very closely to the second Workshop and it is recommended that you make every effort to attend this workshop. In this section and in this Workshop we will focus on the military conflict that took place between 1970-1994, not just between the IRA and the British Army, but the conflict between the IRA and the UVF and UDA, and the conflict between the security forces and the various paramilitary groups in this period. In particular, we will examine what motivated many ordinary men and women of both communities to become “soldiers” in the war to “Unite Ireland” or to “Preserve the Union.”
What we will do at the start of this section, which will give you some background for this period before the second workshop, is continue the work from Section 1. We will then examine and analyze the 1969-1971 period in an effort to understand what happened politically and militarily during the “Troubles.”
Resources
1. Review McKittrick on pp. 246-253 and refer to this chronology throughout this section.
2. Use the CAIN Timeline of Troubles by year.
3. Marching Season – Click to read before you go on as this gives you a good synopsis of the Orange Marches in Northern Ireland.
4. To give you a scope of the killing that went on in this period go to CAIN Sutton Index of Deaths from 1969-2001.
5. Political Murals in Northern Ireland- BBC
6. CAIN – Drawing Support-1 and 2 by William Rolston
7. Photos from the Troubles from the Belfast Telegraph- http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/photo-galleries/article13909724.ece?ino=1
Objectives
Upon completion of Section 2 you should have a much deeper understanding of how complex this conflict was/is. You should be able to:
1. Compare how each community interpreted political events in Northern Ireland.
2. Analyze The Battle of the Bogside and explain its role in forcing the British Army onto the streets of Northern Ireland.
3. Explain why, even with British intervention and forced reforms, Northern Ireland descended into communal violence.
4. Explain why the IRA split into the Provisional and Official wings and be able to explain the policies of each.
5. Analyze and explain why the British Army, which was welcomed in the Bogside and on the Falls Road in Belfast, eventually lost the support and alienated most of the Catholic/Nationalist population.
6. Explain how the how both the “Falls Curfew” (watch from 3 minute mark) and “Internment” played a role in this alienation.
7. Explain why the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) formed in the early 1970s.
8. Explain how Bloody Sunday was the death of the Civil Rights Movement and turned many young men and women into IRA volunteers.
9. Explain why the IRA moved from a defensive war to an offensive war and why it believed it was winning the war in the early 1970s. (As part of this you should also be able to explain why many Loyalists felt very scared and flocked to join their “defence” organizations.)
10. Analyze and explain, on a personal level, why many people joined the IRA.
11. Explain the negative impact that the dissolution of the Ulster Special Constabulary, i.e., “B” Specials in 1969 had on the Unionist population. You should be able to explain the reaction and then explain what actions were taken by the Loyalists as a result of this action. Keep in mind that this was a defining moment for the Protestant (both Unionist and Loyalist) community and the disbandment of the “Specials” sent shockwaves through it as it had always viewed the “Specials” in “heroic” terms. (For more information on the “B” Specials: http://www.royalulsterconstabulary.org/history3.htm -sympathetic; http://republican-news.org/archive/1999/August19/18mcla.html -unsympathetic.)
12. Explain the impact that the dissolution of Stormont, i.e., The Northern Ireland Government, and the imposition of “Direct Rule” from London had on (a) Unionism/Loyalism and (b) Republicanism/Nationalism.
13. Explain how Bloody Friday had the same impact on young men and women in the Protestant community as did Bloody Sunday on the Catholic community.
14. Detail and analyze the actions of the British Government (both Labour and Conservative) as it looked for an exit strategy from Northern Ireland.
15. Explain why the British Army feared the “two-front war” and how that led it to take actions which furthered alienated the minority population.
16. Explain why ordinary Protestants joined to fight the war.
17. Analyze the patterns of Loyalist violence and explain why there were spikes in the level of Loyalist killings at specific times during the “Troubles.” (p. 329 in McKittrick for the chart)
18. Compare and contrast the motivations that drove many young men and women on both sides to take up the gun.
Units - Click on the hyperlinks to access units
Unit 6: "Descent into Violence"