Unit 9: Soldiers

Unit 8: "Soldiers"

Commentary

There are many stories about those on both sides who fought the war. Who were they? Why did they do it? What drove them to fight and sometimes kill? What was the defining moment, if there was one, for each of them? These are the questions you should keep in mind when your read these personal stories. These are ordinary working-class men, who probably would’ve never committed a crime and gone about their lives in an ordinary society.

Required Reading for this Unit

pp. 31-39 in Edwards and McGrattan dealing with the response to the imposition of Direct Rule and the suspension of Stormont.

Personal Stories of joining the Conflict.

Watch David Ervine talk about Bloody Friday at Courseweb in the video in the video section on Bloody Friday on Courseweb.
Courseweb - Video Files - Joining the Struggle - Martin Meehan and Gusty Spence explaining how they joined the struggle.
Bobby Sands- His prison diaries
Tommy McKearney –One of the Hunger Strikers
Courseweb - Course Documents - pp. 71-76 in Inside the UDA, "Ken." - Will Post ASAP
Courseweb - Course Documents “Volunteers” - Will Post ASAP
Courseweb- Primary Documents - Michael Stone- and the La Mon bombing
Danny Lennon – An analysis of a volunteer by Gerry Adams
Gusty Spence- Letter to Joe McCann’s widow on the occasion of his death at the hands of the British Army. (I put this in to illustrate how some men, even while espousing violence and fighting the war, retained their humanity. The fact that this is Gusty Spence in 1972 will have great significance by 1994.)

Watch Big Jon McCourt tell his story from Bloody Sunday through his Peace Work today.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED- But not required: Watch "Straight Up" a fairly hard-hitting interview with David Ervine on the Conflict. Go to Courseweb-Video Files- David Ervine-Straight Up.

Additional Resources

1. Personal Stories from individuals on both sides who lived through this period.

2. More Personal Stories in Real Audio

1. Compare and contrast the response of Nationalist and Unionist reaction to the suspension of Stormont and explain why they were so different.

2. Explain how Bloody Sunday and Bloody Friday, each in their own way, alienated the opposite community.

3. Explain why the IRA believed it was winning the war and why that created fear and uncertainty in the Unionist community.

4. Analyze and explain the impact of the suspension of Stormont on both communities.

7. Contrast the experiences and life stories of volunteers from both sides and explain how their lives were similar and how their lives were different.

8. Contrast how the volunteers from each side view their actions. From this limited reading what similarities do you see and what differences do you see? Why do you think there are the differences and/or similarities?

As we move out of the study of 1969 to 1972, we are still located in worst period of the Troubles (1969-1975). It was a period marked by senseless violence and ofttimes brutal killings. It was a period where over one-half of all the deaths (The various groups and security forces killed nearly 1500 people in this period.) in the Troubles occurred.

By the end of 1975, Stormont and the “B” Specials no longer existed and London instituted Direct Rule. Atrocities such as Bloody Sunday, Bloody Friday, the Abercorn, and the Dublin-Monaghan bombings were fresh in everyone’s minds. The UWC strike and IRA resistance left Sunningdale a “dead letter” and peace plans lay in tatters as the various efforts by the British Government to find the “middle ground” failed and Northern Ireland settled in for a long and protracted struggle that eventually culminated in the Ceasefires of 1994.

We now move on to Section 3 to begin our study of the torturous and violent road to the 1994 Ceasefires, that is littered with initiatives from above and below to end the conflict.