THE TROUBLES

THE TROUBLES

The period in the history of Northern Ireland which goes from 1969 to1999 is called "the troubles". During these years 3000 people were killed and even now the Irish question is not completely solved.

Until 1640 Ireland was an independent country, then the Government of London paid money to Scottish people to go to Ireland (the so-called "tation"), in particular in the North-Eastern part of the country, which was very fertile. As a result, there was a large flux of Scottish people in this part of Ireland, but Scottish were protestant and Irish were catholic. There were two main problems: the problem of land and the problem of religion.

In the XVII century the puritan Oliver Cromwell was responsible for a lot of massacres of catholic Irish. After Cromwell the Irish supported the catholic king James II, but the protestant king William of Orange arrived in Ireland in 1690. In 1690 there was the Battle of the Boyne, which ended with the victory of the Protestants of Northern Ireland with the help of King William. After this battle the catholic Irish lost their civil and political rights.

In the XVIII century Wolfe Tone, an aristocratic and rich protestant, understood that the English were using the roman technique of "divide and rule", moreover he was impressed by the American and French revolutions. He created an organisation called "United Irishmen" and in 1798 a rebellion broke out in Dublin against English oppression, but it was crushed. Wolfe Tone can be considered the father of Irish Republicanism.

In 1916 the IRA (Irish Republican Army) was created and at Easter a rebellion broke out in Dublin.

It is important to underline that they were in the middle of the First World War and there was a consequent reduction of the British presence in Ireland, so the Irish decided to seize the moment.

After two weeks the rebellion was suppressed and sixteen rebels were executed. A lot of Irish people heard this news and they became supporters of the IRA, going on struggling against British soldiers. It was a terrible war, with atrocities and terrorism on both sides.

The Irish war of independence lasted till 1922, when Irish independence was recognized. Ireland was the first country of the British Empire to obtain independence. However, not everybody wanted independence, for example Protestants in the North of Ireland wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom, they had helped Britain during the war and now they reclaimed the help of England.

At that time the Irish population was composed of five million people and only one million were protestant (20%). The English supported them and the English government decided that Ulster had to remain in the UK, while the other three countries (Connaught, Leinster and Munster) could obtain independence. Ireland was divided in 32 counties, in Ulster there were 9 counties and the British government proposed that 3 counties, where the majority of people was catholic, would have become part of Eire, while the other 6 counties would have remained part of the UK.

As a result in Ulster Protestants would have been 60% and Catholics the 30%.

Not all the Irish wanted to accept this proposal. Michael Collins, the intelligence of the IRA during the war of independence, went to London to sign the proposal, showing his face for the first time. He supported this proposal on the basis that it was better than nothing and that it was a provisory solution. When he signed he said: "I have just signed my own death order":

The proposal was accepted and the State of Northern Ireland was created. There were two committees: Catholics (Nationalists) and Protestants (Loyalists or Unionists).

In 1922 Catholics were the 33% and Protestants the 63%, in 1961 they were 35% and 62%, in 1991 42% and 58%, in 2001 44% and 53%. Catholics produced more children and they were growing in number.

There was a Parliament in Belfast, called Stormont. The catholic representation was the 17%. The problem was the way in which elections were organised. Ulster was divided into electoral zones and one representative for each zone was elected, but the Protestants had more zones. This system was called "Gerrymandering". As a consequence the Catholics had no political power. There was a lot of discrimination, the 40% of Catholics had no job, and there was a lot of migration, towards the USA and England.

In 1968 and 1969 catholic people protested, they asked for job, houses and political pair power.

There were hard struggles with the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary), a protestant police force.

In 1969 the situation was out of control, civil war had broken out.

This was the beginning of the "troubles". The British government sent the army in Northern Ireland. The IRA re-emerged. In 1922 the IRA had split into two groups: the Regulars, who accepted the division of Ireland and the Irregulars, who did not accept the division of Ireland. In 1970 the Irregulars split into other two groups: the Official IRA, which did not believe in violence and the Provisional IRA, which wanted to continue the rebellion of 1916.

In 1971 Long Kesh concentration camp was built in Belfast. Police and military forces were given special power: they could arrest anyone without proof, only on the basis of suspicions.

In Genuary, 1972 there was a protest in Derry, the British government declared it illegal. On Sunday 30-01-l972, 14 young people were killed during the protest; it was called "Bloody Sunday".

Before 1972 prisoners in Long Kesh were considered political prisoners. After this date they had no longer a political status, they were considered criminals.

They were also imprisoned in Maze Prison after 1976, they were put into individual jails in the so called "H block", they were obliged to wear uniforms and they could not have any contact with the other prisoners.

A protest broke out: the so-called "Blanket Men" decided to wear only a blanket and they spoiled with filth their jails, to show the terrible conditions they were obliged to live in and to obtain political status. This was called the "Dirty Protest" and it lasted for four years, till 1980.

In 1981, when Margaret Tatcher was Prime Minister, there was the Hunger strike. Bobby Sands was the first to begin the hunger strike. After 35 days Bobby Sands was in coma, there were protests all over the world, but Tatcher made nothing. On the 44 day Bobby Sands died. Other 10 people followed him and died, after this they decided to stop the hunger strike. They were given special status.

It is important to underline that, besides the IRA, there also were a lot of protestant paramilitary organisations. They originated from the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force), which was founded in 1914 to protect Ireland from Irish republic. Between 1970 and 1990 the UVF split into a lot of paramilitary organisations, such as the Red Hands Defenders, the Red Hands Commandos, the Protestant Action Force, the Loyalist Volunteer Force, etc .

There was also the legal organisation of the Loyal Orange Lodge, which wanted to keep alive every year the memory of the battle of the Boyne. They were called Orange Men and they wore an orange sash. The Catholics found this celebration insulting, provocative and offensive.

At Drumcree there was the office of the Orange Men, the Catholics did not want the parade to pass next to their houses, they protested, the police and the army arrived and the village was closed.

In 1985 there was the famous Anglo- Irish agreement. Margaret Tatcher invited the Irish President to help solve the problem of Northern Ireland; it was the first step in a peace process. Protestants protested against the British government.

They had to wait 12 years before some results. In 1997 all the paramilitaries put the armies down. Peace was declared in Northern Ireland. Tony Blair invited the President of Ireland and the protestant and catholic committees to find a solution, this was called the "good Friday agreement".

The British government promised to create an assembly and to free all the political prisoners, the Irish government promised to change articles 2 and 3 of the constitution and to recognize Northern Ireland as part of the U K, the protestant and catholic committees promised to decommission arms of all the paramilitary organisations.

There was a referendum in Northern Ireland: the 71.12% said YES to the agreement, the 28% said NO. The agreement was passed and in 1998 there were the elections.

Result of the elections:

Ulster Unionists    28%

SDLP 24%

Democratic Unionists    20%

Sinn Fein   18%

In 2003 there were other elections, here the results:

Democratic Unionists 30%

Ulster Unionists  27%

Sinn Fein  

SDLP

The extremist parties on both sides (Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein) obtained more votes.

The leader of Sinn Fein was Gerry Adams, while the leader of D.U. was Ian Paisley.

RUC was changed into PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland), Protestants promised to destroy arms, but Sinn Fein had to accept PSNI. Sinn Fein voted to accept PSNI; it was an historic change of direction.

In 2007 there were new elections, here the results:

D.U. 36%

Sinn Fein  28%

Ulster Unionists   18%

SDLP    16%

If they do not agree within 26 March there will never be an assembly in Ireland.