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Document 1
Why were British troops sent to Northern Ireland in 1969?
A threefold outline answer
Immediate cause (See document 2, pp 2-4)
The need to protect Roman Catholics, particularly in Belfast and Londonderry, after Northern Ireland was in danger of
dissolving midst communal violence at the beginning of August 1969.
Medium-term causes (See document 3 for analysis; document 4 for narrative)
The collapse of the system of government midst political violence can be largely attributed to failure of leadership on all
sides in Northern Ireland to manage change. By the 1960s a significant number of people on both sides of the sectarian
and political divide wanted to modernise Northern Ireland - its internal relationships and its economy.
In trying to bring about change, however, they seriously under-estimated the economic and communal obstacles to turning
Northern Ireland from a ‘majority dictatorship' into a true liberal democracy and thus unleashed growing communal
conflict which undermined the authority of the government.
Failure of leadership allowed the sensible, and manageable question of how Northern Ireland should be governed to revert
to that older power question as to whom should be the disadvantaged minority - Catholics in Northern Ireland or
Protestants in a united Ireland.
Protagonists
For change
Against change
Own agendas
Moderate unionists, such as Terence
O’Neill
Campaign for Social Justice/Northern
Ireland Civil Rights Association
(NICRA)
Members of the NI government
Some members of RUC
B-Specials
Ian Paisley & Free Presbyterians
Ulster Volunteer Force
Orange Order
People’s Democracy
Irish Republican Army
British government
Chronology
1968
1969
June
Austin Currie’s sit-in protest
1 January
Burntollet Bridge (People’s Democracy v. RUC/BSpecials )
5 October
Craigavon Bridge clash
(NICRA v. RUC)
12 August
Battle of the Bogside (Apprentice Boys//RUC/BSpecials
British troops in Londonderry/Derry
British troops in Belfast
14 August
15 August
Long-term causes (see document 2, p. 5-8 )
The historic conflict between the Irish and the British in Ireland, between unionists and nationalists and between Catholics
and Protestants.
The division dated back to the Norman intervention in Ireland in 1169 and were made deeper by
the Tudor Conquest of Ireland and the Reformation,
the 1641 Rising and massacre of Protestants,
Cromwell’s military intervention and Land Settlement
the Battle of the Boyne
the Penal laws
the Act of Union and the abolition of the Irish parliament
the Famine
the development of a mass nationalist movement under Charles Stewart Parnell and
the partition of Ireland.
Document 2: 1968-69
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why were British troops sent to Northern Ireland?
The Troubles & the use of troops. Why did they start then?
Northern Ireland: What is it all about?
How far back should we go?
1.
Why were British troops sent to Northern Ireland?
Barry Doherty, Northern Ireland since c.1960, Heinemann, 0-43532-728-3, p. 11
The occasion
On 12 August 1969 the Apprentice Boys marched along the Londonderry city walls that overlooked the Catholic
Bogside area below Bogsiders had feared attacks from these Protestant marchers and had erected barricades to
prevent entry by Loyalist mobs or the RUC. A minority of Apprentice Boy marchers threw pennies at the Bogsiders,
and rioting broke out between Catholics and Protestants. By the late afternoon the RUC decided to try and remove
the Bogsider’s barricades. Why they wanted to do this is unclear. A minority of extremist Bogsiders, perhaps
remembering the Burntollet Bridge incident, began petrol-bombing the RUC.
Two days of fierce rioting followed in what became known as the ‘Battle of the Bogside’. In all eight died and 750
people were injured. 270 houses were either demolished or required major repairs. In addition 1800 families were
forced out of their homes as housing estates became increasingly divided. Once more the RUC and the B-Specials
were discredited; television cameras recorded collaboration between the B-Specials and Loyalist mobs. Violence soon
erupted across Northern Ireland, with riots in Belfast, Newry, Strabane and Coalisland.
Northern Ireland appeared to be on the brink of civil war.
The intervention
As a result the British government in London ordered British soldiers to help the government restore law and order on
the streets of Northern Ireland. At first the troops were welcomed by Catholics who famously made them tea,
sandwiches and even attended army discos. They were relieved to be protected against the Protestant attacks. The
army received a hostile welcome from Protestants, however.
The British government had considered sending in troops for a number of years and had placed large numbers of
soldiers in nearby barracks on standby since April 1969. After the previous two years of growing conflict, and the
persistent calls of Catholic residents for protection, the army entered Londonderry and then Belfast on 14 and 15
August. The precise reasons why the armed forces were sent in remain unclear.
The reasons
• The official reason was to protect the Catholic population against Loyalist attacks. At first Catholics welcomed
British troops as impartial or neutral peace-keepers.
• Privately the British government was aware that the number of disturbances across Northern Ireland was so great
that the 3000-strong RUC could not cope any longer.
• British secret intelligence wrongly believed the IRA was about to launch an uprising in Belfast and Londonderry.
In fact the IRA lacked arms, membership and popular support at this time.
Success or failure
Whatever the intention behind the army’s deployment - to defend the RUC, to protect the Catholics, or both - it did
not prevent the army from being drawn into the violent conflict within a year.
By the end of 1969 entire Catholic communities in Northern Ireland had lost faith in the RUC and the Northern
Ireland government. The Civil Rights Movement had given way to enormous discontent and open hatred of British
rule. It was in this atmosphere of anger, fear and insecurity that the IRA emerged as the unofficial guardians of the
Catholic communities against the RUC, the Loyalist mobs and, later, the British army.
2
2.
The Troubles & the use of troops. Why did they start then?
Tony Rea & John Wright, Ireland. A Divided Ireland, Oxford, 0-19917-171-8, pp 46-7
There have been a number of interpretations to explain why Northern Ireland erupted into violence in
1968; and why British troops were used to keep the peace there.
Were the riots organised by the
IRA?
Was it a product of the particular situation in
Northern Ireland?
Stone throwing at police in Derry during
Source A
The police view that they had on their
hands an armed uprising led by the IRA
was incorrect. There is no credible
evidence that the IRA planned or
organised the disturbances.
From the official report on the riots, 1972.
Source B
In 1967 we discovered that we had no
movement.
Cathal Goulding, IRA leader.
Was it part of a wider
international protest?
Source C
The answer lies partly in the situation
itself, but also in the rest of the world in
1968. 1968 was the year of the students’
revolt. At French Universities in May,
students had brought France to a
standstill.
From the British Home Secretary, Jim
Callaghan, who first used troops in 1969. He
wrote this in 1973.
‘The Battle of the Bogside’, August 1969
Source E
In 1963 the hard line Unionist Prime Minister Basil Brooke
was replaced by Terence O’Neill. O’Neill was keen to end
unfair treatment of Catholics... but his reforms were too slow
in coming.
In 1967 a group of young Catholics got together and set up a
Civil Rights Association. From October 1968 they organised
a series of protest marches. These marches ended in violence
and bloodshed between Catholics and Protestants. The mainly
Protestant police took a tough line towards the Civil Rights
campaigners.
O’Neill resigned in April 1969, and by August fighting
between Catholics and the Protestant police was out of
control.
Source D
In 1966 a meeting was held to discuss a
Civil Rights Movement for Northern
Ireland like the one that black citizens of
the United States had organised to
demand their rights under the leadership
of Martin Luther King.
From Robert Kee, a British author and
journalist.
From a British history book 1996.
Source F
Neither the IRA nor any Protestant organisation planned the
riots. They arose from a complex situation. There were six
occasions during these riots when the police were seriously at
fault.
From the official report on the riots, 1972.
Continued ...
3
Did the British Government rush
into using troops to keep the peace?
Source G
The head of the Royal Ulster Constabulary asked
the army to ‘come to the assistance’ of the
police, and General Freeland passed the request
on to the Ministry of Defence. On the afternoon
of Sunday 24 July 1969, Ministry officials
crowded into my tiny drawing room to advise on
how we should respond. We decided that we
should wait and passed this recommendation
onto Jim Callaghan, the Home Secretary...
When I arrived at my office the next day, I
received a message from Harold Wilson (the
Prime Minister) himself. We had, he said, been
quite right not to rush into the momentous
decision to send troops on to the streets of
Northern Ireland. ‘Once we do that, they may be
there for weeks’, he said.
Read Sources A to H.
List the evidence for and against each of the
following statements:
i. The riots were organised by the IRA.
ii 1968 was part of a wider international protest.
iii The riots and the use of troops were a product of
the particular situation in Northern Ireland.
iv The British Government rushed into using troops
to keep the peace.
Adapted from the Memoirs of Roy Hattersley, who was
Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence in 1969.
The Memoirs were published in 1995.
Source H
Backed by the Prime Minister, I continued to
resist the Chief Constable’s request. But a week
later I was told that Bernadette Devlin – not then
a Member of Parliament but already famous as
the precocious leader of the militant Civil Rights
campaigners – wished to speak to me urgently.
She said, in the simplest language, that unless
troops were out of their barracks and into Derry
City by mid-afternoon, Catholics would be
slaughtered. With Bernadette Devlin supporting
the Chief Constable, only one decision was
possible. I gained Callaghan’s approval, signed
the Army Board Order and became ‘the man who
sent the army on to the streets of Northern
Ireland.’
From Roy Hattersley’s Memoirs, 1995.
4
3.
Northern Ireland: What is it all about?
Tony Rea & John Wright, Ireland. A Divided Ireland, Oxford, 0-19917-171-8, p. 39
5
Timechart
British involvement in Ireland
1608 Plantation of English and Scottish
Protestants in Ireland.
1641 The Great Catholic Rebellion.
1649-50 Oliver Cromwell restored
Protestant control in Ireland.
1689 Siege of Londonderry.
1690 Battle of the Boyne: William of
Orange defeated Catholic James II.
1695 Penal Laws passed to crush
Catholic religion.
1791 Wolfe Tone formed Society of
United Irishmen.
1795 Protestant, Orange Order formed.
1798 Rebellion of United Irishmen,
1800 Act of Union
Religion
Economics
Politics
1829 Catholic Emancipation.
1750s, Industrialisation of Ulster began.
1849/57 Riots in Ulster after Orange
Parades.
1840s Potato famine
1870s Failing farm prices and famine.
1870-1909 A series of Government
measures passed to help tenants.
1879 Michael Davitt formed Land
League.
1900s Increasing unemployment and
unrest.
1913 Transport workers strike Irish
Citizens Army formed.
1858 Irish Republican Brotherhood
(Fenians) formed.
1867 Fenian rising. 1870 Home Rule
Association formed.
1877 Parnell elected leader of Home Rule
Party.
1882 Phoenix Park murders.
1885 Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union
(Unionists) formed.
1886 Gladstone's first Home Rule Bill
defeated.
1890 Home Rule party split over Parnell
divorce.
1891 Death of Parnell.
1893 Gladstone's second Home Rule Bill
defeated.
1905 Sinn Fein and Ulster Unionist
Council set up.
1912 Ulster Solemn League and Covenant
signed.
1913 Protestant Ulster Volunteer Force,
Nationalist Irish Volunteers formed,
1916 Easter Rising.
1918 General Election. Dail Eireann
formed.
1919-20 War of Independence.
1920 Partition
1169 Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland.
1366 Statute of Kilkenny passed to keep
Irish and English apart.
1530s Henry VIII passed anglicisation
laws.
1541 Henry VIII became King of Ireland
1562 Elizabethan conquest of Ireland.
Ireland divided
1850s Catholic Church reorganised.
1859 Ulster Protestant revival.
1869 Gladstone disestablished Anglican
Church of Ireland.
1886 Catholic riots in Belfast. Growth of
separate Catholic and Protestant ghettoes
in major cities.
1916 Execution of Easter Rising leaders
drew increasing Catholic support to
Nationalists.
Ireland since partition
1920-3 Civil War.
1920 Special U1ste, Constabulary set up.
1922 Special Powers Act. RUC formed.
1926 Fianna Fail formed.
1932 Fianna Fail won election in Irish Free State.
1935 Orange Order marches sparked off riots.
1937 IRA began campaign to reunite Ireland.
1939 IRA bombing campaign in Britain.
193-0-45 Second World War. Eire neutral. Ulster fought along
with Britain.
1949 Eire became Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland
remained part of United Kingdom.
1956-63 IRA ‘Operation Harvest’ campaign.
1959 tan Paisley formed Ulster Protestant Action.
1967 Northern Ireland Civil Rights organisation formed.
1968 Civil Rights marches. Clashes with Unionist counterdemonstrations.
1969 British troops sent in.
1971 Introduction of internment.
1972 30 Jan. 'Bloody Sunday'. Direct rule from Britain
restored.
1973 Dec. Sunningdale Agreement: attempt at power sharing.
1974 IRA bombing campaign in Britain.
1975 Irish National Liberation Army formed.
1976 End of ‘special category’ status for terrorist prisoners.
Women's Peace Movement set up.
1979 INLA assassinated Airey Neave (Conservative spokesman
for Northern Ireland). IRA assassinated Lord Mountbatten.
1981 IRA prisoners died on hunger strike.
1982 James Prior set up ‘Rolling Devolution’.
1983 38 Irish prisoners escaped from Maze prison. IRA bomb
exploded at Harrods, in London.
1984 IRA bomb exploded at Conservative Party Conference in
Brighton - attempt to kill the Prime Minister and Cabinet
ministers.
1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement gave Dublin Government a say in
running Northern Ireland.
1998 Good Friday Stormont Agreement
6
Main dates
Your task is to fill in the gaps in the timeline using the timechart to help you.
Date
Event
1541
Henry VIII became King of Ireland.
Plantation of Ulster.
1691
Protestant Orange Order formed.
18
Potato famine. One million Irish people die of starvation or disease;
another million emigrate, some to America.
1886
Gladstone’s second Home Rule Bill defeated.
1905
1913
Easter Rising. Execution of leaders.
1920
Partition.
1935
IRA bombing campaign in Britain.
1949
1959
1967
1968
British troops sent into Northern Ireland.
7
British troops
why were British troops sent to Northern Ireland in 1969 - linking events?
Plantation of Ulster
1610
Battle of the Boyne
1691
Civil Rights Movement
1968
Home Rule Movement
late nineteenth century
Protestant Backlash
1969
British troops sent
into Northern Ireland
1969
Tudor Reformation in
Ireland
1641 Rising
Penal Laws
Protestantdomination
of Northern Ireland
1921-72
BLOODY SUNDAY
Government of Ireland
Act 1920
The Famine
8
4.
How far back should we go to explain why violence broke out in 1969?
Ben Walsh, The Struggle for Peace in Northern Ireland, John Murray, 0-71957-472-2, p. 86
As you know, there are many different explanations of why conflict broke out in 1969 and why it continued for
another 30 years. Here are some typical opinions that have been expressed.
A.
If you want my opinion, the early
history is not that important, but I
believethe
conflict began in the 1880s when
the issue of Home Rule created a
divided country.
B.
Surely we only have to go back as
far as the formation of the civil
rights movement in 1967?
D.
This conflict is rooted in the late 1960s. Catholics in
the civil rights movement wanted to reform the
Northern Ireland state, not destroy it. They were not
interested in the Boyne, Wolfe Tone or Michael
Collins.
F.
I think that economic factors are the
key reason for the conflict in 1969.
The economy was just beginning to
struggle in the late 1960s and that
had a tradition of causing sectarian
conflict.
E.
OK, I accept that the conflict in 1969 was between
Catholics and Protestants, but they were fighting about
twentieth-century issues like civil rights. It was not like
the seventeenth century when the conflict really was
about religion.
G.
I don’t think any of this history is
important apart from one event Partition.
I.
Of course the conflict in 1969 goes back into history.
The conflict is about who holds political power in
Northern Ireland. That was true in 1969, it was true in
1912, and it was true in the 1500s.
1. In a small group, look back on your work in
chapters 1-5 (there’s a quick version on the
previous page!).
2. Now study the opinions being expressed in the
speech bubbles about why violence broke out in
1969.
C.
I don’t think you should
underestimate the power of history
in Ireland – the arguments of 1969
look just the same as the arguments
of 1641 to me.
H.
We shouldn’t even be looking at the
events of 1969, it’s the revival of
the IRA in 1970 and 1971 that
really matters.
J.
Aren’t we forgetting the British dimension here? A
quick look at history shows Britain closely involved in
conflict in Ireland from the 15005, through the
seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and up
to the present. The 1969 conflict was just another
outbreak of conflict between Irish and British.
3. Sort them into three categories:
a) statements you agree with
b) statements you disagree with
c) statements you can’t decide about.
4. For all the statements in categories a) and b) explain why
you agree or disagree. Use evidence from chapters 1-5 to
back up your arguments
COURSEWORK ASSIGNMENT
Here are two views relating to the question ‘Why
did violence break out in 1969?’
View 1: ‘The conflict in 1969 was the result of
increasing tensions building up in the 1960s and
eventually triggered off by the civil rights marches.
View 2: ‘The conflict in Northern Ireland in 1969
was simply a continuation of a conflict between
rival groups going back many centuries:
Your task is to explain why each of these views has
its supporters.
You need to explain:
• what evidence and arguments support View 1
• how convincing you think the evidence and arguments
are
• what evidence and arguments support View 2
• how convincing you think the evidence and arguments
are.
You can add a conclusion, if you wish, explaining whether
you personally support one view or whether you feel each
view is equally valid.