A History Of Northern Ireland

A History of Northern Ireland

Start

By: Elisa Maelle Hernandez Mullan1ESO

1. The Beginning

6. Bloody Sunday

2. The Conflicts

7. Those Who Died

8. The Aftermath

3. The Separation

INDEX

4. The Lead-up

9. Thank You For Listening

5. The Riots

Why is there a difference between catholics and protestants?

They are both christians but protestantism split from catholicism hundreds of years ago due to differences in how the bible was understood and religion practised.

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When did the separation happen and why?

For over 700 years Britain ruled Ireland. In the 1920s Britain agreed to give Ireland independence but the protestants which had settled in Northern Ireland wanted to stay part of Britain. A border was created separating Northern Ireland from the rest of Ireland and Northern Ireland had its own local government.

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Why is Derry not part of the republic of Ireland?

It would have made sense to have the River Foyle as the border separating Ireland from Norther Ireland, particuarly because the city was large-majority catholic. However there were important protestant churches on the west bank of Derry. So the border was drawn around Derry. The Unionist are the people who want to be part of Great Britain and the Republicans/Nationalists want to be part of the Republic of Ireland. The Unionist call the city, Londonderry while the Republicans call it Derry as shown on the map.

What led to bloody sunday?

To prevent the riots the British army was brought to northern Ireland. A policy of internment was introduced which allowed mass arrests and jailing of people suspected of being in the Irish republican army, a paramilitary group. In January 1972 there was a big protest march in Derry against internment. This turned into Bloody Sunday.

Bloody Sunday (30 January 1972 )

2:45pm

3:55pm

4:07pm

4:28pm

Shooting starts.

March starts.

The ambulances.

The Paratroopers.

Some of those who died

John Young, Michael McDaid

John "Jackie" Duddy

Age: 17 and 20. They were both shot in the face, apparently while crouching and going to the aid of William Nash.

Age: 17. Shot as he ran away from soldiers.The bullet struck him in the shoulder and entered his chest. Three witnesses said they saw a soldier take deliberate aim at the youth as he ran. He was the first shot on Bloody Sunday.

Gerard McKinney, Gerard Donaghy

Age: 35 and 17. McKinney was shot in the chest by a soldier chasing him from a few yards away. Witnesses said that, McKinney stopped and held up his arms, shouting, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!", before being shot. The bullet apparently went through his body and struck Gerard Donaghy behind him.

William Nash

Age: 19. Shot in the chest.Three people were shot while apparently going to his aid, including his father Alexander Nash.

What Happened After?

Irish Republican Army

Unionist Responce

The Good Friday Agreement

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Thank you for listening!

I would be delighted to answer you wonderful questions.

The IRA

The IRA were not very active and did not have widespread support, but after Bloody Sunday many people were very upset and decided to join the IRA. The IRA began a sustained campaign of bombings and shootings in Northern Ireland and, in later years, in mainland Britain. They mainly targeted the British army, the Northern Irish police and Unionists.

There was a major cover-up of what had happened. All of the soldiers responsible insisted that they had shot at, and hit, gunmen or bomb-throwers. No soldier said he missed his target and hit someone else by mistake. Nearly 40 years later the UK Government admitted that all of those shot were unarmed and that none were posing a serious threat.

In all, 26 people were shot by the paratroopers; thirteen died on the day and another died of his injuries four months later. The first ambulances arrived at 4:28 p.m. Witnesses said paratroopers lifted the bodies by the hands and feet and dumped them in the back of their van as if they were "pieces of meat".

When the truth finally came out

The Paratroopers

At 4:07 p.m, the paratroopers were ordered to go through the barriers and arrest rioters. They chased people down Rossville Street and into the Bogside. Two people were knocked down by the vehicles. There were many claims of paratroopers beating people, clubbing them with rifle butts, firing rubber bullets at them from close range, making threats to kill, and hurling abuse.

The March

The march set off at about 2:45 p.m in Derry. There were 10,000–15,000 people on the march, with many joining along its route. As it neared the city centre, its path was blocked by British Army barriers. The organisers redirected the march down Rossville Street, intending to hold the rally at Free Derry Corner instead. However, some broke off from the march and began throwing stones at soldiers manning the barriers.

At about 3:55 p.m some of the crowd spotted paratroopers and began throwing stones up at the windows then the paratroopers opened fire. Two civilians were shot and wounded while standing on waste ground opposite the building. These were the first shots fired. The soldiers claimed that the citizens who were shot had weapons on them but after a few inquirys it was concluded that all 13 of those shot dead and other 14 serverly wounded that day, were unarmed.

The Shootings

Most of the civilians killed were only 17.

The Unionists didn't like being targeted and decided to start their own paramilitary groups including the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). 30 years of violence followed in which more than 3,500 people were killed in the conflict, of whom 52% were civilians, 32% were members of the British security forces, and 16% were members of paramilitary groups. Republican paramilitaries were responsible for some 60% of the deaths, loyalists 30%, and security forces 10%.

(UDA) & (UVF)

What's that got to do with Ireland?

Ireland was catholic but the English monarchy became protestant and catholicism was discouraged. The King of England, King James I, encouraged protestant people from England and Scotland to take land in Ireland. He hoped this would help to dominate the locals and to rule Ireland. This was known as The Plantation. The most successful plantation took place in Ulster, a province in the north of Ireland. This led to tension between Protestants and Catholics in the north of Ireland.

The government in Northern Ireland was dominated by protestant and the laws they made discriminated against catholics. For example one had to own a house or business to be able to vote but the poorer catholic community was not in this position and it was harder for catholics to get jobs. In the late 1960s a civil rights movement in Derry started protesting for equality for catholics. This led to riots against the police who were largely protestants, only 3% catholics.

What led to conflict in Northern Ireland?

The Good Friday Agreement

The agreement reached was that Northern Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, and would remain so until a majority of the people both of Northern Ireland and of the Republic of Ireland wished otherwise. The release of paramilitary prisoners was one of the consequences of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which brought an end to 30 years of bloodshed. It was probably its most controversial aspect.