A History of Violence: A look at Ireland's recent conflicts

A History of Violence: A look at Ireland's recent conflicts

1919 Start of the Irish War of Independence–a war against the British and launched by the IRA.

1920 The Government of Ireland Act divides the nation into Southern and Northern Ireland.

1921 Southern Ireland becomes “Ireland” under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. Northern Ireland remains part of the U.K.

1949 Southern Ireland establishes itself as the “Independent Republic of Ireland.” Northern Ireland remains under British rule.

1952 The IRA launches a series of attacks on Royal Ulster Constabulary police stations near the border of the Republic.

1956 An IRA border campaign leads to the internment of suspects without trial both in the Republic and in Northern Ireland.

1968 The Nationalist Civil Rights movement pushes for equal rights in housing and voting for poorer Catholics. Protestants counterdemonstrate.

1969 The Royal Ulster Constabulary is armed in border areas for the first time since 1965. The province’s Catholic minority welcomes British troops, sent to Northern Ireland in response to an upsurge in sectarian violence. The Provisional IRA breaks away from the Official IRA, which is criticized for failing to protect the Catholic community.

The Battle of the Bogside between Nationalists and British police occurs during a parade along the Bogside in Derry. This begins decades of sectarian violence in Belfast–a time known as “The Troubles.

1970 The British Army is now seen as an occupying force by many Catholics in Northern Ireland, and several soldiers are killed by the IRA.

1971 Hundreds of suspected extremists are arrested and detained over the next four years. Catholic Nationalists, many of whom are falsely accused, make up nearly 95 percent of detainees.

1972 In January, thirteen Catholics are shot to death by British troops during a civil rights march in Londonderry. The day is now called ‘Bloody Sunday.’

• Direct rule is imposed on the province, creating the post of Northern Ireland Secretary, and closing the Unionistdominated Stormont Parliament in a concession to Republicans. The Ulster Unionist Party breaks off formal links with the Conservative Party in protest.

• In June,the Official IRA ends its campaign, but the Provisional kills and wounds hundreds of British soldiers. In July, nine people are killed when 22 bombs explode in Belfast. This is known as ‘Bloody Friday.’ Loyalist paramilitaries retaliate.

1973 Government sets up the Sunningdale Agreement. It includes Catholics in the decision-making process and ends the Unionist domination. Bombings by the IRA continue. Protestant workers in Northern Ireland go on strike to protest the Agreement and the proposed Council of all Ireland.

1975 In a series of attacks by the Ulster Volunteer Force, 12 people are killed and 46 others injured. The UVF is declared an illegal organization.

1981 Bobby Sands dies in the Maze Prison after a prolonged hunger strike. He is the first of 10 IRA and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners to starve to death while fighting for POW status as opposed to criminal status.

1985 The Anglo-Irish Agreement is signed, but it is opposed by many Ulster Unionists. Thousands turn out in Belfast to cheer Reverend Ian Paisley’s famous ‘No Surrender’ speech against the agreement.

1988 A series of bombings by the IRA ensue.

1994 In August, the IRA announces a complete cessation of violence. In October, the Combined Loyalist Military Command announces a cessation of Loyalist hostilities.

1996 In February, the IRA calls off its ceasefire, and one hour later, sets off a bomb at South Quay near Canary Wharf in London’s Docklands. The blast kills two, injures 100, and causes millions of pounds’ worth of damage. In June, an IRA bomb destroys Manchester’s Arndale Centre, but no one is killed.

• In July, a march by Orangemen, a largely Protestant group, is blocked by the Royal Ulster Constabulary as it approaches the Catholic Garvaghy Road. After a stand off, the RUC permits the march, igniting violence between Catholics and the police.

1997 Peace talks begin. For the first time in 25 years, Unionists, Loyalists, Nationalists, and Republicans sit together to seek a solution to the violence. Tony Blair becomes the first British Prime Minister in 70 years to meet a Sinn Féin delegation.

1998 The result of negotiations that began in 1997 is the Good Friday Agreement, signed in Belfast on April 10th.

2005 According to the Associated Press, violence flares during the Whiterock Parade when police threaten to block the Protestant marchers from crossing into Catholic territory.

2008 Due to relatively peaceful parades and protests in recent years, the military is not deployed to watch over the events surrounding July 12. The last time “Twelfth” events weren’t guarded was in 1978.

2009 Republican dissidents protest the peace process with more violence. Two British soldiers and a British police officer are killed in two separate March attacks.

Published November 2020
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