The reason for the uproar over such killings was the British soldiers were essentially not an occupying force but a measure of peace between nationalist and loyalist paramilitary groups. As Catholic Bishop of Derry Edward Daly commented “What really made Bloody Sunday so obscene was the fact that afterwards at the highest level British justice justified it.” Acts such as this by official British forces reaffirmed the belief of many that the British Government was still the real enemy and behind the problems that continued in Northern Ireland. This justified the cause of the nationalist movement and subsequently the IRA and Sinn Fein as well. Both organisations had now developed a strong following throughout the Republic and Northern Ireland. Whilst such occurrences did cause much suffering and pain they proved useful to both the IRA and Sinn Fein in acquiring widespread support for the movement.
Sinn Fein and the IRA were not officially linked but both strived for the same goal. The Provisional Irish Republican Army was a paramilitary organisation that considered itself a direct continuation of the IRA that had fought in the Irish war of Independence. Its stated objective was to end British rule in Ireland and withdraw Northern Irelands status as part of the United Kingdom. The Provisionals advocated for armed defence of Catholic communities in the north and an offensive campaign to end British rule. As the violence in Northern Ireland steadily increased the IRA began to call for a more aggressive campaign against British loyalists. Sinn Fein was a political party of the Republican movement. It was formed in 1970 but has traces back to the original party founded in 1905. The party is believed to be directly associated with the IRA. Both Sinn Fein and the IRA played different but converging roles in the war for liberation. Whilst the movements were not officially linked it was widely thought that they were different faces of the same movement. In 2005 the British Government stated “We had always said all the way through that we believed the IRA and Sinn Fein were inextricably linked and that had obvious implications at leadership level.” Throughout the early seventies there was much internal argument between factions of the IRA and Sinn Fein over whether their movement’s primary role should chiefly military or political, although both groups viewed Britain as a colonial occupier and therefore viewed the political process as illegal. Until 1973 Sinn Fein had little interest in politics as the party was still deemed illegal by the British Government. Political activity began in 1973 when Sinn Fein opened the Republican press centre on Falls Road. In 1973 the first attempt at negotiations to resolve the situation led to the Sunningdale Agreement, which devised a power sharing system in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Although this did no include Sinn Fein and quickly collapsed under pressure from loyalist strikes. In May 1974 British secretary of State Merlyn Rees legalised Sinn Fein as a political party. This was perhaps the beginning of tacit recognition by the British Government that negotiations were only meaningful if they were directly with the IRA. Whilst local politicians such as John Hume, of the Nationalist Party, were respected they did not command enough power to have any effect. Secret meetings between Provisional IRA leaders Ruairi O’Bradaigh and Billy McKee with Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Merlyn Rees resulted in a ceasefire which began in February 1975. The truce proved to be disastrous for the IRA; leading to infiltration by many British informers into their ranks. After a build up of tensions and a series of sectarian killings the ceasefire broke down in January 1976. It was clear that the original aims of the IRA leadership for a quick military victory were receding. It was acts of violence by British authorities that justified the military side of the movement and ensured tensions would continue for years to come.
As Sinn Fein began to move into the political process so did many former revolutionaries and IRA members. One such person was Gerry Adams; after being in prison for alleged IRA membership he turned himself in a new direction a moved towards the political process. In 1978 he was elected as the vice president of Sinn Fein. This most likely came as a result of the realisation by many senior figures that it was becoming more and more unlikely that a military victory could be achieved. Whilst significant events such as Bloody Sunday lead to anti-British sentiment to sky rocket many turned away from violence and embraced the political system.
Protests by a number of imprisoned IRA members in Long Kesh gaol showed the power of political tactics, leading to the dominance of Sinn Fein as a political force. The 1981 hunger strike was the climax of a five year protest by Republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest originally began in 1976 when the British Government removed its special category status for convicted paramilitary prisoners. This status had provided them with Prisoner of War privileges as specified in the Geneva Convention. Prisoners did not have to wear prison uniforms, do prison work and were allowed to be housed within their own paramilitary factions. They were also entitled to receive extra food parcels and have extra visits. When these rights were removed by the British Government, as recommended by the Gardiner Committee, the prisoners began a protest to gain them back. It started with a blanket protest in which prisoners refused to wear uniforms but instead wrapped themselves in prison blankets; they stated that they were not criminals but political prisoners. In 1978 the dispute escalated into a dirty protest in which prisoners refused to wash and covered their cell walls with excrement. In 1980 the first hunger strike took place but to no avail ending after 53 days. The second strike in 1981 is perhaps one of the best know instances of protest throughout the campaign. The strike was lead by former IRA Officer Commanding in the prison, Bobby Sands. At the beginning of the strike there was little progress and it didn’t receive much outside support. But after five days the strike received a much needed boost; the Independent Republican MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone died and a by-election was called to appoint his replacement. It was decided that Bobby Sands would stand against the Ulster Unionist Party candidate Harry West. On 9 April 1981 Sands won a narrow victory and was elected to the British House of Commons. The victory attracted worldwide attention and thousands of media personnel descended on Belfast. On the sixty sixth day of the hunger strikes, May 5, Sands died causing riots across Northern Ireland. One hundred thousand people lined the route of his funeral a few days later. In the weeks after Sands death three more hunger strikers died, and another by-election had to be held for the seat of Fermanagh and South Tyrone. Due to the fact that the British Government had rushed through the Representation of the People Act, which meant prisoners serving more than one year could not run for parliament, so Sands’ election agent Owen Carron had to run instead. He claimed a similar victory gaining a larger percentage of the votes. The success of hunger strike created a firm platform for Irish republicanism and paved the way for the formal entry of Sinn Fein into electoral politics the following year. It was also around this period that the British Government began reforming its policies in relation to the IRA and Sinn Fein. They now viewed Sinn Fein as a legitimate political movement who would be included in official negotiations. The achievements of the hunger strikers proved the power of political activism as opposed to violence; they also exposed the falseness of the British Governments claim that the Republican movement had no support.
The events of 1969-82 transformed the Republican movement from a violence orientated force to a significant political force. As Sinn Fein began to grow as a political force the IRA slowly, and with considerable internal difficulties, changed its ways. This eventually paved the way for an official ceasefire in 1994. Their agreement to decommission their weapons meant that Sinn Fein was allowed to come to the negotiation table and play a significant role in the Good Friday agreement of 1998. That agreement resulted in a devolved power sharing structure of self government for Northern Ireland, whilst it still remained within the United Kingdom. In 2007 Martin McGuiness of Sinn Fein was appointed deputy first minister and held equal power alongside Ian Paisely of the DUP in the Northern Ireland Assembly Government. From the split in the nationalist movement in 1969 to its reemergence throughout the seventies, alongside the IRA, there was much change. Events such as Bloody Sunday increased the military overtone of the movement but ultimately peaceful political power prevailed. Acts such as the 1981 hunger strike proved the power of political protest as compared to violence. Ultimately Sinn Fein grew into a legitimate political party and as of 2009 they became the largest party in Northern Ireland following European Parliamentary elections.
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