In Source E you can see Catholics had the largest vote of 14 429 and Protestants only had 8781. Despite this 12 Union councillors were elected and only 8 Nationalists. This was unfair.
Source F shows where different populations live in Londonderry. Waterside was predominantly Protestant area and Southward was predominantly Catholic. The Unionists were able to win the election by moving the voting boundaries which are shown in the Source F. This procedure was called Gerrymandering.
Catholics found it hard getting Council houses. As explained before, to get a vote you need to live in a council house or own your own house. Seeing as the council were predominantly unionist they wanted to keep it that way so they didn’t want to give Catholics free votes through houses.
From 1951 to 1966 a housing shortage increased from 1119 to 1195. There was a need for the situation to be improved.
In 1961 one in seven families lived in grossly overcrowded houses. For a house to be called grossly overcrowded it needed to have more than two people living in each room of the house excluding kitchen and bathroom and for Catholics the situation did not improved.
Most of these problems were faced in Catholic areas of Londonderry such as Southward. Looking at source D the evidence clearly shows Catholics had a problem with housing. The picture shows one house with conditions that some Catholics would have faced. It suggests that there was no running water or a bathroom or toilet inside. The old man and the young child could be showing problems with overcrowding because it could mean they are part of an extended family living together. This meant less votes which was important.
Poor housing saw many Catholics join the Civil Rights Movement.
The Catholics of Londonderry faced difficulties in gaining work. From 1966 to 1967 (one year) unemployment went up by 10%. The Government did little to bring employment to Londonderry.
New factories were put up in the east, where unemployment and population was law. Londonderry was west where unemployment and population was high.
Londonderry had a population of 53 762 in 1961 compared to Larne’s 16 350. Larne had 40square feet of factory space. This stopped the Catholics from potential work they would get if more factory space was made available.
Catholics were also given the brush off by employees because they generally gave jobs to the Protestants. This lack of employment opportunities saw many Catholics join the Civil Rights campaign.
Long term problems saw many Catholics join the Civil Rights Movement, however , there were also a number of short term events.
The Burtollet Ambush on January 4th 1969, saw 40 university students set off on a civil rights march around Londonderry. Protestant factions were constantly harassing them,. A few miles outside of Londonderry, they were set upon but hundreds of off-duty B-specials who started to beat the protesters and a few miles down they were attacked with petrol bombs. After the marchers had reached Londonderry, off-duty police and other protestant groups entered the catholic area of Bogside, to cause trouble. The actions of police and protestant factions in general turned the Catholic population of Londonderry to protest for their rights.
The apprentice boys march was a protestant march on august 12th . The run up to this marching season in 1969 had seen an increase in the sectarian violence. In the Bogside area of Londonderry the Catholic population had been preparing for trouble. The marchers approached the Bogside with the police and tried to force their way in. Petrol bombs were thrown and from the tower flats by the Catholics. The police were forced to use CS gas, (for the first time in the UK), but this did not stop the fighting. By the 14th of august the police were being forced out of Bogside. It was at this point the British army arrived in Londonderry to bring calm to the area and protect the Catholic population.
On January 30th 192 was the date of some very famous fighting’s. The fighting in Northern Ireland had reached a new level. Although marches had been banned by the Government after internment the Civil Rights Association planned a march to protest against the internment. As the unarmed marchers approached the barriers which the army had put across the road to stop them leaving the Bogside, stones and insults were thrown at the military and Snatch squads of paratroopers went into the crowd to make arrests. In doing so the violence increased and the soldiers s fired their weapons. Thirteen unarmed civilians died and many more were injured. This event again drove a deeper wedge between the catholic community and the ruling authorities.
Northern Ireland was then put under the direct rule of Westminster and the Catholics were not impressed. They decided to work harder for their rights.
Many factors helped to make Londonderry a centre for the civil rights movement. Both long term and short term help attract attention to the area.
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