Civil Rights in Northern Ireland Coursework

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Civil Rights in Northern Ireland Coursework

  1. Study Source A. What can you learn from Source A about the disadvantages faced by Catholics in Northern Ireland in the early 1960s?

 Through studying Source A, I can learn that Catholics living in Northern Ireland in the early 1960s faced many disadvantages. They clearly suffered huge discrimination in the area of employment.

 The Catholic Population in Belfast was about 30% at this time. Source A shows that only 4% of those employed at the Belfast shipyard, the main source of employment in the area, were Catholic. Although there are many factors to take into consideration, this source uses factual evidence to suggest that discrimination was taking place towards Catholics within the region of employment in Belfast.

 This sort of discrimination against Catholics did not only happen in urban areas, it was also apparent in rural places, such as Fermanagh. Source A says that only 13% of those on Fermanagh County Council were Catholic, indicating that discrimination was taking place not only in private companies but that it had also become institutionalised at the level of local governments. The prejudice against Catholics is even clearer in this example as Fermanagh had a Catholic majority, showing that they suffered even in areas that were predominantly Catholic.

 Source A also shows that Protestants appear to be favoured over Catholics regarding more appealing jobs, such as school bus drivers, where only 9% in Fermanagh were Catholic. This represents the extent to which Catholics were disadvantaged.  From Source A I can infer that due to the employment discrimination they suffered, Catholics faced many disadvantages in Northern Ireland.

  1. Study Sources A, B and C. How far does the evidence of Sources A, B and C suggest that there was anti-Catholic prejudice in Northern Ireland?

 Sources A, B and C all concur with each other to suggest that there was an extremely high level of anti-Catholic prejudice in Northern Ireland.

 Source A, written in 1961, shows evidence of employment discrimination in urban and rural areas; like Belfast and Fermanagh, within private and public organisations; like Belfast Shipyard and the local Education Authority, and concerning the most desirable jobs, for example school bus drivers. Source B, showing wage and employment figures favouring Protestants, demonstrates such a high level of agreement with Source A that I can infer anti-Catholic prejudice was taking place at a national level.

 Source B is a report based on the 1971 census, making it a highly reliable source. The reports confirms what Source A leads us to believe, with Protestants being favoured over Catholics in the employment sector; ‘unemployment is experienced at a much higher level by Roman Catholics than by Protestants.’ The source also indicates that those Catholics in employment received generally lower wages, and women suffered even further discrimination. Ten years passed between these two sources, but it appears anti-Catholic prejudice has only got worse.

 Source C shows a high level of agreement with sources A and B by using figures of workers in businesses in Northern Ireland to show that there were many more Protestants in employment and that they seemed to be favoured over Catholics in the majority of companies. This suggests discrimination against Catholics, though it is not as reliable as the other sources. In Source C the exact geographic locations of the businesses are not clear; they could be in Protestant areas which would explain the employment figures. The ‘magazine’ for which the article is written for is not defined either. It could be a magazine in favour of a particular political party or religion, using distorted figures to work to its advantage.

 Despite the possible unreliability of Source C, the evidence in these sources of discrimination in employment directed at Catholics is strong enough to suggest that there was a very high level of anti-Catholic prejudice in Northern Ireland.

  1. Study Sources D and E. How useful are these sources in helping to assess the extent of discrimination against Catholics?

 Sources D and E are very useful as their dates show the troubles in Northern Ireland have been taking place for at least 25 years. Indicating the extent of discrimination towards Catholics through a large span of time. This also shows that the Civil Rights Movement has had little effect on reducing the discrimination suffered by Catholics. Both sources indicate discrimination against Catholics.

 Source D is useful because it is the honest view of a Billy Sinclair, a Protestant man, criticising himself and people of his own religion about how they discriminate against Catholics. He is condemning a process that he was involved in, making this a highly reliable source because he is not biased and cannot gain from what he is saying.

 This source also assesses the extent of the discrimination by showing it at a social and recreational level, not just a political perspective. Illustrating how discrimination against Catholics has now become so institutionalised it affects all people and all areas of life. ‘He kicks with the wrong foot’ is really just a way of saying ‘he is the wrong religion,’ this kind of prejudice against even Catholic children displays the magnitude of discrimination they suffered.

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 Source D does help to assess the extent of the discrimination because it is such an honest view, but it is important to remember it is just one view from one football club. Linfield is one specific area and does not reflect the view of all Protestants or the whole country.

 Source E shows discrimination towards Catholics in a more damaging way. It implies that Protestants are loyal workers and therefore Catholics are not, so Protestants should have preferential treatment regarding employment. Having enough people to establish an organisation with this view, shows that it was easily possible to direct ...

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