Describe and explain the reactions of Unionist groups to: a. The Partition Treaty of 1921.

James Longworth 11k

1.Describe and explain the reactions of Unionist groups to:

The Partition Treaty of 1921.

In 1920 the British Government had lost control of much of the South of Ireland and in the North the Protestants did not want to be part of an Ireland that was split and separated so they were supporting the British. Because neither side were achieving what they wanted the British government made the dire decision to split and divide Ireland into 2 parts

The North (Ulster)
The South (Eire)

Geographically demonstrated on the following diagram:

Fig I

MAP DEMONSTATING THE PARTITION OF ULSTER AND EIRE

In the North, the 6 counties that were, at the time the most Protestant were given their own government. In these 6 counties there was a large Catholic minority and in 2 counties there were actually more Catholics than Protestants. This government of Northern Ireland was called Stormont. Stormont had power over the North of Ireland but this state remained part of the UK.

In the South the 26 counties became the Irish Free State. This was an independent country but in the beginning it remained part of the British Commonwealth. The Irish Nationalists were unhappy about the decision split Ireland but in 1921 members of Sinn Fein and the IRA went to London and agreed with the government of that time to the temporary splitting of Ireland, this was the last time a Sinn Fein leader shook hands with a British Prime minister the next time was in 1997 at the meeting of Tony Blair and Gerry Adams.

The 1921 meeting resulted in a signing of a treaty agreeing to the temporary division. This treaty was known as the Partition Treaty.

It was always hoped that this would be a temporary solution both the Government and the IRA hoped these issues would be resolved so that Ireland would get over its troubles and once again it would be a united country. This did not happen; unfortunately the two sides of Ireland drifted further apart becoming more and more entrenched in their own positions.

After the treaty was signed the active Unionists held power in the north, they wanted to keep Ulster British and Protestant, this was to contribute to the longstanding conflict as they tended to see all Catholics that lived in Ulster as traitors, and this meant the Catholics were treated badly and discriminated against at all levels. Fear and distrust existed and grew in strength between the two divisions, dividing them further.

In the Irish Free State (The South) the situation was not much better with the Nationalists holding the top jobs in the new government and not attempting to win over the Unionist and the Protestants. This situation was causing the build up of tensions and distrust. The Partition treaty divided the IRA between those who accepted it and those who fiercely rejected it.

In 1932 De Valera became the Taoiseach of the new state in the South of Ireland. He had a bad history with the British Government as he had fought in the Eater Rising in 1916 and was almost executed by the British Government. Valera wanted a strong and independent state in the South, he was a devout Catholic and consequently he strengthened the role of the Catholic Church.

Valera began cutting all economic and political ties with Britain, Ireland did not support Britain in the Second World War they remained neutral and in 1937 an Irish president as head of state replaced the British king. The actions of Valera affected both the North and the South because the economic ties were reduced this affected both imports and exports to and from the country this meant that Irelands supply of food was limited and resulting in a considerable amount of suffering which the Unionists will have blamed Valera. Valera spoke out about Northern Ireland saying it had no right to exist, this was offensive to the Unionists and caused deep rifts making a unified Ireland just a dream.

In the North even though the Protestants were in the majority there were still very large numbers of Catholic people who refused to accept the split, there was much street fighting and between 1920 and 1922 435 people were killed, this made the suspicions of the Protestants worse and there was a developing deep rooted fear of the Catholic Nationalists and their links with the South.

In the Treaty the North of Ireland had been given its own government this was supposed to look after the interests of the Catholics as well as the Protestants, but because there ...

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In the Treaty the North of Ireland had been given its own government this was supposed to look after the interests of the Catholics as well as the Protestants, but because there were more Protestants they always held the majority and therefore they had control of the parliament (Stormont) amazingly before 1969 every member of the Stormont was a Protestant and they were nearly all part of the Orange Order of Unionists, these individuals fixed local government elections so that they would win control of local councils as well. The Protestants were determined to keep control and not to share rule with the Catholics in any way Lord Craigavon said “ We are a protestant parliament for a protestant people”. The Unionists used every opportunity to help their community, Catholics were unable to get good jobs or decent housing and even worse the police treated them unfairly. The police were armed and every member was Protestant they had a reputation for being against the Catholics, they justified this with the believe that the new police force needed to keep an eye on the catholic traitors. The Unionists had a deep mistrust of the Catholics and Valera was making this worse.

The influence of the Catholic Church on life in Ireland since 1921.

The biggest divide in Ireland today is potentially religion like many wars and conflicts in the world the disagreements about religion can and do result in conflicts. The split between the Irish Protestants and Catholics can be tracked back to the time the British rulers first brought the Protestant church and Protestant settlers to Ireland.

The majority of Protestants in the North of Ireland are Unionists and most of the Nationalists in the north are Catholics. Most historians believe that the religious difference on its own cannot explain the reason for the on going conflict. It is believed the divisions in the North are a result of the two communities having a different sense of identity. However religion is one reason why the two groups do see themselves as different from each other and this contributes to their suspicion of each other. In the North of Ireland the difficult situation is that two distinct and different groups of people live next to each other and have different ideas on how the territory they share should be governed. This dispute has led to violence. The religious differences has led to these people thinking they are different to their neighbours and have been a significant barrier to their mutual cooperation.

There are significant differences between the 2 religions:

The Catholic faith believes the Pope represents Christ on earth, Priests have special powers, Priests must not marry and special acknowledgement is given to the Saints and the Virgin Mary.

The Protestant faith however believe the Pope is wrong when he claims to represent Christ, Ministers do not have supernatural powers, Ministers can marry and little notice is taken of the Saints and the Virgin Mary. All these significantly different beliefs add to the difference between the 2 People.

Religion remains a most powerful force in Ireland. The most outspoken of the Unionist leaders have spoken out against the Catholic Church. Ian Paisley described the Catholic Church “ as a wicked organisation that wishes to enslave Protestants”, however many Protestants do not share this view believing it is extreme and unhelpful.

In the South of Ireland the Catholic Church has remained very powerful since the Partition, but in recent years many people especially in the cosmopolitan city of Dublin have started to reject the authority of the church and the impact this has on their lives, despite the changes in recent years the Irish Unionists still continue to fear the power the Catholic Bishops and Priests have to create a united Ireland.

The fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church that cause disagreement in today’s society, that both some Catholics and Protestants take exception to are in the following subjects:

Divorce
Abortion
Contraception

Living side by side, the two communities have seen the effects religion have on their neighbours, the Protestant Unionists will have witnessed many unhappy marriages, with out the option of divorce, many large families when there has not been enough money to put food on the table and the devastating effect childbirth out of marriage has had on large numbers of young catholic girls.

Noel Browne in 1971 said that :

“We must recognise the fears of the Northern Protestant, that in a united Ireland he would be in a minority and that he would suffer in much the same way as the Catholic minority in Ulster.”

He said,

“ There is the position of the Catholic Church, there are the rules on mixed marriages, the right to contraception and family planning and the right to divorce”.

The laws of the South of Ireland can be related directly to the influence of the Church. Even in recent years as the church has been critised by Catholics the original teachings are endemic in the law. As late as 1986 a referendum on divorce rejected any change in the law, it was not until 1995 that this law was overturned.

These strong religious views that affect significantly the daily lives of Catholics influence the Unionists views of the effects of a united Ireland.

Introduction

Northern Ireland has been a focus of attention because of the violent conflict between its people.

Between 1968 and 1994 over 3 thousand people were killed as a result of this conflict, this violence is all about one simple question:

‘ Should the North stay part of the United Kingdom or should it join the south as part of a united independent Ireland?’

Unfortunately the citizens of Northern Ireland disagree, one fraction want to be part of the United Kingdom these are called the Unionists the other fraction want the North to join the South these people are called the Nationalists. These two fractions are represented by a large number of different organisations, that all play apart in the Irish situation.

The conflict can be traced back to 100bc, but the recent violence has and can be attributed two historical events

The 1921 Partition Treaty which divided Ireland into 2 parts
1969 when the British government sent troops in to keep peace

The Irish people have lived through years of conflict and hardship and recent years has seen many efforts made both by politicians and normal citizens in an attempt to resolve the conflict.

Part of these efforts have been the peace process and the Good Friday agreement:

This assignment is about what the Unionists think about the peace process and the Good Friday agreement of April 1998.

C. Power sharing with the Nationalists in 1974.

In 1967 a group of young Catholics got together and set up a civil rights organisation, they organised protest marches these marches ended in violence, the protestants were unhappy with this and the protestant police took a really tough line against the civil rights protestors. The violence escalated and by 1969 it was out of control. The British government send troops in to control the violence, this was supposed to be short term but the troops are still there today.

By 1972 the country was in crisis, private armies were on the streets fighting, the IRA grew strong. Many people on both sides did not support the private armies, they wanted a peaceful solution. It was becoming clear that Strormont had lost control and Northern Ireland was at the point of civil war, so the British government suspended Stornmont and ruled Ireland from England.

In 1974 the British tried to set up a new system of government in which power would be shared between Protestants and Catholics. The British believed the Unionist Stormont government had failed, an election was arranged by the British government to establish a Northern Ireland assembly. The Unionist party largely Protestants won the majority, but their leaders had talks with the Social Democratic Labour party and together they agreed a proposal for power sharing. This was set up as the Northern Ireland Executive and included both Nationalists and Unoinists. The leader was Brian Faulkner, leader of the Unionist Party,

and his deputy was Gerry Fitt leader of the Nationalist SDLP.

Secretary of State William Whitelaw with Brian Faulkner (left) and Gerry Fitt (right) after

reaching agreement on power-sharing Executive, 21 November 1973

At the time Ian Paisley the leader of the DUP said

‘Catholics do not want a share of Northern

Ireland. They want Northern Ireland to be destroyed and to have a united Ireland. Even if they were to join a government it is only until such time as they can destroy the government and the state’

Reverend Ian Paisley

This statement summed up the views of the Unionists at that time, even before the new government began it’s work it was widely condemned by sections of the Protestant community, who did not trust either the British government or the Catholic people

The first political casualty was Brian Faulkner. He was forced to resign as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party when It’s ruling body, the Ulster Unionist Council, voted to reject the Agreement on 4 January. He formed a new party, the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland but could only persuade 17 colleagues to join him. This was a political disaster for Faulkner who now only represented a minority in the majority unionist community. The nationalist SDLP had 19 elected members, which gave the Nationalists a majority in the new government.

The three parties opposed to power-sharing, the UUP led by Harry West, the DUP led by Rev Ian Paisley and Vanguard led by William Craig, set up an opposition umbrella organisation, the United Ulster Unionist Council, to co-ordinate their efforts to wreck the Agreement.

The UUUC threatened industrial disruption if the new Labour government under PM Harold Wilson did not scrap the Executive. The Protestant feelings were so high that on 14 May the Ulster Workers' Council called an industrial strike. This strike began on the following day, May 15th, when power cuts forced the closure of several factories.

On the first day of the strike most workers turned up for work and it appeared as if the UWC did not have the support of the majority of Protestant workers. That afternoon the Ulster Defence Association and the Loyalist Volunteer Force issued a statement, ordering loyalists to stop work immediately. The statement was followed up by widespread bullying of the workers. By Friday of the first week the stoppage and the strike was involving nearly all protestant workers.

UDA men with masks and cudgels ensure all

businesses remain shut on the Shankill Road, Belfast

On 18 May Len Murray, the General Secretary of the Trades Union Council, arrived in Belfast to lead a Back to Work march. Only 200 workers turned up to support him and the march was described as a flop.

Brian Faulkner, insisted the British government should send troops in to break the strike but neither the army nor the British government thought this was the right thing to do. On Saturday 25 May Harold Wilson, in a Prime Ministerial broadcast, committed a mistake, by accusing the strikers of "sponging on Westminster" and being led by thugs and bullies. His accusation had the effect of uniting still further all of the groups opposed to the power-sharing Executive. Within three days of Wilson's speech the Executive had collapsed, the Council of Ireland was no more and power-sharing was at an end.

Since 1972 Unionists have opposed all moves to include the Nationalists in the government of Ulster, they became increasingly defensive and were always worried when the British government spoke to any leaders from the Irish republic not trusting either party.

D. The Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 and the idea of further links with Southern Ireland.

On the 15th of November, 1985 the British signed the Anglo-Irish agreement, this set up a joint committee. This committee was headed by the Secretary of State and the Irish Foreign Minister it was intended that this committee would meet regularly to discuss cross boarder co- operation on issues, such as the security forces and the law in Northern Ireland.

It was hoped that a way would be found to influence both the Unionists and the Nationalists to respect each other’s rights and views. Unfortunately the Unionists claimed that it was the first time since partition that the British were allowing the government of the republic a say in how the North was run. Prior to the Anglo-Irish agreement the provisional Sinn Fein were gaining support, the party was winning local government seats. In 1983 Gerry Adams (pictured) defeated Gerry Fitt and a 73 percent turnout included 14 percent of the electorate voting for Sinn Fein candidates.

The British government were trying to end the crisis in Northern Ireland but unfortunately the Unionists felt betrayed

At the time of the agreement the leader of the UUP said ‘This agreement will not bring peace, but a sword. I have to say honestly and truthfully that I have never known what I can only describe as universal cold fury’

Previously the Unionists had said that they must never ‘give an inch’ to Nationalists demands, therefore they saw the Anglo-Irish agreement as a complete disaster, it also reinforced the idea that the British government were not to be trusted. The Unionists were the largest group in Northern Ireland and they believed that they had not been asked about the changes they thought the new powers for Dublin were a step towards British withdrawl and a united Ireland.

During 1986 the Unionists tried to oust the agreement, in March of that year there was a Unionist day of action, the Unionist local councils would not work with the government. Some Protestants turned to the paramilitaries, this resulted in increasing attacks on Catholics, who then fought back during the early1990s ‘tit for tat’ killings were common place and the violence continued to increase, there appeared to be a stalemate in Northern Ireland and a dire violent situation.