Describe the disadvantages that faced Catholics in Northern Ireland during the mid-1960s.

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Question – Describe the disadvantages faced by the Catholics in Northern Ireland in the mid – 1960s

In the mid – 1960’s Catholics in Northern Ireland were at a disadvantage in many different ways. The National attitudes of the two different religious groups in Northern Ireland

(Catholics and Protestants) were different. Catholics wanted Ireland to be an independent nation away from the rule and power of the UK, but the Protestants wanted Northern Ireland to be part of the UK and under its rule and power. But the Catholics in Ulster were in the minority and Protestants in the majority. This caused tension to build in Northern Ireland and the trust between the two different religions started to dither. Earlier conflict had led to a Civil War. This eventually led to the Partition of 1921, which was made as a temporary fix to end the Civil War. But still to this very day Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom. This then brought about the Irish Question – Should Northern Ireland remain part of the United Kingdom, or should it become part of an independent united Ireland? Catholics felt like they were being treated badly by the Northern Ireland Government, which was named Stormont after the famous buildings in which the Government was situated.

Stormont was set up in 1922 by Irish Protestants as the Northern Ireland government after partition. It was run by the Northern Ireland Government, who enforced British laws. The first prime minister of Northern Ireland was Sir James Craig, who was later known as Lord Craigavon. He famously said “A Protestant Parliament for a Protestant People”. This basically meant that they would run Northern Ireland, caring only for the Protestant Majority and discriminating against the Catholic/Nationalist minority. This caused tension to grow between the two religious groups as the relationships between the two groups became worse than ever. Catholics hated Protestants more than ever as they felt that they weren’t treating the Catholics fairly. But the Protestants felt the same way towards the Catholics. They thought that because they were in the minority that they weren’t as good, or as powerful as them, in any way, and discriminated against them. This tension between the two groups resulted in Catholics marching for what they believed were their rights and this eventually resulted in violence.

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Even in education in Northern Ireland the two religious groups where segregated (separated). They would have Catholic Schools which only Catholics could go to, and Protestant Schools where only Protestants could go.  The state education which was funded by the Northern Ireland Government (Stormont) mainly went to the Protestant schools so that they could afford all of the equipment that the subjects needed. This meant that they could study science a lot better than a Catholic School could, as they could afford all of the equipment and chemicals that they needed. Whereas Catholic ...

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