Unionist organisations have been founded mainly in the 1970’s for a variety of aims but sharing the same belief that Ulster should remain part of the UK. The DUP, founded by Ian Paisley, also wants the destruction of the IRA, which is the Nationalist equivalent to the violent paramilitary groups the UDA and UVF.
Nationalists are Catholics believing that Ulster join with Eire and become the Republic of Ireland, they are angry that Northern Ireland has been split and is part of the UK. Nationalist groups include Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Social Democratic Labour Party (SDLP). The IRA is a paramilitary pressure group, responsible for killing large numbers of British soldiers and Northern Ireland police officers over the last fifty years. The IRA are supported by Republicans (extreme Nationalists), who believe that violence is needed to rid Northern Ireland of British presence and for Ulster and Eire to join to form the Republic of Ireland. Subsections of the IRA, such as the Real IRA, also use violence and both the IRA and the Real IRA have been made illegal organisations. Sinn Fein is supported by Catholic Nationalists and claims to be a peaceful, moderate political party despite its links and support for the violence of the IRA. The SDLP is a political party which does not support the IRA and has influence with the government in Dublin. These groups have been founded earlier than Unionist groups, for example the IRA was established in 1919, and Sinn Fein was founded by Gerry Adams in 1905. The SDLP was founded later in 1970. All of these groups believe in a united Ireland.
Individual events such as the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 and the Penal Laws passed in 1697 to 1727 have reinforced the differences between the Unionist and Nationalist beliefs. The Battle of the Boyne ensured that Protestants were in control of the North as King William defeated James II along the south bank of the River Boyne. Penal Laws were passed to oppress Catholics living in Protestant areas. These laws, passed in 1675, discriminated strongly against Catholics as
Up until recently, Catholics are still discriminated against as the best jobs and best housing is given to Protestants. Judges are Protestant, so Catholics were not always equal before the law.
PENAL LAWS SEE WEBSITE and created bitterness.
The Easter Rising, I think, is a major source of bitterness in Ireland’s history that has fuelled this conflict since it happened in 1916. By 1914, Ireland was close to a civil war. Nationalists had been promised Home rule by the autumn of 1914, but the Unionists were determined to stop Ulster being ruled by and all-Ireland parliament. Both sides had private armies and were smuggling arms from Germany, tension was building as Ireland was close to a civil war. The First World War temporarily brought an end to the problems, as Nationalists agreed that the problem of Home Rule could wait until the end of the war, which they did not expect to last long. Unionists still disagreed and began to approve of the idea of splitting Ireland in two. During the First World War both Unionists and Nationalists fought for the British Army, seen by many as an encouraging sign that Unionists and Nationalists could put aside their differences and unite. However, whilst the British focused on the War, in 1916 Revolutionary Nationalists saw an opportunity to organise a rebellion in Dublin on Easter Monday. They took over the General Post Office and proclaimed Ireland an independent Republic, and after a week of violence and shootings, the rebels surrendered and the leaders were executed. The Easter Rising seemed to be proof for Ulster Unionists that Nationalists could not be trusted and were traitors for causing trouble whilst everyone was occupied with the War and fighting. Bitterness intensified as the Unionists felt they could not trust the Nationalists, and the division was made even worse. There was doubt that the two sides, now clearly divided, would ever reconcile and reach a decision best for Ireland and all of its people.
Another major turning point in Ireland’s history that has been the main contributor to the continuation of the conflict, is the partition itself in 1921. Throughout Britain and Ireland a general election was held in 1918, after the First World War had ended. Ireland won complete independence, and new Sinn Fein MP’s refused to go to London, instead they set up their own Parliament in Dublin, called the Dàil. By 1920, fighting had intensified and Britain lost control over most of the south of Ireland. 1919 to 1921 was known as the guerrilla war, until a partition appeared to be the only solution. Sinn Fein signed a temporary treaty for a division and Ulster became separate from Eire. This outraged Nationalists, whilst Unionists felt that they had won a victory. By the 1950’s, Catholics in Ulster had begun to accept they were part of the Northern State for the foreseeable future. During this time, Catholics were very badly treated despite forming almost a third of the population in Ulster. Unionists kept control of the Stormont Parliament, and elections were fixed so that no Catholics could become an MP. Catholics were not equal before the law, they were strongly discriminated against as the best jobs went to Protestants, and council housing was primarily for Protestants. Catholics grew impatient at the slow pace of reform, until finally in 1967 a Civil Rights Movement is set up to abolish unfair treatment. However, Unionists still remain the majority and have control of Ulster.
Recent events, from 1967 onwards, have also greatly affected the Unionist and Nationalist conflict. The Unionist parliament at Stormont, which had governed Northern Ireland since the foundation of the State in 1921, decided to strip the parliament of its power and introduce direct rule from Westminster. The Prime minister, Edward Heath, was responding to the worsening security situation that was aggravated when paratroopers, deployed by the Stormont government, shot dead 13 unarmed civilians during a civil rights march in Derry. This became known as Bloody Sunday. The massacre of unarmed civilians greatly angered Nationalists and provoked more violent activity from the IRA, who were still protesting against Britain’s hold over Ulster. Attempts were made for a new power sharing assembly for Ulster, but these failed.
In July 1972, Secretary of State William Whitelaw granted special category status to all prisoners convicted of terrorist related crimes. This meant that prisoners of war did not have to wear prison uniforms or do prison work and they were allowed extra visits and food parcels. In 1976, plans were announced abolish special category status, enraging prisoners, they began a blanket protest and a no wash protest, later known as the dirty protest. Prisoners of war would remain naked except for a blanket and excrete on the walls of their cells, refusing to wear a prison uniform and carry out prison work. The dirty protest ended with the death of Bobby Sands, who had been on hunger strike for 66 days. As Nationalists were proud of the hunger strikers, riots and violence erupted onto the streets of republican areas, and several people were killed.
The continuation of the violence, with ‘tit for tat’ killings on both Nationalist and Unionist sides, have allowed the issue to stay alive with no agreement on Ireland’s future. Specific acts of violence such as the 1983 Brighton Bombing, have exacerbated the division between Ulster and Eire, when
I think that Unionist and Nationalist views are more a product of recent events, with its history the beginning of the division. This is because a lot has happened in the last forty years, with all of the events stemming from the hatred and disagreement between the Nationalists and Unionists which has been present since the 1820’s.
