Then in 1914 Irish MP’s had persuaded the British Government, under the instruction of David Lloyd-George, to grant Home Rule for Ireland. This meant that Ireland still kept its links with Britain but was allowed to set up its own Parliament.
This “rule” pleased the Parliamentary Catholics as this was exactly what they wanted. The Revolutionary Catholics believed that the island of Ireland should severe all links with Britain and should be given complete independence by the British Government. However the Protestants wanted Ireland to stay exactly the same way as it had always been. That was, to be governed by the British Government and to keep all links with Britain.
The British Government granted Home Rule for Ireland. Protestants got ready to fight against Home Rule and Catholics got ready to fight for Home Rule. The result was that Ireland was on the verge of Civil War. However, the outbreak of the First World War delayed the implementation of Home Rule. Both Catholics and Protestants joined up to fight for Britain.
An Irish man called Michael Collins did not join up. He thought that fighting for Britain was a ridiculous idea. Collins wanted more than just Home Rule for Ireland. He wanted an Irish Republic which was completely free from British control. On the 24th April 1964 at around noon two thousand men led by Padhraic Pearse, one of the leaders of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, seized control of the post office in Dublin and other major buildings in the city. Collins then announced that he had set up a provisional government of the Irish Republic. Additional positions were occupied by the rebels during the night, and by the morning of April 25th they controlled a considerable part of Dublin. The counter-offensive by British forces began that afternoon with the arrival of reinforcements. Martial law was proclaimed throughout Ireland. Bitter street fighting developed in Dublin, during which the strengthened British forces steadily dislodged the Irish from their positions. By the morning of April 29, the GPO building, site of the rebel headquarters, was under violent attack. Recognizing the futility of further resistance under heavy British artillery bombardment, Pearse, surrendered unconditionally in the afternoon of April 29. Fifteen of the men were publicly executed. James Connolly, who had been badly injured and was unable to stand in front of the firing squad, was tied up to a chair before being executed. This rebellion became known as the Easter Rising of 1916.
Many Catholics were horrified by the British Action and wanted nothing more to do with Britain. Huge numbers of Catholics now looked to Sinn Fein. They were a political party whose name means Stand Alone. Sinn Fein believed that the only way to gain independence was violence.
In 1918 the Government of Britain passed a conscription law. This meant that the British Government could force Irishmen to join the British Army. The Government never actually used the Conscription Law but it forced more Irish People to turn against the British Government.
In late 1918 Sinn Fein were successful in election. Ireland now had its own Parliament which was based in Dublin. The Protestants now feared that the Catholics would take control over Ireland so got ready to fight for that control. The British feared that they would loose Ireland so they get ready to fight. The Catholics prepared to fight for their independence. The I.R.A (Irish Republican Army) was formed in 1919 by Michael Collins.
Collins spent eight months in prison for his part in the Easter Rising. On his release he joined the Sinn Fein party. The Sinn Fein Members of Parliament refused to go to London to sit in parliament there. Instead they set up their own parliament in Dublin. They called it the Dail. The leader of the Dail was a man called Eamon De Valera.
De Valera put Collins in charge of finance and the Spying system. Collins also built up the I.R.A. This was a group of volunteers who were prepared to fight for the new Republic in Ireland.
The British Government banned all republican newspapers and speakers and arrested De Valera. Collins managed to escape. Over the next two years he organised ruthless I.R.A murder squads, developed a new kind of warfare using secret, sudden murders and bombings, inspired others to fight for freedom from British Control, built up a network of spies, including some who worked inside the British Headquarters, ordered the deaths of many British Government Officials and Irish Policemen, risked his life to take messages between
The British Government were determined to end the violence caused by the I.R.A in Ireland. They recruited over seven thousand ex-soldiers from England to deal with the I.R.A. These soldiers soon became known as the Black and Tans due to the colour of their uniform. They soon proved that they were prepared to be as ruthless as the I.R.A in their actions.
By July 1919 both sides were committing attacks that were beyond belief. The worst incident came on the 21st November 1920. It was known as Bloody Sunday. In the early hours of the morning Collins sent his men to break into the homes or hotel rooms of fourteen British Agents and kill them. Within hours the Black and Tans reacted by firing into a crowd of eight thousand spectators at a Gaelic football match. They killed twelve and wounded sixty. By reacting in this way the Black and Tans drove more people to support the I.R.A.
This period was known as the War of Independence.
In the late 1920’s David-Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister partitioned Ireland into two half’s. Northern Ireland (Ulster) and Republic of Ireland (Eire). Both sections had their own Parliaments. Ulster’s was situated in Belfast and was called the Stormont and Eire’s was situated in Dublin and was called the Dail.
But, once again, Sinn Fein wanted more. It wanted a separate Irish Republic for all of Ireland. The war went on. By July 1921 it was clear that neither side could win. De Valera sent Collins to England to discuss a peace treaty with David Lloyd- George.
The points of the treaty that he accepted were that Ireland was to be partitioned as in the 1920’s act, the south was to be called the Free State, the Free State should have its own parliament and army but should stay within the British Empire, MP’s should swear loyalty to the British King.
By 1921 the Catholics were very unhappy not to be part of United Ireland. Due t
o the Partition, between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, in Northern Ireland the Protestants were dominant. There was sixty six percent who were Protestant and only thirty four percent who were catholic.
The Protestants saw the Catholics as traitors so therefore mistreated them. Because the Catholics were a minority in the North, they failed to win at election. This meant that the Protestants were in charge. They gave the Catholics the poorer housing, the poorer schools and denied them fair access to jobs.
The Protestants also biased the elections so that they would win every time. There were two ways that they did this. One was to move the election boundaries so that they were in the majority all of the time so would win. Another was by splitting the voters into categories. These categories were, the rate payers would be allowed only two people in their properties to vote. This meant that lodgers and adult children living at home were excluded. As the income of Catholics was generally lower, they were the ones who lost out on this vote. The owners of commercial property valued at £10 per year or more were allowed to nominate special voters for each £10 of their property. (Up to a maximum of 6 voters). Since over 90% of the commercial property was owned by the Protestants this method also swayed the vote in the favour of the Protestants.
This led to some Catholics joining the I.R.A. But most of them just suffered and hoped for things to improve. The reason that these Catholics joined the IRA was due to the formation of a Protestant ruled police force called the B Specials. This group of policemen were granted special powers which enabled them to take immediate action against anyone who was caught doing wrong, mainly anyone who supported Irish Republicanism.
The island of Ireland was becoming very protestant ruled. In the early 1960’s the Civil Rights Movement was successful in the U.S.A. This meant that some Catholics realised that they could get change WITHOUT the use of violence.
In 1967 a group of Catholics formed N.I.C.R.A (Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association). They organised marches to draw attention to the Catholic grievances. Because they were following in the footsteps of Martin Luther King all their protests/marches were non-violent. The Protestants reacted with violence to these ‘peaceful’ protests started by the Catholics. They feared that any reforms would mean that they would loose out.
In 1968 a protest march ended in violence as the Catholics and Protestants ended up fighting in Londonderry. The R.U.C (Royal Ulster Constabulary) failed to protect the Catholics and ended up fighting against them. As a result of this the Catholics lost faith in the police force but became even more determined not to give in to Protestant ways.
Another march in January also ended in violence as the Catholics were trapped on Burntollet Bridge. Fighting between the Catholics and Protestants grew. Soon the situation was out of control. The R.U.C was brought in to break up the conflict.
In 1969 the Catholics barricaded themselves into the Bogside area to protect themselves from the ‘home made bombs’ and gunfire from the Protestants. All of this was recorded by video cameras and shown on T.V.
By this time the situation was so out of control that the Northern Ireland Government and police were not able to restore order.
On the 14th August 1969 Harold Wilson sent British Troops over to Northern Ireland to restore order on the streets.
From this information we can see that there are many reasons why British troops were sent to Northern Ireland. Harold Wilson could see that if something wasn’t done quickly then Ireland would soon be in a state of Civil War. Also he would be under pressure to act, from the media as the T.V was becoming popular so live pictures could be shown of the atrocities in Ireland. News reporters were “live at the scene” so could comment quickly on the situation and the news would be immediate to the public. Also the moving pictures would show the viewers that these things were happening at that moment. They would then want something doing about it quickly. Harold Wilson sent in the British Troops because he thought that they would ease the tensions between the Catholics and Protestants by introducing a neutral force which enabled both groups to have faith in one individual group. He also hoped that these troops would set an example to the Protestants that a mutual agreement could be brought about without the use of violence. He would also be under pressure from groups like NICRA, the U.S.A and British Citizens would now feel very strongly about the issues involved.
From this evidence we can see that the deployment of troops was due to a build up of Long Term factors, Short Term Factors and Triggers. Included in these factors were Bloody Sunday, the Easter Rising of 1916 and the growth in support for the political party of Sinn Fein. I think that the main reason that Harold Wilson sent troops onto Ireland was when the Battle of Bogside began. Mr Wilson knew that the situation in Ireland was out of control, but he still trusted in the Irish Government to sort it out. When the Battle of the Bogside began, Wilson knew that something had to be done before Ireland turned into one huge blood bath. The Catholics had already barricaded themselves into the Bogside area and were prepared to do whatever necessary to keep the Protestants and R.U.C out. Mr Wilson could also see that necessary action needed to be taken before Ireland broke out into Civil War. This is why he sent troops in to Ireland.
