Why Were The British Troops Sent Into Northern Ireland In 1969?

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Why Were The British Troops Sent Into Northern Ireland In 1969?

The violent events of 1969 started mainly because of the Civil Rights marches (which started in 1968), that often ended up in violence, one particular event was at Burntollet Bridge on a march from Belfast to Londonderry. The Catholics were fed up of being treated badly by the Protestants and having unfair rights. Due to the violent events the Republic's Prime Minister, Jack Lynch, threatened to send troops into Northern Ireland to stop the violence. But the British saw this as an invasion of part of their country, so they decided to send in their own troops to control the violence. This measure can be linked back to some long-term courses, as well as some more recent causes. A combination of these causes led to the violent events of 1969 and then to the British troops being sent into Northern Ireland.

In 1916 the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) took over the General Post Office (GPO) in Dublin. This event was led be Padraig Pearce, and James Connolly, they decided that they no longer wanted to be ruled by the British and wanted Ireland to become its own nation. British troops quickly suppressed the rebels and gained control again. This event became known as the Easter Rising. It was a major turning point in Irish history, even though it failed, as it gathered more support for Home Rule, partly because of how the leaders of the Easter Rising were treated. Many of the leaders were found guilty of treason as they were fighting against British forces while the First World War was taking place, meaning that the British troops could not fight in the war. So the leaders of the Easter Rising were shot by firing squads, however this increased support for Home Rule as people such as James Connolly were shot while suffering from gangrene, which would have killed them anyway. These people were then seen as Irish Martyrs.

In the 1918 elections many members of Sinn Fein won seats in Parliament, in Westminster, but they knew that their ideas of Home Rule would not be listened to and immidetly rejected. All of Sinn Fein's M.P.'s refused to sit in Parliament. Instead they set up their own Parliament in Dublin. The British banned this, but Sinn Fein still managed to work with success. This meant that the Irish Nationalists had a voice to speak up for their wants. By 1919 the Irish Volunteer Force (IVF) had become known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA), many members of the IRA were also members of Sinn Fein. The IRA was prepared to use force to overpower the British, and carried out many attacks.
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By the 1920's IRA attacks were common. This period became known as 'The War Of Independence', and involved guerrilla warfare by the IRA, against the British. British troops could not use their strength or number of troops against the IRA, but they kept reinforcing the troops.

In 1921 Ireland was partitioned into two areas, The Republic of Ireland (The Free State), for the mainly Catholic Nationalists, and Northern Ireland, for the mainly Protestant Unionists. Both areas of the partition had their own government,

politicians thought that giving both sides a compromise would resolve the problems. ...

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This essay shows very good knowledge and understanding of the period. The key thing that would have improved this essay would have been much earlier grouping and labelling of the causes. Short term and long term would have been an appropriate way of grouping them. This would have helped to give more of a judgement about which causes are the more important ones. Paragraphs also needed to be structured around key points so that the essay does n ot become a long story. ***