Politicians like Ian Paisley admitted that there were differences between the Protestants and the Catholics but he said that these differences were vital and necessary to maintain the side of the Protestant majority. This meant that it was a case of loyalty. He enthusiastically encouraged businesses to employ Protestants in favour of Catholics. A quote from The Battle for Northern Irleand, 1972 states that “the postal services and telephone links in the Maiden City (Londonderry) were virtually controlled by Republicans… to retain them was national suicide as police messages were relayed to the rebel forces.” Basil Brooke also shared the same view as Ian Paisley. Paisley claimed that this was why the Protestants should have better housing. Other politicians used chauvinism to explain the poor housing of the Catholics. They claimed that the rude and ill-mannered nature of the Catholics meant that they did not look after their property and because they could not keep control of their large families. Some Protestants claimed that there were no economic differences between the Catholics and Protestants at all. They thought this because the Welfare State existed to destroy the very disadvantages that some were claiming the Catholics faced. The truth is though that even the Welfare State might have been neglecting the Catholics, like every other group or party. But politicians like Terrence O’Neill confessed that Catholics did face great housing disadvantages. He believed that Catholics should have better housing, as this would guarantee their faithfulness to Ulster.
Some politicians said that Catholics did not face social disadvantages. They believed that the Catholics were naturally lazy and couldn’t be bothered to do anything to improve their situation. Other politicians like Ian Paisley blamed the Catholic religion for the social disadvantages that the Catholics faced. He alleged that the Catholic Church is an evil association that works to over rule Protestants. Also that it keeps its followers uneducated. O’ Neill though was more eager to admit that the Catholics did face social disadvantages based on religious prejudice.
The Protestant politicians tried very hard to explain the social, economic and political differences between Catholics and Protestants. Individuals like Ian Paisley, who was an extreme loyalist, tried to blame the Catholics themselves and their religion for the disadvantages that the majority of Catholics faced. Terrence O’Neill who was a Protestant, on the other hand admitted that there was social, economic and political differences between Catholics and Protestants. He also admitted that it was not to blame on the Catholics themselves and their religion, but it was to blame on the Protestants. The Catholics were discriminated and neglected against by Protestants because of their religion. Terrence was one and only protestant that was willing to improve things for the Catholics.
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.
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. By the 1920’s IRA attacks were common. 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. But this pleased no one. The Nationalists wanted all of Ireland to be independent, and the Unionists did not want Ireland to be divided. Although many people accepted this some did not and started to use violence again to try and get their way. Some people were also not living in the part of the country that they wanted to live in, because of where the boundaries of the partition were. The boundary was stated in the Irish Anglo Treaty, but it did not please everyone.
In Northern Ireland the Protestants discriminated against the Catholic minority. Only the Protestants were offered some types of jobs, e.g. In the Civil Service. The two religions were separated in nearly all aspects of their daily lives, from school to work and socializing, this meant that they never got to know each other and make their own judgments. A special police force was also set up by the Protestants, called the B-Specials. The B-Specials had the power to arrest Catholics without any real reason, and without a trial. The B-Specials harassed the Catholics, and were even involved in, and started, violent attacks on Civil Rights campaigners, in the late 1960’s.
If the Catholics gained power in the North they would have Rome Rule controlling their powers, where they are ruled by the Pope, and must obey his orders. The Protestants did not like the idea of this, as they would have to give up some of their rights, and not be able to do certain things. There was always campaigns for Home Rule.
England’s involvement in Irish politics goes back over 1000 years. During the reign of Elizabeth I, Ireland had become an increasingly troublesome part. The English feared that Spain would use Catholic Ireland as a stepping stone for invasion, so it was decided to introduce Protestants settlers into Ulster. These settler were the hope to make Ulster peaceful and loyal to the English crown. The native Irish did not take kindly to these new arrivals. Rsentment grew to violence in 1641. Over 10,000 Protestants were killed in the first months of rebellion but in 1649 Oliver Cromwell arrived to take revenge. These events led to hatred and mistrust.
Terrance O’Neill became Prime Minister, of Northern Ireland, in 1963. He tried to bring together the Catholics and Protestants, and bring an end to the violence between them. However neither side liked him, or what he was trying to do. He wanted, and tried, to get more jobs for people, both Protestants and Catholics. He tried to improve people’s attitudes towards each other. He promised to reform many areas of society. He tried to unite the North with the Republic, by holding talks. The Protestants did not like O’Neill because of his contact with the Republic, when the Protestants were trying to separate them selves from the Republic. The Catholics liked O’Neill’s ideas, but thought that he was too slow in taking any action. Even some of his own colleagues did not like his ideas and tried to get rid of him, as they did not like his new ideas. The only thing that O’Neill did was make the relationship between the Protestants and Catholics worse.
The Civil Rights movement was sparked off, in the 1960’s, because of inspiration being drawn from black American marchers, led by Martin Luther King, who were standing up for themselves, and their rights. The campaigners wanted fair vote allocation, gerrymandering to stop, the B-Specials to be abolished, and fair
opportunities for jobs and housing. The first marches were in 1968 and many ended in violence, one march in 1969 was famous for its violent ending. Marchers were ambushed at Burntollet Bridge, on their way to Londonderry. This march was led by university students, including Bernadette Devlin. It was speculated that some of the attackers may possibly have been B-Specials, who were controlled by the government and often discriminated against the Catholics. Many of the marches were televised, and the violent endings to the marchers often worsened the police’s image.
O’Neill tried to respond to the marches by promising many reforms, but he did not include the ‘one man, one vote’ law, which many of the campaigners wanted, so they carried on with the protests. A further March was organized by the “People’s Democracy”, an offshoot of NICRA, between Belfast and Derry in Jnauary of 1969. The marchers hoped to provoke a reaction from Paisley’s supporters that would highlight their cause in London. They were not disappointed as the march was met with a vicious attack by Unionist protesters. O’Neill now had little choice but to call an election to seek support but with only limited usccess. Paisley’s supporters claimed that O’Neill was giving in to NICRA. They were able to split the Unionist vote enough to severely weaken O’Neill’s position. Soon after O’Neill was forced to resign.
Violence erupted across Northern Ireland throughout the summer of 1969 as Nationalists fought police and B-Specials. The Apprentice Boys parade in Londonderry on 12 August was followed by fierce fighting between Catholics and the police in what became known as “the Battle of Bogside.” A march that ended in many Catholics loosing their homes, in Belfast. This happened because of Catholic Civil Rights campaigners clashing with Protestant forces. The police were powerless and could do nothing, due to the severity of the clash. Another thing that contributed to the Civil Rights marches was the fact that a new university was not situated in the large, well populated, area of Londonderry because Londonderry was a Catholic area. Instead the university of Craigavon was placed in the small, low populated, area of Coleraine because it was a Protestant area.
Britain finally sent in troops because Ulster (Northern Ireland) was out of control, with regular violent clashes taking place and a police force that could not regain control and order. The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was exhausted and did not have the power, and numbers of officers, to control large riots. Things were so bad that the Republic was threatening to send in their own soldiers to calm down the situation and regain control. However as Northern Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom the British government did not want the Republic’s army ‘invading’ part of their country. So the British had to step in and get control of the North, before others did.
British troops were sent in to Northern Ireland in 1969 because of many causes, some long term and some shorter-term events and causes. However all of these causes can be traced back to one thing, probably the most important factor in this. The partition of Ireland. If the partition did not take place then the Protestants would not have discriminated against the Catholics as much, as they would not have had as much power and control. The second most important factor in this was the actual discrimination against the Catholics, as if the Catholics had not been discriminated against, and treated so badly, there would not have been the Civil Rights protests, which often led to, and ended in violence. Violence was a major reason why troops were sent in. Thirdly are the Civil Rights marches, which led to the violence, and were the final, main, contributing factor to why the troops were sent in. The British troops were sent in because of all the factors in this essay, but most of these factors would not have existed if Ireland had not been partitioned in 1921, which led to both sides fighting each other to try and get what they wanted. The partition also allowed for there to be discrimination by the Protestants against the Catholics in Northern Ireland as the Catholics were in the minority and could easily be controlled by the large number of Protestants.
