With the beginnings of violence and freedom given in religion and land ownership, political groups emerged. The Home Rule Association aimed to establish a parliament in Dublin. The party soon gained enough support to make it a threat to the government. This party worried many Protestants, loyal to England. These Unionists founded the Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union. The party was based in Ulster, which was predominately Protestant. Nationalism became more radical with the founding of Sinn Fein in 1905. It wanted separation of the whole of Ireland from Britain, and an Irish Republic. The divisions between both sides became deeper.
The Third Home Rule Bill (1912) made Home Rule a serious issue. This guaranteed Home Rule within 2 years. Unionists planned to rule Ulster separately and formed the Ulster Volunteer Force to support them. Nationalists formed the Irish Volunteers. Both sides were prepared to use violence and in 1914, Ireland was on the brink of civil war. This period in Ireland’s history marked the start of the struggle for political power and the violence and extremism associated with some of Northern Ireland’s political parties. The Home Rule issue was shelved during World War 1. This crisis set the agenda for future problems such as the Easter Rising and the eventual partition of Ireland.
The Easter Rising is an example of the use of violence and the way in which individuals helped the rise of Sinn Fein as Northern Ireland’s main Nationalist party. Although the majority of Irish Nationalism had turned towards a peaceful campaign for Home Rule, there were a small number of Republicans who were ready to use violence. The Easter Rising led by Patrick Pearse failed. It was a failure in the short term although it had many long-term consequences. Those responsible were executed, inspiring a revival of Republicanism by turning these individuals into martyrs. The rising increased resentment on both sides as Protestants once again believed that Catholics could not be trusted. Nationalists resented the British for executing their leaders. Both extreme Nationalist and Unionist parties gained support. In the General election of 1918, the Home Rule Party was defeated and Nationalists voted for the more extreme Sinn Fein.
War followed. The Irish Volunteers became the IRA. The war of Independence saw the rise of Michael Collins leading IRA attacks on police working for the British. This period saw the rise of extreme Unionists. They attacked Catholics in Ulster. In an attempt to stop the war, the British partitioned Ireland. The Anglo-Irish Treaty ended the fighting. Ulster, which was predominately Protestant, stayed governed by Britain. Southern Ireland became the Irish Free State.
Northern Ireland has not always been so troubled and between 1922 and 1968 some degree of peace was achieved. Partition however did not produce a trouble free Ireland. Sectarian hatred had led to division in education which in turn led to a lack of understanding of opposing cultures. Pupils learned a biased history. Churches encouraged support for political parties. Lack of understanding caused further hatred. Peace depended on whether compromises in political views and culture could be made. There were sporadic terrorist attempts made by the IRA but these received little support from the Nationalist community. During the 1960’s Ian Paisley became a key individual opposing Prime Minister O’Neill’s, attempts to unite Protestants and Catholics. He led a breakaway Unionist faction resisting these reforms, ultimately forming a rival party: The D.U.P. Working class Unionists, discontented with their poverty were driven to support the D.U.P.
Catholic unemployment led to civil rights marches in the late sixties, leading to a return to violence. Marches resulted in battles against the Royal Ulster Constabulary and extreme unionists (Paisleyites) who suspected the IRA of using the marches as a cover for extremist activities. The RUC were accused of siding with the Paisleyites and Catholics lost confidence in the police. By 1969, O’Neill’s government had lost control and he resigned. At the height of the violence, British troops were sent in to aid the police. Violence during the 1970’s and 80’s made negotiating peace impossible. After a bombing campaign from the Provos on the Catholic side, the British government re-introduced internment; anyone suspected of terrorism could be imprisoned without trial. This had proved effective in the past. This time it led to disastrous long and short-term consequences. Internment led to support for the IRA in the U.S.A, as it was only used against Nationalists. This led to future American intervention. Internment led to a civil rights march in 1972. British soldiers were called in. It is uncertain what happened. Some say the soldiers fired at the crowd without provocation, others that they were returning fire. Thirteen died. The following Widgery Enquiry accepted the soldiers’ version of events. Many Catholics saw it as a whitewash. These events created resentment amongst Catholics. SDLP politician John Hume said:
“Many people down there in the Bogside now feel that it is a united Ireland or nothing.”
This led to greater support for the IRA, increasing violence in the 70’s and 80’s. Bloody Sunday was a victory in propaganda for the Republicans. Increased funding came from the U.S.A. The Northern Ireland government was suspended and direct rule from the British was re-introduced. Following this the IRA launched a bombing campaign in Britain. The use of extreme violence here links back throughout history. The main barrier to peace was that the British government could not find an agreement both sides would accept. There were mistakes made by the British during this period. The government stopped treating IRA prisoners as prisoners of war. This led to hunger strikes resulting in the death of nine people leading to stronger support for the IRA.
Progress was made from 1993 onwards. The Downing Street Declaration was the starting point of the peace process. Not all individuals shared the attitudes of the groups they belonged to; SDLP leader John Hume and Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein increased contact that led to the Hume-Adams document. In 1994, the IRA announced a ceasefire. The loyalists soon followed. The British government and Sinn Fein held their first official meetings. This period saw a break in some of the factors that had sustained the troubles. Leaders and political parties were now communicating. Violence had also temporarily stopped. The Good Friday agreement (1998) gave a certain amount of power back to Northern Ireland. A review of policing and early release of paramilitary prisoners was promised. Ian Paisley argued for a ‘no’ vote, he claimed that there was no guarantees on decommissioning. Most Unionists were not convinced. David Trimble was elected as First minister. There was difficulty in implementing the Agreement. Trimble’s Unionists refused to enter the new assembly. They argued that due to a failure to start decommissioning, Sinn Fein should be excluded from office. Sinn Fein argued that they had said they would try to influence the IRA and nothing more. Lack of communication had again led to a stalemate being reached. The IRA felt that if they started to decommission their weapons they would have nothing to fall back on. After many arguments, the IRA has finally begun decommissioning.
In conclusion, although there are still many obstacles to peace, in comparison to events in history, the Good Friday Agreement was an important step forward. Of the factors behind the conflict, I believe the use of violence and extremism to be the most important as this has led to resentment and bitterness amongst the Irish people. Had the conflict simply been a political struggle, the solution may have been clearer. Violence has caused distrust and division in Northern Irish society today. Another important factor is religion. It may nowadays not be as important as political views but it has led to division in schools and housing, leading to cultural differences. Although religion has been used almost as a tool in creating a division in Ireland. As Stephen Michael, a Protestant preacher said:
“Protestantism is a political identity now.”
