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POPULATION

1.9 million (density
339/sq.mi)
 Michigan=9.9 million
(density=174/sq.mi)
 30% of the island of
Ireland’s population


Capital = Belfast
Ethnic Composition
 99.1% White (with 91.0%
Northern Ireland born)

ECONOMY
 After several decades of
deindustrialization,
economy is making a strong
recovery resulting from the
“peace dividend” of recent
years

GOVERNMENT

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
Member of the UK (England,
Wales, Scotland, and NI)
A devolved government
within a constitutional
monarchy (Elizabeth II)
Legislature
 Northern Ireland Assembly
located in Belfast
 Since Good Friday Agreement
(1998) it has been largely selfgoverning in most internal
matters.

Internationally, NI is probably best known as the site of a violent
ethnic, sectarian, nationalist, and political conflict – the Troubles –
between the


nationalists, who see themselves as Irish and are predominately
Roman Catholic, and the
unionists, who consider themselves British and are predominately
Protestant
 (additionally, there are also people from both sides who consider themselves as
Northern Irish)


Simply put, the unionists want NI to remain as part of the UK
(“loyalists”), while the nationalists want NI to reunify with the
Republic of Ireland, independent of British rule (“republicans”)
Since 1998, nearly all of the paramilitary groups involved in the
Troubles (e.g. IRA and UDA) have ceased their armed campaigns.
A Brief History of the Troubles: Early 1600s
•The
Plantation of Ulster refers
to the organized colonization of
Ulster – a province in northern
Ireland– by Protestants from Scotland
and England.
•Private plantation by wealthy
landowners began in 1606, while
official plantation controlled by the
Parliament of Scotland began in 1609.
•All lands owned by Irish chieftains in
Ulster (along with those of their
supporters) were confiscated and
used to settle the colonists.
The counties of Ulster (modern
boundaries) that were colonized
during the plantations - shaded area

1688 – William of Orange



British Protestants invite William of
Orange, a Protestant prince from the
Netherlands, to rule England and
Scotland.
When he arrives in Britain James II the ruling Catholic king - is deposed
and flees to Ireland.
In 1690 William defeats James at the
Battle of the Boyne, in north-eastern
Ireland (present-day North Ireland)
 after battle the Protestants who fought
alongside William are known as
Orangemen. The battle is commemorated
every July 12 with Orange marches.
Battle of the Boyne (12 July 1690)

1690 – a system of Protestant English rule is
imposed which is designed to materially
disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant
dissenters


1801 – Act of Union

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This system extended again during the 18th C. and parts
of it continued up to 1998.
the entire island of Ireland becomes part of UK
1905 – Sinn Féin political party is established by
Catholics with the intention of freeing Ireland from
British rule
1913 – Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) a paramilitary
group created by Protestants who oppose the
concept of Irish Home Rule.

1916 – The Easter Uprising, April 24
Political and sectarian conflict over whether Ireland
should remain part of the UK culminates in the
Easter Uprising, when Irish Catholics seize strategic
buildings in Dublin, notably the general post office.
 An est. 20,000 British soldiers enter the city and fire
on the rebels. The fighting lasts for five days and the
rebels are forced to surrender. Seventy are
sentenced to death and 15 are executed, fuelling
support for Sinn Féin – the political party
representing the nationalist cause.
 Catholic rebels become known as the Irish
Republican Army (IRA).

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1919-1922 – War of Independence & the
Partitioning of the Ireland
Following the Easter Rising, Sinn Féin won a
majority of seats in Ireland and set up the First Dáil
(Irish Parliament) in Dublin.
Ireland essentially seceded from the UK. The Irish
War for Independence followed, leading to the
establishment of the Irish Free State.
In Ulster, however, and particularly in the six
counties which became Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin
fared poorly in the 1918 election, and Unionists
won a strong majority.


The Government of Ireland Act 1920 partitioned the
island of Ireland into two separate jurisdictions,
Southern Ireland (comprising the 26 southern
counties – each with a Catholic majority) and
Northern Ireland (comprising the 6 Ulster counties –
each with a Protestant majority), both as devolved
regions of the United Kingdom.
This partition of Ireland was confirmed when the
Parliament of Northern Ireland exercised its right in
December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921
to opt out of the newly established Irish Free State.
 Violence escalates as Catholics oppose partition.


The Anglo-Irish Treaty provided for a selfgoverning Irish state in the south, having its own
army and police.
However, rather than creating the independent
republic, which was favored by nationalists, the
Irish Free State would be an “autonomous
dominion of the British Empire” with the British
monarch as head of state, in the same manner as
Canada and Australia.


1922-26 - The Irish Civil War
waged between two opposing groups of
Irish nationalists: the forces of the
"Provisional Government" that
established the Free State in December
1922, who supported the Anglo-Irish
Treaty, and the Republican opposition,
for whom the Treaty represented a
betrayal of the Irish Republic. The war
was won by the Free State forces.
The Civil War claimed more lives than
the War of Independence against
Britain that preceded it, and left Irish
society further divided and embittered.
National Army soldiers
during the Civil War

1948 - Irish Free State is granted full
independence from Britain and formally
becomes the Republic of Ireland.



1967 – the 19th C. anti-Catholic laws remain on
the books as a result of the Northern Ireland
parliament being dominated by Protestant
unionists.
NICRA (Northern Ireland Civil Rights
Association) is formed with the aim acquiring
full political rights for Catholics in NI.
1968 – Duke Street March – a demonstration by
NICRA is attacked by the police, or the Royal
Ulster Constabulary (RUC). RUC is comprised
entirely of Protestants.

1969: The Troubles in Northern Ireland



RUC attacks a Catholic civil rights march, at Burntollet,
outside Derry/Londonderry in January.
Widespread violence erupted after unionists march
through the Catholic nationalist Bogside area of
Derry/Londonderry on 12 August.
RUC is overwhelmed by the violence and the British
Army is called in to keep the peace.
 Frustrated by what they see as the passivity of the IRA's
leadership, some members form a new group, which they
call the Provisional IRA (PIRA).

1971-72: Internment and Bloody Sunday
Nearly 2,000 people are interned and held
without trial, in a bid to prevent further
attacks on British troops. After internment
is introduced, in August 1971, violent
protests follow that leave 17 dead. The
move increases support for the IRA.
 On Jan 30, 1972 British soldiers kill 14 and
injure 14 others during a civil rights march
in Derry/Londonderry against internment
in what will become known as Bloody
Sunday.

 Thousands of people join the IRA. Amid
increasing violence, the Stormont Parliament
in Belfast is suspended and Northern Ireland
is ruled directly from London.
Mural by Bogside Artists
depicting all who were killed by
British soldiers

Nov-Dec 1974: The Birmingham bombings
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Twenty-one people are killed in November when the
IRA bombs two pubs in the city of Birmingham.
The British government responds by introducing the
Prevention of Terrorism Act, which allows suspects
to be held without charge for up to seven days.
A bomb also explodes at the House of Commons in
London, injuring 11 people.
In December, the IRA calls a ceasefire in the belief
that the British are about to pull out of Northern
Ireland. However, armed violence soon resumes.

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
The 1980s: Hunger Strikes
Bobby Sands (IRA leader held
at the Maze prison) dies after
refusing food for 66 days.
Nine others die of starvation
between May 12 and August
20 1981. Many believe them to
be martyrs to the struggle for
independence.
An est. 10,000 people attend
Bobby Sands' funeral. Support
for Sinn Fein increases rapidly.

1993-94: Independence declared & another
ceasefire


British government issues a declaration that the
people of Northern Ireland should be free to decide
their own future.
Sinn Fein is offered a seat in parliament as long as
IRA violence ends. The IRA declares a complete
cessation of military activities on August 31 1994.

July 1995 - Riots over Marches

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Violent protests spread across Northern Ireland when
police block a key Orange Order parade near
Portadown, an Orange stronghold.
Police back down after four nights of Protestant riots
across Northern Ireland
The parade passes through Portadown's main Catholic
district, triggering three nights of Catholic riots and IRA
gun attacks.

February 9 1996: Ceasefire collapses


The IRA bombs London’s Canary Wharf after the
British government insists that decommissioning of
paramilitary organizations occurs as a precondition
of talks on NI’s future.
Two people are killed and millions of pounds worth
of damage is caused.

July 1997 - Ceasefire Restored



The IRA announces another ceasefire, allowing Sinn
Féin to join multi-party talks.
Talks are hindered by paramilitary killings on both
sides, but they continue until April 1998.
April 1998 - The Good Friday Agreement



An agreement on NI governance is finally reached.
It includes a devolved parliament and a role for the
Republic of Ireland in Northern Ireland affairs.
Many Unionists oppose the deal as giving too much
power to Catholics.

July-August 1998 -Violence Continues
Britain grants a Catholic-Protestant commission new
powers to restrict Protestant parades
 Police and British troops in July block Portadown's
Orangemen, who abandon a week-long standoff only after
three young Catholic brothers are killed in an arson attack.
 On August 15 a car bomb kills 29 people in Omagh. The
Real IRA, a breakaway group, claims responsibility.


2001 - RUC is replaced by the Police Service of
Northern Ireland (PSNI), which is comprised of ½
Catholic and ½ Protestant officers.


2005
The IRA and PIRA announce that they have formally
abandoned their armed campaigns.
A UVF mural in Belfast
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
2005
September 5 - A UVF-directed mob on Shankill
attacks police again following more police
raids.
September 10 - Rioting erupts at several
Orange protests at key roads and intersections
and on the main highway running through
Belfast.

Orangemen and supporters scuffle in streets with
police backed by British troops. Up to 50 police
officers are wounded in two nights of rioting.


2011 - Tommy English a politician and former
commander in the Ulster Defense Association (UDA)
was killed by what are believed to be members of the
Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) as part of a loyalist feud
between the two organizations.
In Sept. ten men were put on trial for the murder of
English based on testimony from an informant (or
“Supergrass”)
However, nine were acquitted of all charges, while the tenth
was convicted only of "possessing items intended for
terrorism".
 Following the acquittals, loyalists riots ensued threatening
actions against the informant who was involved in a number
of UVF murders in north Belfast in the 1980s.

“Five Minutes of Heaven”
Impressions?
Parallels to USA’s conflicts over civil rights?
What does it take to reconcile two people
who have hurt each other so badly?
“Some Mother’s Son”
Impressions?