Northern Ireland 1169 2005 Great Britain and Ireland
Northern Ireland 1169 -2005
Great Britain and Ireland
Roots of the Conflict- religion, ethnicity and colonialism • • • Normans in Ireland- 1169 Plantation of Ulster- 16 th century Act of Settlement 1653 Accession of James II 1685 William of Orange ascends to British throne
King William of Orange
Roots of the Conflict c’ntd • Penal Laws introduced from 1695 onwards • 1782 - Irish Parliament received legislative independence • Development of Peep O’ Day Boys, Defenders, Orange Order • 1798 - United Irishmen Rebellion • 1800 - Act of Union • 1829 - Catholic Emancipation
Independence of Ireland • Struggle for land reforms – 1870 s & 1880 s • Irish Parliamentary Party – 1882 • Home Rule – 1 st attempt – 1885 2 nd attempt – 1893 3 rd attempt - 1914
Partition • World War One – 1914 • Government of Ireland Act – 1920 • Irish War of Independence – 1919 -1921
Irish Free State and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Parliament Stormont
1921 -1963 • The new NI Parliament- unstable at first, financial and political difficulties as well as inexperienced government ministers • Catholics took little part in new NI stateelectoral discrimination, grievances in housing, policing and employment. “A Protestant state for a Protestant people”
Reasons for unrest • 1963 - arrival of Terence O’Neill as Prime Minister. Introduction of reforms. Attracted opposition from within his party as well as from Ian Paisley • Catholics encouraged by success of Civil Rights movement in America • Formation of NICRA • By the late 60 s the peaceful protests had begun to take on a more violent nature
Initial Reaction of British Government to Violence in Northern Ireland • 1969 - British troops sent to Northern Ireland • 1970 - Curfews, house searches • 1971 - Internment • 1972 - Bloody Sunday • Following this Direct Rule from Westminster was re-instated
Responses to Terrorism • • Power-sharing, Sunningdale – 1973 -74 Rolling Devolution – 1982 -84 Anglo Irish Agreement – 1985 Downing Street Declaration - 1993
Aftermath from Anglo-Irish Agreement
Looking forward • Good Friday Agreement – 1998
Good Friday Agreement • • Human Rights and Equality Early release of terrorist prisoners Decommissioning of paramilitary weapons Reforms of criminal justice and policing.
Good Friday Agreement, con’t • Three strands, • 1. Creation of Northern Ireland Assembly • 2. North-South Relationships • 3. East-West Relationships
Prospects for a Functioning Local Democracy • Many issues still need to be resolved, such as policing, decommissioning and prisoner releases • Remaining hostility between political parties • Northern Bank robbery- suspected IRA involvement having knock-on effect for Sinn Fein- withdrawal of funding
Prospects for a Functioning Local Democracy • • Hopes for the future Inclusive government Economic development Development in inter-community cultural awareness eg. through integrated schools, cross community initiatives such as BEI • Equal opportunity programs
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