The summer months of 1969 saw Northern Ireland erupt into violence. There was bloody conflict on the streets what would later be known as ‘the Troubles.’ There were riots and tension which came as a retort to the crackdown on the civil rights movement. As time moved on, the marches and riots shifted concern to republicanism and not the civil rights. The Irish Republican Authority which had been silent for a long time appeared to embrace the nonviolent approach and distanced itself from the war (Murray 1982). After a long season of marching and with nothing achieved, a large number of Catholics started rioting in Western Derry. In the city of Belfast, rioters burned many street houses and displaced close to three thousand five hundred families mainly Catholics. Close to seven people lost their lives while nearly a hundred were wounded in the riot (Murray, 1982).
The government of the United Kingdom realized that Northern Ireland would easily collapse into anarchy since the RUC had failed to maintain order because of its small size. For this reason, the UK government ordered the British army to support the RUC in Belfast and Derry. Further, they decided to restructure and disarm RUC. Stormont government was ordered to establish good community relations and to introduce a one man’s vote (Kelley, 1988). With the new demands, the civil rights campaign was shut down.
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However, this was not the end of the war. In 1970, there was a split of militant group which formed the provisional IRA and started a bombing campaign in the country. This bombing was designed to destroy the British economy and make them withdraw. The provisional IRA received financial support from members of the Irish government to spearhead their campaign. They majorly targeted the police and became involved in the civil riots. Close to twenty-five people were killed. In response to this, the loyalists also began to use violent means to fight against the Irish Republic and to protect the Protestant groups (Kelley, 1988). Later in the years, the terrorist group known as Ulster Defense Association was formed to protect the protestant groups. Many Protestants supported this terrorist group even though they had nothing to do with them. Many nationalists were pleased with the fall of Stormont government. The Irish Government pleaded with the IRA to call a cease-fire. The IRA refused and instead stepped up their bombing campaign. The situation became so bad that the United Kingdom called for a negotiation with the IRA. What made this war to be interesting and unique was the fact that both parties were tactical at every stage of the war.
References
Murray, R. (1982). Political violence in Northern Ireland 1969–1977. Integration and Division: geographical perspectives on the Northern Ireland problem, edited by Frederick W. Boal and J. Neville H. Douglas , 309-331.
Kelley, K. J. (1988). The longest war: Northern Ireland and the IRA . Zed Books.
