The Northern Ireland Troubles:
INCORE background paper (2009)

The Northern Ireland Troubles:
INCORE background paper^[1]
by
Prof. Mari Fitzduff and Liam O’Hagan,
(2009)

INTRODUCTION

On Good Friday, 10 April 1998, after thirty years of a bloody civil war in which over 3,600 hundred people had been killed, and over 30,000 injured, and after almost two long final and weary years of political talks, the negotiations that resulted in the Belfast Agreement were finally concluded. The Agreement was approved by Northern Ireland’s main nationalist political parties and most of the unionist parties^[2]. At the same time the governments of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland signed an international agreement. The Belfast Agreement involved constitutional change in the Republic of Ireland resulting in the ending of its territorial claim to Northern Ireland; cross-border bodies with executive powers set up by the two governments; the establishment of a Northern Ireland Assembly based on power-sharing; and the early release of paramilitary prisoners. The Agreement was subsequently endorsed by referenda in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on Friday 22 May 1998. In December 1999 a legislative Assembly of both unionist and nationalist politicians was finally set up to share power in Northern Ireland, with Ministers and committee members drawn from both sides of the political divide. The power sharing arrangements unravelled as devolution was suspended in October 2002 before the Assembly began to sit again in May 2006. Elections were held for a new Assembly in March 2007 and devolved government was restored two months later. Progress has not been straightforward and difficulties remain, but Northern Ireland has enjoyed a period of relative peace that has become increasingly well established.

Key Dates in Northern Ireland History

What are the roots of the conflict in Northern Ireland? And when did they start? The following are a list of key dates in the history of Northern Ireland^[3]:

• 1170 Settlers from Britain arrive in Ireland
• 1608 Plantation of Ulster began
• 1641 The Catholic-Gaelic rising in response to the Plantation and the confiscation of land by Protestant settlers from England and Scotland
• 1690 The Battle of the Boyne and the victory of Protestant William III over Catholic James II - this victory is still celebrated in many parades in Northern Ireland
• 1801 Act of Union which abolished the Irish Parliament and bound Ireland and Britain together as parts of the United Kingdom
• 1912 Ulster Solemn League and Covenant signed by over 400, 000 Protestants who wanted to remain in the Union
• 1916 The Easter Rising in Dublin against British rule
• 1921 A treaty leading to the establishment of an Irish Free State of 26 counties, with the 6 counties of Northern Ireland remaining British
• 1968 The starting point of the present ‘Troubles’ arising, in part, out of the campaign by Catholics in Northern Ireland for civil rights
• 1998 The Belfast Agreement (sometimes called the Good Friday Agreement)
• 1999 The setting up of a power-sharing Assembly in Northern Ireland
• 2002 Devolution is suspended as power-sharing unravels over IRA allegations
• 2007 Devolution is restored to Northern Ireland
  

The Creation of Northern Ireland ^[4]

The partition of Ireland that took place in 1921 was a logical outcome of the British attempts since the 12th century to achieve dominance in Ireland. One key feature of these attempts was the use of 'plantations' of settlers on the island as a means of control. Large tracts of Irish land were confiscated and then given to British soldiers who had fought in Ireland, or to groups of people who wished to improve their lot, economically or religiously, by relocating to Ireland. Many of these people and their families, especially those who arrived during the earlier plantations, eventually integrated their lives with the lives of the native Irish. Others, however, mostly those who came to settle in the north of the island in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries from Scotland (including some from England) retained both their religious and political distinctiveness. These were Protestant planters, whose religion was the result of the recent Reformation, which had split Christendom, and in particular the British Isles, where only the island of Ireland remained loyal to Roman Christianity / Catholicism.

Throughout the centuries, insurrections and rebellions by the native Irish against British rule had been common. Pressure on the British government to grant independence to the island continued to increase and after the great war of 1914-1918 Britain agreed to limited independence. The pressure for 'Home Rule' in Ireland had been firmly resisted by Protestants in the north who wanted to maintain the union with Britain. They feared their absorption into a united, mainly Catholic Ireland, where they believed their religious freedom would be restricted. Protestants also feared the poorer economic state of the rest of the island, compared to their own relatively prosperous region. Most Catholics, living in the northern region, who were the descendants of the indigenous people who had been displaced by the settlers through the plantations, wanted independence from Britain and a united Ireland.

The unionists threatened to use force if they were coerced into a united Ireland and began to mobilise private armies against such an eventuality. In an effort at compromise, the then Prime Minister of Britain, Lloyd George, insisted that the island be partitioned into two sections, the six counties in the north-east would remain part of the United Kingdom while the other 26 counties would gain independence. Each state would have its own parliament. Irish nationalist leaders were divided over this suggestion, but the offer was eventually accepted by those leaders who were sent to conduct treaty negotiations with the British, as they were anxious to avoid a return to an increasingly bloody conflict in Ireland. It was also accepted by the unionists, although reluctantly, as their first wish was for the whole of the island to remain within the United Kingdom.
The decision to partition the island led to bitter civil conflict between those nationalists who accepted partition and those who rejected it. Eventually, in 1923, those who accepted partition achieved a bloody victory, and with the consent of Dublin and Westminster the Irish Free State was formally created. The Irish Constitution of 1937 adopted the title Eire (the Irish word for Ireland) for the state. The state then declared itself a Republic on Easter Monday (April 18) 1949; the official title is therefore the 'Republic of Ireland'.

Green and Orange States

The majority of the citizens in the newly formed Republic of Ireland were Catholics, a fact that has been consistently reflected in the laws of the state since independence. For example, contraception only became legally available in the 1980s, divorce only became available in 1995 and abortion is still illegal. At the time of partition 10 per cent of the population of the new Free State was Protestant. This number dwindled to a current figure of 4 per cent partly due to the Catholic church's insistence on the children of mixed marriages being brought up as Catholics. The Catholic ethos of the state has, however, been eroded to some extent in recent years.

Northern Ireland has a population of about one and a half million people. At the time of partition in 1921 Protestants / unionists had a two-thirds majority in the region. The first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Sir James Craig, described the state as having ‘a Protestant Parliament for a Protestant people.’ The state effectively discriminated against Catholics in housing, jobs, and political representation. Membership of the Orange Order, a wholly Protestant society, which was often essential for progress in politics and business, was forbidden to Catholics. Most local councils were dominated by unionists. Many unionists believe that such discrimination arose because many Catholics did not want to co-operate with the new state, and because unionists felt that the very existence of their state was threatened by what they saw as a subversive minority.

Such distrust was reinforced by the fact that it was possible for many people from one side of the religious / political divide to live, study, pray, work, and socialise, almost completely apart from people of the other side of the divide. Almost all children are educated separately^[5]. Even where contact happened - more commonly among the middle classes, who have greater access to shared work and leisure facilities - such contact was usually notable for its often polite, but calculated, avoidance of any acknowledgement or discussion of differences, in the belief that such discussion is bound to be contentious. In the words of Seamus Heaney, the Nobel prize-winning local poet, the key priority for most such conversations was `Whatever you say, say nothing.' Such separation, with parallel discrimination, inevitably led to significant distrust and prejudice between the communities.

Civil Conflict, 1969

Eventually, the existence of such ghettoisation and discrimination provided the main focus for the civil rights campaigns of the late 1960s. These campaigns, which drew massive support from Catholics in Northern Ireland, were inspired by a worldwide non-violent movement for civil rights to secure rights to votes, jobs, and services. The civil rights movement drew a hostile response from the Protestant state, which saw them as a threat to its existence.

The eruption of violence on the streets, and the wholescale movement of populations in urban areas into separate Protestant and Catholic communities led to the formation of local vigilantes that in turn led to the resurgence of paramilitaries in local communities. The intensity of sectarian violence resulted in the deployment of the British Army on the Streets in Northern Ireland, where they have remained to this day. When it became obvious that those unionists who were in power were not willing, or able, to address quickly enough the demands of Catholics for civil rights, the campaign gradually developed on the part of some people into a violent campaign which claimed that equality was impossible within the existing state structures. This campaign of violence and counter violence by the Loyalist paramilitaries, with attempts at containment by both the police and army, lasted until the cease-fires of 1994. There were several attempts at political agreements notably in 1974 where there was a power-sharing executive but this was destroyed by the actions of Loyalist paramilitaries.

POLITICAL PARTIES IN NORTHERN IRELAND

The main political parties in Northern Ireland are^[6]:

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
Sometimes described as a ‘broad church’ unionist party, the UUP once carried the support of a majority representing mainstream unionism. The UUP provided the bulwark of unionist support for the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 but difficulties with the implementation of the agreement saw it lose support among voters. In recent years the party has been overtaken electorally by the DUP./photographs/index.html

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
A constitutional nationalist party that has traditionally represented the middle ground in nationalist thinking. Although they want a united Ireland, they have always been committed to constitutional politics and non-violence. Developments in the peace process have seen the SDLP overtaken by Sinn Fein in electoral terms.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
The party who refused to 'negotiate with terrorists' nonetheless strategically remained involved in the peace process and now share power with Sinn Fein and others. This change of position was formalised after IRA decommissioning was complete and further negotiations at St Andrews in 2006 at which Sinn Fein agreed to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland, courts and rule of law. The DUP has overtaken the UUP as the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland. The 2007 elections to the new Stormont Assembly saw the DUP gain 36 seats in comparison to 18 for the UUP.

Sinn Fein (SF)
The political wing of Republicanism and the IRA. Crucially brought on board to negotiations by leader Gerry Adams, in recent years they have overtaken the SDLP as the largest nationalist party. At the 2007 Assembly elections, Sinn Fein gained 28 seats to the SDLP’s 16.

Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI)
A mainstream party which attempts to appeal to both sides of the community.

Progressive Unionist Party (PUP)
This party (along with the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) which was dissolved in 2001) represented the two main Loyalist paramilitary groupings during the peace negotiations from the mid 1990s. As such they brought a new perspective to unionism although they have remained at the margins in electoral terms.

Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV)
A party founded in December 2007 as a splinter group from the DUP.  This was a response to the negotiations held at St Andrews in 2006 which led to the restoration of the Assembly with the DUP and Sinn Fein sharing power. 

PARAMILITARIES

The use of force by paramilitary groups (illegal armies) has been a consistent factor in politics in Northern Ireland. Throughout the state's history the actions of both Republican and Loyalist^[7] paramilitaries have provided most of the horrific headlines in Northern Ireland through their use of bombings, shootings, racketeering, and community intimidation, in order to secure political leverage for their cause. Paramilitaries have relied upon a network of supporters who assist them with safe houses, etc.

Republican
The Irish Republican Army (the IRA) is the descendant of the most forceful military group that had fought for independence for the whole of the island of Ireland in 1921. By the end of 1969, following the resistance by the unionist government to the civil rights campaign, the IRA had begun to regroup, and by early 1970 its members were confronting British troops who had arrived on the island to assist with riot control. The violence of the IRA grew into extensive bombing campaigns directed against civilian, public utility, and military targets. Support for the IRA was increased in August 1971 when, in an attempt to curb the escalating violence, Internment (imprisonment) without trial was introduced. Hundreds of Catholics were wrongly imprisoned (Bardon 1992) and Internment helped to increase significantly Catholic support for the Republican paramilitaries.

In January 1972 support for the IRA was further increased when British soldiers opened fire on a demonstration by nationalists in Derry killing thirteen men; an event that was to become known as 'Bloody Sunday'. The official inquiry concluded that the shooting had ‘bordered on the reckless’ and a new enquiry into this incident began in the city of Derry / Londonderry in 2000. It is due to publish a final report in 2010^[8].

By the end of the 1970s the Republican movement realised that it needed to build up a mass political base if its campaign was to succeed, and a new strategy was devised involving `a ballot paper in one hand and the Armalite in the other'. This strategy meant that the movement would combine both political and paramilitary pressure to achieve its aims. Although the political wing, Sinn Fein, obtained only 2 per cent support in elections at that time, its success in politics in Northern Ireland has continued to increase and it is now the largest nationalist party. This enabled it to increasingly use politics, rather than violence, to make its political case for a united Ireland.

Loyalists
The threat of the use of force by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a Loyalist paramilitary group, in the early 1900s was a consistent factor in the opposition to Home Rule for Ireland. In the 1960s a modern version of the UVF was formed. Loyalists were worried by the tentative civil rights reforms for Catholics suggested by the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and recruitment to the ranks of the Loyalist paramilitaries was substantially increased when violence erupted onto the streets in 1969. There was rioting between Catholic and Protestant areas of working-class Belfast almost every night. In the early 1970s bombings by the IRA became a feature of daily life as businesses in the city centre were targeted. There was frequent sniper fire from Protestant areas into Catholic areas and vice versa. In almost all the working class areas of Belfast the men, both Catholic and Protestant, formed themselves into vigilante groups in order to protect their streets; many of these vigilantes subsequently joined the paramilitaries.

Angered at the imposition of 'direct rule' from Westminster in March 1972, when Stormont was prorogued in favour of direct political control from London by the British Government, many of the Protestant groups merged to form the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). The UDA was the largest of the Loyalist paramilitary groups and it used the covername the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) to claim killings of Catholics. Loyalist paramilitary tactics mainly consisted of bombing Catholic pubs and targeting Catholics for murder and they often justified their killings on the basis that their targets were actively involved in the IRA, although these claims were rarely substantiated. However, in the 1990s Loyalist paramilitary groups too began to develop their own political wings - the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP). These were eventually to play a significant and positive role in the discussions leading up to the Belfast Agreement.

As part of the Agreement, paramilitary prisoners were given early release on licence. This proved contentious and there was resistance to the policy in some quarters. The sensitive nature of many people’s perception of paramilitaries was evident again in 2006 with the widespread opposition to legislation that would have allowed ‘on-the-run’ fugitives to return home.  
 
WHY THE PEACE PROCESS?

It is generally agreed that the peace process was developed from a combination of factors:

• A realisation by both the IRA and the British Army that the war could not be won militarily, and the decision by the IRA to develop politics, through its political party Sinn Fein, as an alternative way to fight for its political goals.
• The willingness of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) party to engage with Sinn Fein in pursuing common nationalist political goals by peaceful means.
• A changing social and economic context in which many of the discriminations against Catholics were addressed, and in which a legal and social infrastructure to address issues of inequality, equality, and respect for diversity, began to be developed.
• An increased willingness by many within civic society, for example among business, trade union, and community groups, to actively engage in process of contact, and political leverage for peace.^[9]
• The development of some new (albeit small) political parties by the Loyalists, and by the Women's Coalition, which enabled some new thinking on the political landscape. The Women’s Coalition, formed in 1996, provided an important middle ground for dialogue among women, and other political parties. The party was officially wound down in 2006.
• A changing international context, including proactive involvement from the United States government, and many US businessmen and politicians, as well as assistance with developing peace processes from South Africa.

The above eventually led to the ceasefires of 1994 when the IRA announced ‘a complete cessation of military operations’ followed by the announcement of a Loyalist ceasefire by the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC). Such ceasefires were developed through a combination of political dialogue processes which included British government secret contacts with the IRA; SDLP dialogue with Sinn Fein to see if common nationalist goals could be pursued together peacefully; and Sinn Fein and Loyalist contacts with the Dublin Government. Particularly important was the continuous (although often contentious) dialogue between the British and Irish Governments. The latter dialogue was significantly helped by the fact that the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 afforded the Republic of Ireland a consultative role in the affairs of Northern Ireland for the first time. It was also helped by the Framework Document of 1995 that committed both governments to addressing the internal relationship between the Northern Irish parties, a new all-Ireland relationship, and a review of the relationship between Britain and Ireland.

THE COST(S) OF THE CONFLICT

A striking reality of the conflict is provided by the work of the Cost of the Troubles Study.^[10] In total there were over 3,600 deaths as a result of the conflict most of which occurred in the early and mid 1970s. Civilians accounted for more than half of the fatalities. Most of those killed, 91 per cent, were male and a majority of deaths, 53 per cent, were of people under 30 years of age. Catholics were the majority of those killed, that is 43 per cent as opposed to approximately 30 per cent who were Protestant. Most of the fatalities, 59 per cent, were inflicted by Republican paramilitaries, 28 per cent were killed by Loyalist paramilitaries, and 11 per cent by the security forces. In the majority of these killings, no one was convicted. Given the population of Northern Ireland - one and a half million people - it has been estimated that the number of people closely associated to those who were killed or injured is about half the population. It has been a huge price to pay for the inability of the people of Northern Ireland to resolve their differences peacefully.

THE LONG PEACE?

A number of issues and developments have been crucial to political progress since the 1998 Agreement.

(1). The first of these was decommissioning. This became a critical issue for Unionists in particular who saw it as a prerequisite if they were to wholeheartedly engage in government. The Assembly was suspended in February 2000 due to the lack of arms decommissioning and this issue remained at the forefront of political discourse over the following five years. Sinn Fein sought movement on policing reform and demilitarisation in return for opening arms dumps for inspection.

An Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) was established to oversee the process and it witnessed four acts of decommissioning by the IRA between 2001-5. Progress was slow as negotiations continued both publically and privately, but by September 2005 the IICD reported that it had, “determined that the IRA has met its commitment to put all its arms beyond use in a manner called for by the legislation”. This followed an IRA statement in July 2005 which formally ordered an end to the armed campaign.

With the loyalist political parties marginalised in electoral terms, the issue of loyalist decommissioning has not had the same political impact as republican decommissioning. In January 2009, Secretary of State Shaun Woodward renewed the deadline for loyalist decommissioning for a further year, “for one last time”.

(2). The importance of policing in Northern Ireland has been stated above. From the time of its creation in Northern Ireland, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) police force was seen as not only consolidating the divisions, but as largely representing and supporting the unionist, Protestant, majority.

Reform of the RUC was an integral part of the peace process, despite resistance from some unionists who saw the proposed changes as a betrayal of its past. The RUC name was changed to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in 2001.

 The Patten Report acknowledged the need for more Catholics to join the police force so that all communities can see it as representative and a positive discrimination policy was introduced. This meant that 50% of new officers would be recruited from a Catholic background and 50% from a non-Catholic background. By 2006, around 20% of PSNI officers were Catholic, compared to just 7% in the RUC in 1994. A new Policing Board was established to increase accountability and a new Police Ombudsman appointed to oversee complaints about policing. Sinn Fein was the party slowest to accept the new police force until, as part of the St Andrews Agreement, it announced its acceptance of the PSNI at a special Ard Fheis in January 2007. This support for policing, alongside DUP commitment to power sharing, was essential to the restoration of devolution in Northern Ireland. The next step for Sinn Fein was to seek the transfer of policing and justice powers to the Assembly.

(3). In September 2005 the PSNI established the Historical Enquiries Team to investigate the many unsolved murders during the Troubles. This was just one way in which the issue of dealing with the past has been approached over the last decade.  A whole range of organisations and initiatives have sought to address this thorny issue, many of them based within civil society. The central paradox of the process is that on the one hand, if society is to move forward, then it may be necessary to leave bitter experiences from the past behind. At the same time, many argue that if past hurts are not dealt with then they can provide the seeds for future conflict.

A high profile attempt to address the issue(s) was provided by the Consultative Group on the Past led by Lord Robin Eames and Denis Bradley (http://www.cgpni.org/). They published their report in January 2009 which included more than 30 recommendations. These included the establishment of an Independent Legacy Commission to tackle the issues of reconciliation, justice and information recovery; a Reconciliation Forum; a new Review and Investigation Unit to replace the Historical Enquiries Team and the Police Ombudsman’s unit dealing with historical cases; a moratorium on new public inquiries; and an annual Day of reflection and Reconciliation and shared memorial to the conflict. Attracting much comment and controversy was the suggestion that the nearest relative of each person who died in the conflict should receive a £12,000 ‘recognition payment’. The report was presented to the British government but by May 2009 they had yet to announce whether or not they would seek the implementation of some or all of the recommendations.

(4). Other challenges remain for the Northern Ireland peace process. Significant advances have been made in housing, employment and other areas but much remains to be achieved. There is a problem of long-term unemployment, particularly among Catholics. The danger is that advances for the Catholic community can be perceived as deficits for the Protestant community in a ‘zero-sum’ game, which does little to foster co-operation among sections of the communities which remain polarised. Enduring divisions were witnessed during high profile disputes such as at Holy Cross primary school in 2001-2 and sectarian murders such as that of Michael McIlveen in 2006.

The issue of parades was particularly divisive during the 1990s. Parades have been an important feature in Northern Ireland society since the eighteenth century, as a means of commemorating and celebrating key historical events particularly in the Protestant community. For many, they fulfil a social, political, and religious role. The actual number of annual parades increased substantially through the 1990s with opposition to Loyalist parades from Catholic residents groups also on the increase during this period. The ‘Drumcree’ parade has been one focal point for varying degrees of civil unrest. This has lessened greatly as the 2000s have proceeded but the issue remains a potential area for conflict should the broader political process run into difficulties.^[11]

(5). A number of ‘dissident’ paramilitary organisations have been active in Northern Ireland since the late 1990s. Most notable is the Real IRA, which was born out of a split with the Provisional IRA in 1997 over Sinn Fein’s embrace of the peace process. Although relatively small in number, the Omagh bombing of August 1998 highlighted their ability to cause death on a large scale. The peace process survived the atrocity in Omagh as well as subsequent attacks in the following years. Most recently, the dissidents have been responsible for the killing of two soldiers at Massereene army base and a policeman in Craigavon during March 2009.

In summary, a range of issues remain capable of stalling progress in Northern Ireland but the overriding feeling is that peace is increasingly well established and that progress has been made. Ensuring that this momentum is maintained is the responsibility of everyone in Northern Ireland.

Recommended web sites for further information

The CAIN site is an authoritative content-based site on Northern Ireland. It is organised thematically with background to the conflict, key events and key issues. The site contains large amounts of text from a variety of sources:
http://cain.ulster.ac.uk/

Newshound is an independent 'news sifting' service which carries links to web versions of a variety of newspapers. Usefully, these links are updated daily. Newshound also carries the text of many of the recent Reports and Agreements in Northern Ireland:
http://www.nuzhound.com/ {external_link}

Footnotes:

PDF Version of this Web page:

Fitzduff, Mari., and O'Hagan, Liam. (2009). The Northern Ireland Troubles: INCORE background paper, [PDF; 130KB]. Web: CAIN.
<http://cain.ulster.ac.uk/othelem/incorepaper09.pdf>