Abstracts on Organisations - 'E'

E4A
E4A was a special intelligence unit within the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). E4A was established in 1978 (?) as the RUC equivalent of 14 Intelligence Company. E4A worked in conjunction with the RUC's Headquarters Mobile Support Unit (HMSU).
(see also: Headquarters Mobile Support Unit, HMSU; Royal Ulster Constabulary, RUC)
[Entry added by Martin Melaugh, January 2002]

Ecology Party (EP)
One of the smaller political parties in Northern Ireland. Its main concern was with environmental matters. Now called The Green Party.

éirígí
éirígí was first established as a political pressure group by activists in Dublin in 2006. However in 2007 it took steps to organise itself into a fully pledged political party and later registered with the authorities in the Republic of Ireland to contest local government elections. It campaigns for the withdrawal of the British government from Northern Ireland and the establishment of a democratic socialist thirty-two county Irish republic. Within the context of Northern Ireland éirígí’s presence was first noted in late 2006 and early 2007 by the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) in its reports. In subsequent reports the IMC was to describe éirígí as a grouping “with a focus on aggressive protest activities” and although not directly involved in paramilitary activity voiced concerns over its “ambiguous attitude towards the use of physical force”.
[Entry added by Brendan Lynn, September 2011]
[Web Site]

The Electoral Commission (EC)
The Electoral Commission is an independent body that was set up by the UK Parliament in November 2000. The aim of the Commission is to increase public confidence in the democratic process within the United Kingdom - and encourage people to take part - by modernising the electoral process, promoting public awareness of electoral matters, and regulating political parties. The Commission's functions and powers are set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

Selection of Publications produced by the Electoral Commission include:
The Electoral Commission. (2004). The Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 2003: Campaign Spending, (17 November 2004), [PDF File; 508KB]. Belfast: The Electoral Commission.
The Electoral Commission. (2004). The Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 2003: The official report on the Northern Ireland Assembly elections 26 November 2003, (April 2004), [PDF File; 1214KB]. Belfast: The Electoral Commission.
The Electoral Commission. (2003). The Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Act 2002: An assessment of its first year in operation, (Research Report), (December 2003), [PDF File; 1093KB]. Belfast: The Electoral Commission. [Also Executive Summary; PDF File; 35KB]

[Web Site]

Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (EONI)
The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (EONI) is the organisation that supports the Chief Electoral Officer in carrying out his statutory responsibilities. The EONI, together with the Chief Electoral Officer, is responsible for the conduct of elections in the region. The EONI has a headquarters based in Belfast and nine Area Electoral Offices across Northern Ireland. The EONI employs approximately 45 permanent staff but also uses a much large number of temporary staff during the annual canvass for electoral registration and during elections. The administration costs of the EONI are funded by the Northern Ireland Office.
See: section on Elections
[Web Site]

Enniskillen Together (ET)
Formed in 1987 following the Enniskillen Bomb, planted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which killed eleven people and injured 63 others. The group was established from a small number of people who joined to work at improving local community relations. The group brings together local people of different backgrounds to try to improve community relations through better understanding.

Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC)
In 1999 the The EOC was merged with the The Fair Employment Commission (FEC), The Commission for Racial Equality (Northern Ireland), and The Northern Ireland Disability Council, to become The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (EC)
The Equality Commission was established in 1999 under the proposals contained in the Good Friday Agreement. The Commission was formed by the merger of four existing bodies: The Fair Employment Commission for Northern Ireland, The Equal Opportunities Commission for Northern Ireland, The Commission for Racial Equality (Northern Ireland), and The Northern Ireland Disability Council.
List of EC publications
[Web Site]

European Union (EU)
synonyms: European Community (EC)
The European Union began as a Common Market of European countires. It is comprised of 28 member states (in 2014).
Both Northen Ireland, as part of the United Kingdom (UK), and the Republic of Ireland are members of the European Union. The experience of the two parts of Ireland of membership of the EU has been markedly different. In recent years the Republic of Ireland has been an enthusiastic member of the EU and has benefited greatly from that membership. The UK, in contrast, is at odds with other member countries over the direction being taken by the EU, particularly the proposals for economic and monetary union. Within Northern Ireland there is division between the political parties over their response to the EU. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) are strongly in favour of the EU whereas many in the Unionist parties argue that further economic union would erode national sovereignty. A lot of observers argue that Northern Ireland could have obtained more benefit from the EU if it had not been for these factors.

European Court of Human Rights and European Commission of Human Rights (ECHR)
A court of final appeal for individuals and organisations within the European Community. Cases are brought before the European Commission of Human Rights where a decision is made on whether or not the case can be taken to the European Court. There have been a number of decisions since 1978 which have affected Northern Ireland.
[Main Entry]

European Parliament (EP)
A Parliament made up of elected members from the countries of the European Community. When the Parliament was first planned in 1976 Northern Ireland was initially allocated two members on the basis of its population. A strong case was made that the region should be allowed to elect three members to ensure cross-community representation and this was accepted. In the first election to the Parliament in 1979 the Northern Ireland electorate returned Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party), John Hume (Social Democratic and Labour Party), and John Taylor (Ulster Unionist Party). In the June 1999 election the three winning candidates were Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party), John Hume (Social Democratic and Labour Party), and Jim Nicholson (Ulster Unionist Party).
[Web Site]

Ex-Prisoners Interpretative Centre (EPIC)
EPIC is a loyalist political ex-prisoner organisation, formed as a charitable group by ex-combatants from an Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Red Hand Commando (RHC) background, working as a self help group, conducting research and applying participatory development techniques to achieve its objectives. The mission of EPIC is to provide services to loyalist political ex-prisoners to alleviate the problems, concerns and issues of demobilising and reintegrating back into the community.
[Old Web Site: http://www.epic.org.uk/]

Notes:
(xx)     Indicates that an entry is being prepared.
(?)     Information is a best estimate while awaiting an update.
(??)     Information is doubtful and is awaiting an update.
[Main Entry]     Indicates that a longer separate entry is planned in the future.

For related and background information see also:

• The list of acronyms associated with 'the Troubles'.
• The glossary of terms related to the conflict.
• The biographies of people who were prominent during 'the Troubles'.
• The chronology of the conflict.

Sources:
The information in the abstracts has been compiled from numerous primary and secondary sources. The best general sources for additional information are:

• Crozier, Maurna., and Sanders, Nicholas. (eds.) (1992) Cultural Traditions Directory for Northern Ireland. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University.
• Dunn, Seamus., and Dawson, Helen. (2000) An Alphabetical Listing of Word, Name and Place in Northern Ireland. Lampeter: Edwin Mellen Press.
• Elliott, Sydney., and Flackes, W.D. (1999) Northern Ireland: A Political Directory, 1968-1999. Belfast: Blackstaff Press.
• Hinds, Joe. (1994), A Guide to Peace, Reconciliation and Community Relations Projects in Ireland. Belfast: Community Relations Council.