The Success of the British Government in Trying to Deal with the Irish Troubles in the Years Since 1972
In March 1972 the British response to increasing violence in Northern
Ireland was direct rule this meant that the province was run by the
British prime minister and actually lasted over 25 years.
Power Sharing
In 1974 it power sharing was proposed by William Whitelaw and a new
assembly was elected to govern Northern Ireland. The main parties in
the assembly were represented on a power-sharing executive this meant
that nationalist and unionists share power. The aim of power sharing
was to undermine the IRA’s support in the nationalist communities. It
consisted of six unionist ministers, four SDLP ministers and one from
the alliance party. The executive was elected in 1973 and began
governing in 1974. The SDLP’s agreed to take part but were unhappy
that internment was still active but they were happier with a council
of Ireland as they felt it would help the republic have a say in the
running of Northern Ireland. This worried most unionists and give a
say in how Northern Ireland is run to the republic and is the same as
letting France have a say in how an English state like Kent is run. In
may 1974 the Ulster workers council declared a general strike the
strike was not supported very well until loyalist paramilitaries used
intimidation to force most of the population in to the strike within
two weeks Northern Ireland was brought to a holt. And the executive
resigned on 27th may. Power–sharing had gone and direct rule was back.
Which shows this government was not effective. This made it more
difficult for the following government with the Unionists as it only
weakened the relationship. It helped with the Nationalists as they
accepted the approach and had a strong relationship with the
government. It also made it harder as they have already strike against
the previous idea of the government and now feel they can do this
every time.
Margaret Thatcher along with the Irish Taoiseachs met regularly as
“Ireland must be governed in the English interest” as Document 1 states. The Irish and English relationship is one of ethnic superiority over the other and geographical divide. The English feel like it is their duty to make the Irish people like themselves and they believe that their religion is the crux of what makes them inferior and the Irish just want to be left alone. The geographical divide between the nations is the mainly protestant, Ulster, and the Catholic rest of the island as Document 9 suggests. This has caused many disputes because of the fact that Irish Nationalists want the whole island unified.
* Pearce and Adelman B believed that Ireland benefited from the Union, especially after 1829, and ‘maintenance of the Union therefore became the bedrock of British policy for almost the next 100 years’. * Policies were often based on ignorance of the situation – the British tended to try to get away with as little as possible. For example, the Maynooth Grant 1845, Land Acts 1870 and 1881, the attempt to push Home Rule on the Irish in 1920 * ‘Irish practical problems were turned into English political ones’ (e.g. land) – something that they were n’t. Legislation was considered and judged in an English context, not in an Irish one.
middle of paper ... ... n that after nearly seven hundred years of attempted domination, the British oppression of the Irish had deprived them of all but the bare necessities of survival, and caused such destitution that when the potato famine struck, the poor could not avoid the worst privations, given the social and political conditions controlling their lives. The British government’s ineffectual attempts at relieving the situation played a major role in worsening the situation; they allowed prejudice and State and individual self-interest, economic and religious dogma to subjugate even the least consideration for humanity. Ultimately British politicians bear considerable blame because they were not prepared to allocate what was needed to head off mass starvation, and they as the parent government did nothing to protect its subject people.
In the early 1900s, Irish nationalists were fed up with the British rule that had dominated Ireland since its existence. The Irish in this situation closely resemble the American Colonists prior to the American Revolution. The Irish felt as if the British did not represent them well and they wanted to run their own country and govern themselves. There were many small rebellions and confrontations between some Irish citizens and the British army all throughout Ireland’s history with the purpose of lowering the morale of British troops that occupied Ireland, or in rebellion to specific actions by the British. However, there never was any organized uprising with a goal of completely eliminating the British like the Easter Uprising in 1916.
The division between Northern and Southern Ireland dates back to the 16th century. A succession of English monarchs had used the planting of Protestant English and Scottish people on lands seized from Irish Catholics as a way of increasing loyalty to the British Crown. This is an example of how the British treated the people of Ireland unfairly.
As almost anyone with the slightest knowledge of European history can tell you, the French and the British do not like each other. Some French and British people still hate each other today for issues that occurred 100 of years ago. So on top of the conflict that is already present between France and Great Britain there is a new one in the pursuit of gaining more land and power for one’s cou...
First off, it is important to understand the political and social whereabouts of Northern Ireland from 1898 to gage the changes that have been made in policy. Before 1921, the North and South of Ireland were under British rule. When the government of Ireland Act 1920 partitioned the island of Ireland into two separate states, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, the North of Ireland remained under British rule while...
History, BBC. "Nothern Ireland: The Troubles." BBC News. BBC, 01 Feb. 2007. Web. 05 Oct. 2013.
The “New Ireland” emerged in the 1990s’ when the country experienced an economic-cultural boom in which it was transformed from one of Europe's poorer countries into one of its wealthiest.
The theory of colonization in Ireland has been wondered about for a while. Did it help Ireland or did it just cause more problems? Ireland didn’t want to be part of the British Colony, yet it was forced upon them. No matter how hard they fought to get away from the colonization, the British came back stronger. After long and vigorous fights, the irish finally won back control.
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Allison, Fiona. "The Irish War of Independence 1919-1921." suite101.com. suite101, 11 Jan 2010. Web. 16 Jan 2011.
things he was doing and make them right in Ireland. Taking into account their main
Since the 1950s Ireland has moved from an old fashioned rural conventional country to a modern economy and society moving from church authority to a confident diversity. It has moved from an emigrant society. Where 1/3rd of a generation emigrated to find work to a diverse society.it has moved from a country with marginal social services to a modern welfare state. While the Irish social security system was initially considered as a pale copy of that of its nearest neighbor, the United Kingdom.
During the twentieth century, Ireland was suffering through a time of economic hardship. “Economic growth was stagnant, unemployment was at a historic high and exceeded anywhere in the EU, except possibly Spain, and the state was one of the most indebted in the world” . Irish men and women who had received a formal education had immigrated to other nations due to the unavailability of jobs at home. This left Ireland in a state of further economic downfall, and the lack of skilled workers left Ireland stuck. The 1990’s were a turning point for Ireland. A rise in industry within the nation, as well as an increase in exports, led Ireland to become the “shining nation” in Europe. It became internationally linked with one of the biggest power nations, the United States, and international trade became Ireland’s new source for a booming economy. This brought the rise of what was known as the Celtic Tiger in Ireland.