British Troops in Northern Ireland in 1969

Why the British Troops Were Sent into Northern Ireland in 1969 In 1969 British Troops were sent into Ireland because Irish police could no longer cope with the violence between the Unionist Protestant population and the Catholic Nationist population. The events that meant it was necessary for British troops to be sent in stretch back a long way. This essay presents the main long term and short term explanations as to why troops were needed. The tensions between Catholic and Protestant citizens had been mounting for many years. During the sixteenth century there was a lot of rivalry between the Catholic Church and Protestants and when King Henry VIII broke away from the Pope and became Protestant, Ireland remained strongly Catholic.

This partition had its roots in the 17th-century Ulster Plantation, which introduced Protestant settlers from England and Scotland into an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country, establishing a Protestant control over the settlers and the native population in politics and society. The long term causes of the problems between the Catholics and Protestant of Northern Ireland are rooted in the histories of England and Ireland. Since the 12th century ,and the invasion of Henry II in Ireland. Where English settlers, were given land that belonged to the conquered Irish. These settles had more power and privileges then the native Irish.

As the years went on, the Irish people fought for a Home Rule bill to pass through their parliament. But, repeatedly the bill was struck down. Eventually a group of Irish Republicans had enough of British rule in Ireland and mounted a rebellion. The rebellion was not only caused by because of the British failur... ... middle of paper ... ...tion.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/12-13-14/41 (accessed March 17, 2014). Irish Republican Army.

Because of the lack of trust between the Irish and the British, the Irish possibly had less chance of persuading the British to release Ireland and allow Nationalists to work with the British. This was both a long term and a short term consequence. Trust was also lost between Protestants and Catholics. The Easter rising also caused Sinn Fein to become more determined to succeed a... ... middle of paper ... ... rising had a big impact on the conflict in Northern Ireland as it had many long term consequences which affected Ireland for a long time after it had take place. It lead to the creation of martyrs who caused a lot of violence then and still are right now.

After Partition, Catholics found that they were in the minority in the Protestant controlled North. From 1922 Catholics were on the receiving end of discrimination against them, increasing numbers of civil rights marches. By 1960s tension is on both sides, violence escalated, leading to the British Troops being sent in. The reason in why the British got involved is due to a long-term history as well as short term. Ireland has always been a catholic country, but Henry 8th, Elizabeth 1 and James 1, sent Protestant settlers to Ireland, Plantation.

After Cromwell’s death the troubles in Ireland continued when a new King James II was appointed. James II was a Catholic and wanted to ... ... middle of paper ... ... the violence. However, in my opinion the main factor which lead to the British army being sent to Northern Ireland in 1969 were the government policies such as gerrymandering which caused the Catholic community to be given poor housing and jobs, which in turn caused them to protest about the treatment they were receiving from local councils which would end up in violence which was mostly started by the Protestants and then this violence would be dealt with by a biased police force who could not keep the peace and would just end up contributing to the violence by taking the side of the Protestants. So in conclusion it is my opinion that the government policies in Northern Ireland after 1922 and the partition of Ireland is a long-term problem that resulted in the deployment of troops by the British government in 1969.

It seems that all, throughout history, Protestants and Catholics are always butting heads. Tensions were particularly high between Ireland and Britain with Ireland being Catholic and Britain Protestant. This religious discrepancy had a real effect on the Irish people, interfering with their Catholic tradition. The Irish people had longed for independence from the British for a long time; but, Britain really managed to agitate the Irish when they sent settlers from Britain and Scotland to settle in Northern Ireland. This agitation eventually grew into the Northern Ireland War, as the Protestants began to take control.

It is only then that the IRA splits into two groups: Official and Provisional. The Bombing campaign by the IRA started in 1970. A more telling fact as to why British troops were sent in to Northern Ireland in 1969 may be due to the fact that the Irish Prime Minister, Jack Lynch was threatening to intervene with the troubles in Northern Ireland, and went as far as moving Irish army units towards the border. The British government may have felt that matters were gradually being taken out of their hands.

The UUP, a unionist party, also agreed that some political reform was needed in Northern Ireland. However, they felt that the Irish Republic shouldn’t be involved in this process. A hard line unionist group, DUP, simply wanted to defeat the IRA. They wanted to decrease the amount of violence and thought that by defeating the IRA, then that would be accomplished. However, to do this they needed a huge security effort.

Ireland, fed up with the Britain’s appalling leadership, asked for division from the United Kingdom. An obvious disagreement stirred up tension which led to multiple rebellions like Easter Rising. Continuous struggles for freedom built passion and nationalism for the Irish people. With all the past turmoil building up, Ireland commenced a war for their freedom. Although an often forgotten war, The Irish War of Independence resulted in rebellions, bloodbaths, and a major split in a nation.