The History of the IRA

By giving Ireland home rule they were allowed control over their religion, education, health, employment policies etc … In 1914 the British agreed to home rule. The Ulster Unionists (protestants) didn’t want home rule as they viewed themselves as separate to the Irish nation and thought th... ... middle of paper ... ...lice had gone on the rampage, and in April when the Bogsiders had barricaded themselves to stop another police invasion. Even though it may not seem to be, the Catholics feared violence from the police. The police also feared violence as they thought the Catholics would attack the Protestants ghettos of the city. For the first time to try and control the situation, the police fired CS gas into the Bogside, the gas had been used on several other occasions, but this was the first time it had been used in the UK.

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.

Since 1972, the British Government has had mixed successes trying to establish peace in Northern Ireland. 1972 was the peak of the British unpopularity in Ireland, with the events of Bloody Sunday still fresh on the public consciousness; the Sunningdale agreement was drawn up. The Unionists saw this as a betrayal, giving into the southern rebels, and the IRA thought that this was an attempt to get the Southern Government to officially recognise the partition. Sunningdale fell almost immediately after a general strike proving the British had to change their strategy in order to achieve their goal of peace. However, the public’s mood was beginning to change, and with groups such as the Peace People founded by Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan, political pressure was applied to the government and social pressure was applied to the extremist groups.

As the Liberal party sat back, unaware of the sever... ... middle of paper ... ... after they had been dispersed. Clearly, events in Ireland were now completely beyond government control. Asquith again tried to come to a peaceful compromise through various talks, including a conference at Buckingham Palace, although, as in the past, all failed. WWI luckily staved off war in Ireland, but unfortunately, the declaration of war even further delayed the enactment of IHR. In conclusion, it mostly took the Liberals so long to give Home Rule to Ireland, due to the incompetence of its government.

However, all of the aims of these 'Agreements' were not accomplished, all due to many factors. One of the causes which sparked off the need for peace intiatives, marches and protests, came back to haunt the initiatives later on. Unionists refused some of the terms of the Sunningdale Power Sharing Executive as it gave Catholics an equal say in the running of Northern Ireland. They felt threatened, as they didn't want to risk the north re-joining with the south because of Nationalist supremacy. Therefore they held massive strikes across Ulster and practically brought the country to a standstill; with economic paralysis the country couldn't function.

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.

Violence was a major reason why troops were sent in. Thirdly are the Civil Rights marches, which led to the violence, and were the final, main, contributing factor to why the troops were sent in. The British troops were sent in because of all the factors in this essay, but most of these factors would not have existed if Ireland had not been partitioned in 1921, which led to both sides fighting each other to try and get what they wanted. The partition also allowed for there to be discrimination by the Protestants against the Catholics in Northern Ireland as the Catholics were in the minority and could easily be controlled by the large number of Protestants.

James Connolly also shared the same views as Pearse. Together the I.R.B and the Irish Citizen Army (led by James Co... ... middle of paper ... ...tholic and Protestants, but was unable to deliver. There had been some peace and for a brief moment it seemed the impossible had been done but that was not to last. The sectarian beatings and killings continued and communities' became increasingly divided. On Monday 14th October the Secretary of state for Northern Ireland announced that London would be once again imposing direct rule.

They also feel at war with Britain and don't want Britain to overpower them. It hasn't been until recently very recently that the IRA have begun to decommission. The... ... middle of paper ... ... public, which have turned their opinions. For example, when James Conolly and Padhraic Pearce took part in the Easter Rising, many Nationalists disagreed. However once they had been executed by the firing squad, many people change their opinions.

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.