Why the Conflict in Northern Ireland Erupted into Violence in the 1960's and Resulted in Long Term Occupation by the British Army

Why the Conflict in Northern Ireland Erupted into Violence in the 1960's and Resulted in Long Term Occupation by the British Army

There are many reasons why the conflict in Northern Ireland erupted

into violence in the 1960s. The violence resulted in long term

occupation of Northern Ireland by the British Army. Some of the Key

events which caused British occupation were the civil rights movement

and the Battle of the Bogside. The failure of partition also

contributed to the violence and tensions between the Nationalists and

the Unionists.

Catholics were being discriminated against because of their religion

and their ideas and beliefs in politics. They were classed as 2nd

class citizens and were not given the same opportunities as Unionists.

This discrimination angered the Catholics. Most jobs were given to

Unionists rather than Catholics and in the Belfast shipyards, one of

the biggest companies, there was a great majority of Unionists

compared to Catholics. There was unfair allocations of council houses,

the majority of council houses would be given to Protestants rather

than Catholics regardless of the situation that the Catholics were in.

This discrimination became so unfair that a sit in was held by MP

Austin Currie protesting against a house being allocated to a 19 year

old woman, who was not at the top of priority list but was the

secretary to member of the UUP. Currie gained publicity from the press

and showed the world the sectarian bias that was happening in Northern

Ireland at the time.

The voting system in Northern Ireland was corrupt. The voting system

worked as every house that a man owns counted as 1 vote. This was

unfair in the fact that Catholics were so poor, because of the unfair

employment of Unionists rather than Catholics, that they owned hardly

any houses as a group compared to the Unionists, so the Unionists had

an advantage in the votes. Gerry Mandering also took place, the

borders of the counties were being moved so there was always a

Unionist majority in each area – which again meant the Catholics would