Obstacles to peace in Northern Ireland: Sectarianism, segregation and paramilitaries

The period of history in Northern Ireland known as 'the Troubles' lasted from the late 1960s to 1998.

There are multiple issues that contributed to 'the Troubles':

• Irish Republicans wanted the reunification of Ireland, while Unionists wanted to preserve ties to the rest of the UK
• Protestants and Catholics had segregated communities and separate schools
• Catholics experienced discrimination politically, economically, and socially

As the Troubles continued:

• rival paramilitaries were formed such as the UVF and UDA, and the IRA and Provisional IRA.
• the British Army was deployed on the streets of Northern Ireland's cities
• over 3,000 people died
• bombings and terrorist acts were committed in Northern Ireland and the British mainland

Republican paramilitary prisoners as political prisoners started new types of protest including hunger strikes. The deaths of hunger strikers, such as Bobby Sands in 1981, led to increased opposition to British involvement in Northern Ireland.

Increased electoral success for Sinn Féin convinced many that their cause could be better advanced through democratic action rather than violence.

Watch this video to find out more about the obstacles to peace, from within Northern Ireland, and from Britain and Ireland.

The period between the late 1960s and 1998 in Northern Ireland is often referred to as ‘the Troubles’. It was a period of conflict which saw 3,700 deaths and many times that number injured.

There were many complex reasons for the unrest and conflict:

• Nationalists in the North wanted reunification with the Irish Republic in the South
• Unionists in the North wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom
• the Unionist dominated Northern Ireland Parliament discriminated against the Catholic minority. This included gerrymandering, discrimination in employment and in housing

In 1967 the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was formed with a view to tackling these issues. Initially this group was led by people with a broad range of political perspectives, including a number of Unionists. Their demonstrations and leadership was increasingly dominated by republicans, with involvement from the IRA, which provoked a unionist backlash.

In 1968 and 1969 there were protests and riots that signalled the start of ‘the Troubles’.

During 'The Troubles' there was a Protestant majority in Northern Ireland. They were largely unionist and saw themselves as British. There was also a sizable Catholic minority. They were mostly nationalist and their beliefs aligned more with the Republic of Ireland.

Sectarian tension between the two communities had existed for many centuries, going back to the Plantation of Ulster and the arrival of Scots and English Protestants in the 1600s. The communities had never really mixed and sectarianism meant the two communities were divided, and fearful of each other.

Sectarianism in Northern Ireland took several forms:

• Hostility and tension in certain communities or at ‘flashpoints’ between Catholic and Protestant areas. Hostility was often demonstrated through the flying of flags, to show that only one side of the community was welcome.
• Exclusion as some communities ‘stick together’ and don't associate with people from other groups.
• Discrimination as people were denied jobs or rights based on their religion.

There were also significant cultural differences between the two communities:

• Catholic communities were more likely to be involved in sports such as Gaelic football and hurling and the Irish language and activities such as Irish dancing were woven into their cultural heritage.
• Protestant communities were more likely to culturally engage with the Orange Order or Apprentice Boys, celebrating their heritage through marches, most notably on 12th July every year.

The marching season proved a particular flashpoint each year, especially where Protestant marches passed through or near to Catholic areas.

Differences between the two communities were cemented by segregated housing. This led to less mixing and therefore less understanding between Catholic and Protestant communities. As the Troubles progressed, the number of ‘mixed’ areas decreased.

This was reinforced by schooling that was also segregated along religious lines. Young people could grow up without really knowing or understanding people from a different community.

In 1969, when the British Army started building Peace Lines to prevent violence between the communities, these physical barriers only separated them more.

The two communities were polarised further by politicians who used inflammatory language in their speeches.

• Reverend Ian Paisley, a Unionist leader, used oratory that was deliberately provocative.
• Gerry Adams, both the leader of Sinn Féin and allegedly a senior IRA official, used speeches to legitimise the use of violence.

Rhetoric on both sides reinforced differences between the two communities, and made them mistrustful of each other.

Suspicion, fear and hate grew, especially as paramilitary action increased. The IRA, UVF and other groups positioned themselves as defenders of their own communities at the same time as attacking the other.

A range of paramilitary groups operated during this period. They were organised, secretive, and used a range of violent tactics, such as shootings, beatings, and bombings, in order to try to strengthen their causes.

As paramilitary groups began to grow in size and support, splits began to emerge within some of them.

‘I Ran Away’ was an accusation levelled at the IRA because of its failure to defend Catholics during the violence of 1969.

Since the ending of its border campaign in 1962, the IRA had become more interested in Marxism.

However, some of its younger members were unhappy with this and wanted to take matters into their own hands, particularly the defence of nationalist areas.

Towards the end of 1969, therefore, the IRA membership split and two new groups emerged: the Official IRA (OIRA) and the Provisional IRA (PIRA).

Official IRA

• Made up mainly of older IRA members.

• More interested in setting up an Irish Republic that would be run along Marxist lines.

• Not as involved in the use of violence as the Provisional IRA, but until the group declared a ceasefire in May 1972 they still regarded violence as an option.

Provisional IRA

• Members believed that the Official IRA (OIRA) hadn’t done enough to protect the nationalist community during the violence of the previous summer.
• With a younger membership, the PIRA saw itself as the defender of the minority community within Northern Ireland.

Towards the end of March 1970, the PIRA set out its objectives.

These were:

• The protection of the Catholic population.
• The achievement of civil rights.
• The destruction of the Northern Ireland Government.
• The creation of an Ireland free from British imperialism.

In terms of both size and activity, the most significant group was the Provisional IRA. Their objective was to achieve reunification with the rest of Ireland through force.

Often they targeted British security forces. In 1972 alone the PIRA was responsible for killing 100 soldiers, wounding another 500, and carrying out over 1,300 bombings.

Other republican terrorist groups also operated at this time, including the Official IRA, and the more left wing Irish National Liberation Army.

As the Troubles progressed, Republicans, particularly the PIRA, moved some of their activities to the British mainland.

Bombings, for example the pub bombings in Guilford and Birmingham by the PIRA in 1974, (killing 5 and 21 people respectively) stiffened the resolve of both British people and their governments not to ‘cave in’ to terrorism.

Unionist – or ‘Loyalist’ – paramilitaries began to emerge at this time in urban centres such as Belfast.

UVF

The Ulster Volunteer Force was by no means a new organisation. It could trace its origins back to the campaign against the Third Home Rule Bill.

The UVF:

• Re-emerged in the mid-1960s and grew in size as Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association’s campaign for civil rights gained momentum.
• Re-emerged due to anger at the implications for Protestants of O’Neill’s reform programme.
• Believed that the ideal future lay in turning back the clock to the days of absolute unionist control of Northern Ireland.
• Sought to oppose the actions of republicanparamilitaries and to ensure that Northern Ireland remained a part of the United Kingdom.

The even larger Ulster Defence Association (UDA) was formed in 1971, with their paramilitary wing known as the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF).

These loyalist paramilitaries declared that their primary aim was to protect their community from republican paramilitaries, but the majority of their victims (approximately 500 people were killed by the UVF, 260 by the UDA) were Catholic civilians.

UDA

The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) was established in September 1971.

It:

• Aimed to defend loyalist areas from attacks by republicanparamilitaries.
• Soon became very popular and within a year could claim a membership in excess of 30,000.
• Its size meant that the authorities saw the UDA as too large to ban.

Although the UDA was involved in attacks on members of the nationalist community, it remained a legal organisation for almost twenty years.

When such attacks took place, they were claimed using a cover name, the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF).

The UFF was outlawed in 1973.

The British Government policy of criminalisationled to republican prisoners beginning a series of protests..

• the ‘blanket protest’ saw members of republican paramilitaries refuse to wear standard prison uniforms as a demand to be recognised as political prisoners
• the ‘dirty protest’ saw PIRA prisoners smearing excrement on the walls of prison cells in protest at having to slop out like ordinary criminals.
• in 1980, the first hunger strikes began and a group of PIRA prisoners refused all food. The protest ended in confusion without achieving any concessions.

On 1 March 1981, a new hunger strike began with one prisoner, Bobby Sands refusing all food. New prisoners joined the strike at weekly intervals so as to maximise publicity and public sympathy.

On 5 March 1981, following the death of the MP for Fermanagh-South Tyrone, .Bobby Sands was put forward as a republican candidate for the seat.

On 9th April, Sands, standing as an Anti-H Block candidate, was elected as MP to Westminster.

On 5 May, Sands died and over the next three and a half months, nine other prisoners lost their lives through hunger strike.

As time went on, without any concessions being granted, the families of those men still on hunger strike began to intervene to stop further deaths.

On 3 October 1981, the hunger strike was called off.

Within a few days of the strike’s end, the British Government announced concessions that meant terrorist prisoners were again treated differently from ordinary criminals.

Bobby Sands’ election as an MP suggested to republicans that becoming involved in politics might help them achieve their objectives.

In November 1981, Sinn Féin adopted the strategy of using both politics and violence to achieve its aims. This approach was called the Armalite and ballot box strategy.

Sinn Féin won seats and more votes in a number of elections. These included:

• Elections for a new Assembly, held in October 1982.
• The 1983 General Election (where party leader Gerry Adams was elected MP for West Belfast).
• Local government elections, held in 1985.

The increase in Sinn Féin’s electoral support concerned both the British and Irish governments, as well as more moderate political parties in Northern Ireland including the SDLP.

Both governments were worried that Sinn Féin might become Northern Ireland’s largest nationalist party if something was not done.

At the same time, the levels of violence – while lower than the 1970s – still gave considerable cause for concern.

On 6 December 1982, 17 people, 11 of whom were soldiers, died when an Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) bomb exploded in Ballykelly, Co. Derry/Londonderry.

There were also bombing in mainland Great Britain:

• 20 July 1982: Eleven soldiers were killed by PIRA bombs in Hyde Park and Regent's Park, London,
• 17 December 1983: A PIRA car bomb killed six people outside Harrods department store, London.
• 12 October 1984: PIRA attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, exploding a bomb in the Grand Brighton hotel during the Conservative Party conference. Five people were killed and Thatcher sustained minor injuries.

'The Troubles' lasted from the late 1960s to 1998.

Pre-existing issues contributed to 'the Troubles':

• Irish Republicans wanted the reunification of Ireland, while Unionists wanted to preserve ties to the rest of the UK
• Protestants and Catholics had segregated communities and separate schools
• Catholics experienced discrimination politically, economically, and socially

As the Troubles continued:

• rival paramilitaries were formed
• the British Army was deployed on the streets of Northern Ireland's cities
• bombings and terrorist acts were committed in Northern Ireland and the British mainland

Republican paramilitary prisoners as political prisoners started new types of protest including hunger strikes. The deaths of hunger strikers, such as Bobby Sands in 1981, led to increased opposition to British involvement in Northern Ireland.

Increased electoral success for Sinn Féin convinced many that their cause could be better advanced through democratic action rather than violence.