What Happened Next - History



What Happened Next?

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1930s

The bitterness over the Treaty and the Civil War dominated Irish politics for a long time.

The Pro-Treaty Sinn Feiners formed a new party led by William Cosgrave called Cumann na nGaedheal. They won the election in 1923 and ruled until 1932.

Eamon De Valera remained opposed to the Treaty. However, he abandoned Sinn Fein and the Irregulars. He set up a new party called Fianna Fail, which took over from Cumann na nGaedheal in 1932. Soon after, de Valera outlawed the I.R.A. He also broke Ireland’s dominion links with Britain.

Fianna Fail made a number of changes to the Irish Constitution. The Oath of Allegiance was abolished, as was the role of the Governor-General. The name “Free State” was replaced with “Eire”. The British were forced to leave their naval bases, and when World War II broke out in 1939, Ireland remained neutral.

The Catholic Church became considerably more powerful and society became very conservative as a result, for example, banning contraception and outlawing divorce.

In Easter 1948, the Dail established the Republic of Ireland. However, this excluded the six counties.

In Northern Ireland, the Ulster Unionist Party (U.U.P.) dominated politics for the next 50 years and sectarian violence was common. Northern Ireland suffered terribly during the Great Depression of the 1930s, and it was Catholics who suffered the most because Protestant employers favoured their own kind. Riots became common and the Catholic population was ruthlessly suppressed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

1960s

By the 1960s the frustrated Catholic minority in Northern Ireland, facing discrimination in housing and health services, had had enough. The parliamentary system offered no hope because the policy of gerrymandering meant that a Protestant vote counted more than a Catholic vote. Civil rights marches by the Catholics were initially peaceful, however, they soon became violent riots.

The Royal Ulster Constabulary was not neutral. Many Catholics were killed and many houses were burnt to the ground.

After the Battle of the Bogside, a particularly bad conflict in Derry, the British Army returned, ostensibly to protect the Catholic population.

Members of the I.R.A. who still believed in the use of violence broke away and formed the Provisional I.R.A, known as the “Provos”. The British now found themselves under attack by the Provos.

In response, the British brought back internment without trial for anyone suspected of Provisional I.R.A. activities. Many innocent Catholics were arrested and there were numerous reports of beatings and torture by the British. Many of those interned went on hunger strikes, most famously Bobby Sands, who died in 1981.

On 30th January 1971, British Paratroopers shot 13 unarmed civilians at a demonstration in Derry. This atrocity became known as “Bloody Sunday”. The official inquiry into the event, run by the British, was a cover-up. The British once again became the target of Catholic hatred.

The Protestant community started their own paramilitary groups, such as the Ulster Volunteer Force (U.V.F.) and Ulster Defence Association (U.D.P.), which terrorised and murdered Catholics.

By 1972 the British Government was forced to suspend the Northern Ireland Parliament and administer the six counties directly.

1990s

The I.R.A. had two parts to its terrorist campaign during this period. Firstly they aimed to make Ireland ungovernable so that the British would be forced to leave. To achieve this, they carried out murders of British soldiers, members of the R.U.C. and Protestants.

The I.R.A. also took the war directly to the British people by conducting a terrorist campaign on the mainland. They planted bombs in railway stations, shopping centres and other public places. Although they issued warnings before these bombs were detonated, they hoped that the British public would tire of the situation and force the British Government to withdraw from Northern Ireland.

In the meantime, the R.U.C. continued to collude with Unionist paramilitary groups in carrying out murders of Catholics in Northern Ireland.

The peace process really began with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. However, this was a process which has taken many years and there continue to be issues. Each year, tension is caused by the Marching Season, when Protestant members of the Orange Order march through Catholic communities to commemorate the Battle of the Boyne in 1690: a battle which ensured Protestant ascendancy in Northern Ireland for the future.

However, the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre changed many people’s minds about terrorism. Although the scars remain, such as numerous sectarian murals painted on the walls of every building, Northern Ireland is today generally peaceful.

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