civil rights march in
Londonderry on 5 October
1968
Battle of the Bogside
The Bogside housing estate
in (London)Derry descended
into three days of violent
rioting following the annual
Apprentice Boys march.
Bloody Sunday. On 30 January 1972,
a civil rights demonstration through
the streets of Londonderry in
north-west Northern Ireland ended with
the shooting dead of thirteen civilians
by the British Army.
Operation Motorman: 'Motorman' was the name given to a massive
military operation by the British Army to reclaim 'no-go areas' set up by
republican paramilitaries in towns across Northern Ireland. It was a
response to 'Bloody Friday', the Provisional IRA bombing of Belfast 10
days before.
'Blanket' and 'no-wash' protests in the Maze prison.
September 1976 - October 1981
1981 Hunger Strike.
IRA prisoners of the Maze prison protested
against not being allowed to wear civilian
clothes. They went on a hunger strike. 10
people died before it was called off and their
demands were met.
1976: Blanket and 'no-wash' protest
IRA and INLA prisoners in the Maze prison refused to wear 'convict-like' prison uniforms.
They only wore blankets that they were given. In 1978, they were refused a second towel
to wash themselves with and, rather than be degraded by having to stand naked in the
washrooms, the 'no-wash' protest began
Leaders
Unionists/ Protestants
goal of the unionist
and overwhelmingly
Protestant majority
was to remain part of
the United Kingdom
Catholics
goal of the nationalist and
republican, almost
exclusively Catholic,
minority was to become part
of the Republic of Ireland
Sinn Fein
The political wing of
Republicanism and the
IRA. Have been associated with terrorism
current leader -
Gerry Adams
I.R.A: Irish Republican Army. An underground Irish nationalist
organization founded to work for Irish independence from Great
Britain. They continue activity aimed at the unification of the Republic
of Ireland and Northern Ireland and have been associated with
violence.
Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) -Loyalist
Paramilitary Group. Formed primarily in response
to IRA, also used violence to help its cause
Ideologies
This was a territorial conflict, not a
religious one. At its heart lay two
mutually exclusive visions of national
identity and national belonging
The main Irish nationalist party was the
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
founded by John Hume and other supporters
of the civil rights movement. The SDLP
campaigned against anti-Catholic
discrimination in housing and employment.
The party supported a united Ireland, but
opposed the campaign of violence by
republican paramilitaries.