attempts at a settlement in northern ireland, 1973-98 · pdf filethis was proposed by northern...

Tasks set in textbooks on the attempts and events leading up to them.

J. Brooman, A Changing Nation, Longman History Project, 0-58224-594-XS. Gillespie & G. Jones, Northern Ireland & Its Neighbours since 1920, Hodder & Stoughton,0-34062-034-XT. McAleavy, Conflict in Ireland, Collins Educational, New Edition, 0-00327-008-4T. Rea & J. Wright, Ireland. A Divided Ireland, 0-19917-171-8B. Walsh, The Struggle for Peace in Northern Ireland, John Murray, 0-71957-472-2

Ireland in Schools Blackpool Pilot Scheme

Attempts at a settlement in Northern Ireland, 1973-98

1. Sunningdale Agreement & the Power-sharing Executive, 1973-742. Anglo-Irish Agreement, 19853. Good Friday Agreement, 1998

BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 2

* The Good Friday Agreement built upon the earlier The Downing Street Declaration, 1993This was agreed between Prime Minister John Major and the Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds.

• Talks were to be set up to decide on a new form of government for Northern Ireland.• The new Northern Ireland government would respect all traditions in Northern Ireland.• Only parties which rejected violence would be allowed any say in the talks.• The British government said it had no selfish political or economic interest in Northern Ireland, but was concerned only with

the welfare of all the people of Northern Ireland.• The British government accepted that Irish unity was an issue for Irish people, but said that it could only happen with the

consent of those in the North.• The Irish government accepted the principle of consent for Irish unity.• The Irish government also accepted that it might have to drop the parts of its constitution which claimed the North as part

of its territory.• The Irish government would set up a Forum for Peace and Reconciliation to promote trust and understanding between the

traditions. Only those who rejected violence could be part of this.

Attempts at a settlement, 1973-98

1. The Power-Sharing Executive and the Sunningdale Agreement, 1973-74This was proposed by Northern Ireland Secretary William Whitelaw in consultation with the mainNorthern Ireland parties.

• A new Assembly was elected to govern Northern Ireland.• The main parties in the Assembly were represented on a Power-Sharing Executive (a

government which would guarantee to share power between nationalist and unionistcommunities).

• A Council for Ireland was set up which would link Belfast, Dublin and London over issues ofconcern to all of them. (Details of this Council were worked out between the Northern Ireland parties and the Britishand Irish governments in the Sunningdale Agreement of December 1973.)

2. The Anglo-Irish Agreement, 1985This was agreed between Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garrett Fitzgerald.

• It set up an Intergovernmental Conference: the Northern Ireland Secretary and Irish ForeignMinister would meet regularly.

• There would be cross-border co-operation on security, legal and political issues.• The Agreement set up its own civil service with staff from both sides of the border.• The British government accepted that there might one day be a united Ireland, but only with the

consent of the majority in Northern Ireland.• The Irish government accepted the existence of Partition, and also the principle of consent.

3. The Good Friday Agreement, 10 April 1998*This was agreed between the Irish and British governments and the main political parties ofNorthern Ireland, except the DUP.

• A new Northern Ireland Assembly with 108 members would be set up. All key decisions wouldrequire the consent of both communities in the province.

• A North-South Council of Ministers would also be set up, made up of members of the newAssembly and ministers from the Republic.

• The Irish government would remove Articles 2 and 3 of its constitution, which claimed the Northas part of its territory (subject to a referendum of the people of the Republic).

• There would be a review of policing in Northern Ireland.• Early release for paramilitary prisoners was promised.


Problems facing the Executive• Some members of the Executive found it difficult to work with politicians

from other parties.• Supporters of power-sharing feared their interests would be sacrificed to

make the power-sharing administration work.• The Executive was heavily criticised by unionists opposed to the Sunningdale

Agreement.• Unionist parties opposed to the Sunningdale Agreement joined forces to

disrupt business in the Assembly.• Britain was still responsible for Northern Ireland's security policy, but the

Executive was blamed for not stopping the high level of violence.• The Irish government did not officially recognise Northern Ireland or

introduce extradition (laws to allow people suspected of committing violentcrime in Northern Ireland to be returned there to stand trial for theoffences).

• There were also serious differences of opinion about the role of a Council ofIreland.

Tasks set on attempts at a settlement, 1973-74Walsh, pp 103

Imagine you are reading the Observer in November 1973 and someone asks you what the cartoon(Source 1) means. Explain it to them.

SOURCE 1A cartoon from the Observer newspaper in November 1973, commenting on the Power-sharing Executive. Theman creeping away from the house of cards if the British Northern Ireland Secretary William Whitelaw. Note thelabels on the winds which are about to blow on the Executive.


THE POWER-SHARING EXECUTIVE & THE SUNNINGDALE AGREEMENT,1973-74Gillespie, pp 121-22

1. How safe did the cartoonist in Source A consider the new Northern Ireland power-sharingexecutive to be?This cartoon was drawn before the Sunningdale Agreement was signed. If it had been drawnafterwards what other ‘clouds’ might the cartoonist have added?

2. Examine Source C.What percentage of opinion on both sides of the community in 1974 favoured:(a) power-sharing?(b) a Council of Ireland?

3. In what ways do Sources B and D help to explain unionist anxiety about the role of a Councilof Ireland?

SOURCE AThe Northern Ireland Executives chances of success.The Observer, 24 November 1973

SOURCE BDublin is just aSunningdaleaway.United UlsterUnionist Coalitionelection poster.

(i) Do you approve or disapprove of power within the Executivebeing shared?

Protestant % Catholic %Approve strongly 28 78Just approve 38 16Don't know 13 05Just disapprove 09 01Disapprove strongly 13 01

(ii) Do you think that the Sunningdale proposal for a Council ofIreland is a good or bad idea?

Protestant % Catholic %Good idea 26 72Bad idea 52 04Have not heard of proposals 03 06Don't know 19 18

SOURCE CResults of the opinion poll on the Sunningdale Agreement taken between31 March and 7 April 1974.

The general approach of theSDLP to the (Sunningdale)talks was to get all Irelandinstitutions established ....which could lead ultimately toan agreed single state forIreland.

SOURCE DNationalist view of SunningdalePaddy Devlin, SDLP delegate atSunningdale, speaking in


• Look at sources, 1-3.• Using these sources explain why many Protestants were so opposed to power-sharing?

THE FAILURE OF POWER-SHARING, 1973-4 McAleavy, pp 76-7

SOURCE 1 SOURCE 2

Catholics don't want a share in thegovernment of Northern Ireland. They wantNorthern Ireland to be destroyed, and tohave a united Ireland. Even if they were tojoin a government it's only until such time asthey can destroy the government and thestate.

The more militant Protestants reached thestage by the end of 1971 in which theyidentified the whole Catholic community withthe IRA.

Ian Paisley. Paisley was one of the leading critics ofpower-sharing. Later he explained why he disliked theidea so much.

An Irish historian, T. W. Moody, explained that eventhe moderate SDLP was greatly distrusted by someProtestants, 1974.

SOURCE 3 SOURCE 4

Working-class Protestants celebrate the end ofpower-sharing.

Strikers' blockade and march on Stormont, 1974.

SOURCE 5

A cartoon commenting on the role of the Protestant private armies in the strike.


• What did the Protestant strikers do to bring down the power-sharing Executive?• How did the speech of Harold Wilson help the strikers?

SOURCE 6 SOURCE 7

The people on this side of the water - Britishparents - have seen their sons spat upon andmurdered. British taxpayers have seen thetaxes they have poured out, almost withoutregard to cost, going into Northern Ireland.They see property destroyed by evil violenceand are asked to pick up the bill forrebuilding it. Yet people who benefit fromthis now viciously defy Westminster, peoplewho spend their lives sponging onWestminster and British democracy. Who dothese people think they are?

The UWC were delighted. Glen Barr, theirleader, said later that they thought of makingWilson an 'honorary' member of the UlsterWorkers' Council.'Any hope he had of wrecking the strike wentwith that speech,' he said.

Harold Wilson, British Prime Minister, in a televisionmessage, 25 May 1974.

Wilson's speech deeply offended many Protestantpeople and increased support for the strike. A Britishjournalist, Robert Fisk, later wrote this about theimpact of the speech.


WHY DID POWER SHARING FAIL?Brooman, pp 37-9

SOURCE 1 SOURCE 2

The line in the Bogside from local SDLP chiefswas that the Agreement should be supportedbecause it helped towards the work of endingNorthern Ireland and that there was therefore noneed for the IRA any longer.

Meanwhile Protestants were being urged byMr Faulkner to believe that the Council of Irelandwould be a mere talking shop, that ... Catholics... were accepting the Northern State - and thatfor this reason the Agreement would end IRAviolence and should therefore be supported.

I was actually at the end of a telephone duringthat strike, and for the first few days thetelephone line was constantly occupied by peopleringing up from housing estates, places in thecountry, to say, look, we can't get into our work,there are people with sticks and staves andmasks at the end of our road, and what is thegovernment going to do about it?

Eamonn McCann, War in an Irish Town, 1974. Lady Faulkner, the Chief Executive's wife, quoted inPhilip Whitehead, The Writing On the Wall,1985.

SOURCE 3

Harry Murray, one of the strikeleaders, speaking on Radio 4Northern Ireland, 24 May 1974.

We never attempted to intimidate anybody going into work -definitely not .... These people are honest, industrious .... It'sa constitutional stoppage and we have the backing of I wouldsay 450,000 people.

SOURCE 4

There are very few photographs ofstrikers forcing people to stopwork.

This is the only known photographof a lorry being hijacked during the1974 general strike. It showsarmed men threatening the crew ofa bakers' lorry in East Belfast on 16May 1974.

The youths in masks and balaclavashad stopped the lorry by standingin the road.

SOURCE 5

As we walked through the lounge full ofmiddle-class late-night drinkers, the cry of'traitors' came in unison .... It was a spontaneousresponse of anger: we, the Brits, were theoutsiders, always ready to sell good loyalistsdown that mythical river into the Catholic South.

From Northern Ireland. A Personal Perspective, thememoirs of Merlyn Rees. He was Secretary of State forNorthern Ireland, 1974-76.


SOURCE 6

Protestant women in Belfastcelebrate the collapse of thepower-sharing Executive on 28 May1974.

1. Look at Source 1.a. Why would the SDLP find it difficult to persuade Catholics in the Bogside that they did not need

the IRA any longer?b. Suggest why Faulkner told Protestants that the Council of Ireland would be a 'mere talking shop'.c. How might Protestants have reacted if they could have heard what Catholics in the Bogside were

being told about the Sunningdale Agreement? What might Catholics have said if they had heardwhat Faulkner was telling Protestants?

2. The elections for the new Northern Ireland Assembly gave a majority of seats to people whosupported power-sharing. The elections for Parliament only seven months later gave a majority tothose who opposed power-sharing. How can this be explained?

3. Look at Source 6.a. What was the 'Executive' mentioned in the newspaper headline?b. What caused it to 'collapse' on 28 May 1974?c. Suggest why the people in the picture looked so happy about this event.


REVIEW: CONFLICT AND CO-OPERATION IN NORTHERN IRELANDBrooman, p. 40

The cartoon below is an interpretation of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Study it carefully, then answerthese questions:

1. a. Look at the wall on the left. What do you think the graffiti 'Rem 1690' and 'Ulster says no' is supposedto mean?

b. On the wall on the right, what do you think the graffiti '1916', the `Provos' and 'H blocks' is meantto mean?

2. a. What is unusual about the stairs the people are climbing?b. Why do you think the cartoonist drew the stairs in this way?

3. Look at the characters on the stairs.a. What kind of person do you think each character is meant to represent?b. Which character does the cartoonist seem to blame for the Troubles?c. Judging by what you have read in this book, is the cartoonist right to blame this person?d. Who else on the stairs could also be blamed for the Troubles? Why?

4. The cartoonist is Northern Irish. How might this affect his interpretation of the Troubles?5. a. Some people might say the cartoon is a fair interpretation, some that it is unfair. What kind of people

might think it unfair?b. Why would it be difficult to make an interpretation of the Troubles that everybody accepted as fair?

This cartoon wasdrawn in 1991 bya Northern Irishp o l i t i c a lcartoonist, MartynTurner.

It was used toillustrate the frontcover of a bookcalled TroubledTimes, about theT r o u b l e s i nNorthern Irelandfrom 1970 to1991.


FOCUSWhat factors brought the British and Irish governments towards closer co-operation in the 1980s?What effect did the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 have on the way Northern Ireland was governed?

ANGLO-IRISH CO-OPERATIONGillespie, pp 130-2

(Right) Margaret Thatcher and Garret FitzGerald at thesigning the Anglo-Irish Agreement at Hillsborough Castlewith Tom King, the Northern Ireland Secretary of State inthe background.

Cartoon on the New Ireland Forum. The Brighton bomb


SOURCE A SOURCE B

Br i t i sh governmentresponse to the NewIreland Forum

A united Ireland was onesolution. That is out. Asecond solution was aconfederation of the twostates. That is out. A thirdsolution was jointauthority. That is out.

Prime Minister MargaretThatcher, 19 NovemberI984

After the Anglo-Irish Agreement was signed posters saying 'Mrs Thatcher is aTraitor' appeared in loyalist areas, including this one with an effigy ofThatcher.

SOURCE C

Garret FitzGerald's motives for signing the Anglo-Irish AgreementI don't know what the verdict of history will be on the 1985 Agreement. But I can say that innegotiating it I was moved by one purpose: to block the dangerous growth of supportfor IRA/SinnFein during the post hunger strike years 1981-1984, by attempting to create conditions in whichnorthern nationalists could more readily identify with the system of government and security inNorthern Ireland. In this way I hoped to weaken support and tolerance of the IRA among part of thenorthern community, a phenomenon which seemed to me to be a potential major threat to thesecurity of the whole island. Whatever many cif you think, the idea of attempting to undermine theright of the people of Northern Ireland to decide the jurisdictlon under whose sovereignty they wishto live was, and has always been, abhorrent to me.

Garret FitzGerald, Letter to the unionist community, The Belfast Newsletter, 1 September 1994.

SOURCE D

On 21 November 1985 the Irish Parliament in Dublin, the Dail, approved the Anglo-Irish Agreementby 88 votes to 75. Six days later, the House of Commons at Westminster approved the Agreement by473 to 47 votes. All the main British political parties supported the Agreement. The fact that all theUlster Unionist MPs were opposed to the Agreement was ignored.

ACTIVITIES1. What factors persuaded the Irish government to set up the New Ireland Forum?2. Why would unionists have been reassured by Source A (page 30), Mrs Thatcher's reaction to

the New Ireland Forum Report?3. Why did many unionists view Mrs Thatcher (Source B) as a traitor after she signed the

Anglo-Irish Agreement?4. What reasons does Garret FitzGerald give in Source C to explain why he signed the

Anglo-Irish Agreement? Why might many Protestants find it difficult to accept hisexplanation?

5. The Anglo-Irish Agreement was passed with one of the largest majorities in the House ofCommons this century (Source D). Why do you think the Agreement was given so muchsupport?

6. The Fianna Fail Party in the Republic, led by Charles Haughey, opposed the Anglo-IrishAgreement because it said the Agreement reinforced partition. Choose two points in theAgreement and explain how each might be viewed as reinforcing partition.


ANGLO-IRISH-AGREEMENT, 1885Walsh, pp 104-5

1. What does Source 1 tell historians about unionist opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement?3. Look at Source 2. What is the cartoonist saying about the opponents of the Agreement?4. In what ways do Sources 2 and 4 present different views of the opposition to the

Agreement?

SOURCE 1A loyalist crowd demonstrating outside Belfast City Hallin November 1985. Estimates put the size of the crownat 100,000, comparable to the opposition to HomeRule in 1912-14.

SOURCE 2A cartoon in the Belfast newspaper Fortnight, 8January 1987. The three people in the boat, MargaretThatcher, Neil Kinnock (Labour leader at the time) andDavid Steel (Liberal leader), are ignoring the protest.The two ‘dinosaurs’ are the Ulster Unionist leadersJames Molyneaux and Peter Taylor. The ‘dam’ is IanPaisley.

1987 An IRA bomb kills eleven people and injures over 60 at a Remembrance Day service inEnniskillen.A single loyalist gunman kills three mourners at an IRA activist's funeral.

1988 Eight soldiers are killed by an IRA landmine.1991 Loyalists kill 31 people in the course of the year, mostly innocent Catholics and usually

as revenge for IRA attacks.1992 The UFF kill five Catholic civilians in an attack on a betting shop.

A huge IRA bomb in central London causes up to £1 billion worth of damage.1993 The IRA kill two young boys in Warrington with a bomb placed in a rubbish bin.

An IRA bomb goes off prematurely in a Shankill fish shop. The bomber and nineinnocent Protestant civilians are killed.Loyalist gunmen kill thirteen in revenge attacks for the Shankill bomb.

SOURCE 3Selected examples of violence, 1987-93.


ANGLO-IRISH AGREEMENT, 1985Gillespie & Jones, pp 134-5

Nationalist reactionNationalists in Northern Ireland were divided in their attitude to the Agreement. The SDLP sawit as a chance for progress while Sinn Fein regarded it as reinforcing partition.

British and Irish reactionWhile the majority of politicians in Britain and the Republic accepted the Agreement, some, likeMary Robinson of the Irish Labour Party (later elected President of the Republic) and Ian Gow,a member of the British government (later killed by the IRA), resigned in protest against it.

SOURCE AUnionist responseWe are going to be delivered, bound and trussedlike a turkey ready for the oven, from one nation toanother.James Molyneaux at a special meeting of theAssembly, 1985

SOURCE DIndividual objection within the ConservativePartyThe Agreement would never have been signedunless there had been a prolonged campaign ofviolence .... The involvement of a foreign power ina consultative role in the administration of theprovince will prolong, and not diminish, Ulster’sagony.Ian Gow, British Treasury Minister, November 1985

SOURCE BSDLP responseThe SDLP welcomes the Anglo-Irish Agreement. It.... presents a major opportunity and challenge tothe nationalist people of the north .... It is anopportunity to create equality, justice and fair playfor all the people of the north.West Belfast SDLP pamphlet, December 1985

SOURCE ELabour Party responseThe Anglo-Irish Agreement, is the reward thegunmen got for their violence. They have createdsuch hatred of insecurity, fear and brutality thatthey have made nationalists seek change even atthe cost of indefinitely postponing a united Ireland.Neil Kinnock, Leader, 21 November, 1985

SOURCE CRepublican responseThis deal does not go anywhere near bringingpeace to this part of Ireland. On the contrary itreinforces partition because Dublin is recognisingNorthern Ireland.Gerry Adams, President of Sinn Fein, 16 November1985

SOURCE FIndividual objection within the Irish LabourPartyThe Agreement is unacceptable to all sections ofunionist opinion. I do not believe it can achieve ....peace and stability within Northern Ireland or onthe island as a whole.Senator Mary Robinson, Irish Labour Party, 18November 1985

ACTIVITIES1. What does Source A tell you about unionists’ views of the Anglo-lrish Agreement?2. Using Sources B and C, describe how the SDLP’s views of the Anglo-lrish Agreement differed

from Sinn Fein's views.3. Both Sinn Fein and the unionists were opposed to the Anglo-Irish Agreement. In what

respects were their reasons for opposing the Agreement different?4. What did Neil Kinnock (Source E) consider would be the outcome of the Anglo-Irish

Agreement? Why might his viewpoint not be shared by unionists?5. Why did Ian Gow (Source D) and Mary Robinson (Source F)) object to the Anglo-lrish

Agreement? How do you think northern unionists would have felt about Mary Robinson’sresignation? Explain your answer.


MCALEAVY ANGLO-IRISH AGREEMENT, 1985: 1McAleavy, pp 51-3

SOURCE 1 SOURCE 4

You either be killed by the IRA or kill themand I want to see them dead. Something hasto be done to finish this trouble once and forall and the only way to do this with the IRA isto kill them.

To the glorious memory of King William III,who saved us from Slaves and Slavery,Knaves and Knavery, Popes and Popery.Whoever denies this toast may be crammedand jammed into the muzzle of the great gunof Athlone and fired into the Pope's belly, andthe Pope into the Devil's belly and the Devilinto hell, and the door locked and the key inan Orangeman's pocket.

Gregory Campbell, Democratic Unionist PartyCouncillor, 1985.

An Orange Order toast from about 1800.

SOURCE 2 SOURCE 3

Members of the UDA. A drawing of King William of Orange from a purse ofan Orangeman c.1800. On it are the words 'Theimmortal memory of 1690'.

SOURCE 6 SOURCE 5

Question:How can I help to keep Ulster Protestant,loyal and British?Answer:a. by being a faithful member of my own

church.b. by being a regular member of my own

junior Loyal Orange Lodge.c. by showing in my own character that the

Ulster-British way of life is worth havingand holding.

Carson and the Ulster Volunteer Force, 1914. An extract from the Junior Orangeman's Catechism,1966.


• What is the Orange Order? What part does it play in the lives of the Protestant community?• Why do you think that many Unionists mistrust the British government?• Which party has been more successful in the 1990s: the Democratic Unionist Party or the

Ulster Unionist Party?

SOURCE 7 SOURCE 8

Ian Paisley paraded 500 men from a privateProtestant army today. He said 'These menare ready to fight and die rather than acceptan all-Ireland Republic. They are prepared todefend their province in the same way asLord Carson and the men of the UlsterVolunteer Force!'

Armed B Specials at a road block in the 1930s. Report from the London New Standard, 6 February1981.

SOURCE 9

Ian Paisley.

SOURCE 10

'We pray this night that thou wouldst deal with the Prime Minister of our country.OGod, inwrath take vengeance on this wicked, treacherous lying woman. Take vengeance upon her,

O Lord, and grant that we shall see a demonstration of Thy power.'

The depth of Protestant suspicions of the British government was seen in the reaction to the Anglo-IrishAgreement. Speaking in his church in Belfast, Ian Paisley called upon God to punish

the British Prime Minister for her treachery to Ulster.


• Look at the following sources, 5-8. What can we learn from these extracts about Unionistattitudes towards the Agreement?

MCALEAVY ANGLO-IRISH AGREEMENT, 1985: 2McAleavy, pp 38-40

SOURCE 1 SOURCE 2

If we cannot arrest the IRA and disarm themthey are going to kill us. We have not onlythe right but the duty to kill them before theykill me, my family and others.The ordinary Ulster man is not going tosurrender to the IRA or be betrayed into aunited Ireland or put his neck under thejackboot of Popery.

Ian Paisley, January 1982. Ian Paisley, holding a sledgehammer with the words'Smash Sinn Fein'.

SOURCE 3 SOURCE 4

The only thing that Protestantsare afraid of is a dirty,underhanded deal done behindour backs. We are in the handsof our English masters. And weunderstand that they are not ourfriends. They would like todestroy us. Protestants love theirliberty too much to putthemselves into a state wherethere is censorship but nodivorce.

A Protestant wall-painting with slogans in support of the Protestantparamilitaries.

Adapted from a speech by Ian Paisley,December 1981.


• How did Unionists respond to the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985?• How successful were Unionist attempts to overthrow the Anglo-Irish Agreement?• Explain in your own words how loyalist violence increased in the early 1990s.

SOURCE 5 SOURCE 6

This agreement will not bring peace, but asword. I have to say honestly and truthfullythat I have never known what I can onlydescribe as a universal cold fury.

The hearts of Ulster have been stricken withthe deepest of sorrows. Mrs Thatcher tells usthat the Republic has got a say in thisprovince. We say never, never, never, never.We are prepared to lay down our lives forUlster. I never thought I would live to see theday when 1912 was repeated.

The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, JamesMolyneaux, expresses the common Unionist view ofthe Agreement in November 1985.

Ian Paisley, speaking at a Unionist rally in Belfast, 24November 1985.

SOURCE 7 SOURCE 8

Popular Unionism. Protestant shipyard workers demonstrate against the Anglo-IrishAgreement.

SOURCE 9 SOURCE 10

Unionists were outraged when an IRA bombkilled ten Protestants on the Shankill Road,Belfast, in October 1993.

Protestant shipyard workers lead thousands of protesters alongthe Shankill Road after the October 1993 bombing.


THE 1994 CEASE-FIRE McAleavy, pp 80-1

SOURCE 1 SOURCE 2

The only way to persuade the IRA to end itscampaign was to demonstrate to them theexistence of, not only of an alternativepeaceful strategy, but also of a coalition offorces sufficiently powerful as to make thisachievement a credible possibility.

As everybody now knows, the patience, skilland determination shown by clergy has beennothing less than indispensable in bringingabout the peace we now enjoy. I can say thatwithout them the present hopeful situationwould not and could not have come about.

Sinn Fein made a statement as early as 1983 thatmade clear that some of its leaders were prepared toconsider an alternative to armed struggle.

John Hume, December 1995.

SOURCE 3 SOURCE 4

You call on Republicans to renounce violenceand join in the peaceful struggle for therights of Nationalists. What peacefulstruggle? Those who condemn the armedstruggle have a responsibility to spell out analternative course by which Irishindependence can be secured. I, for one,would be pleased to consider such analternative.

Gerry Adams, 1983. John Hume

SOURCE 5 SOURCE 6

I urge American businessmen and all othersto consider investing in Northern Ireland andthe Border counties. The workforce is welleducated and well motivated. Theproductivity levels are high. The unit labourcosts are low. The labour relations are good.The infrastructure, the communications, theaccess to the European market are fine.

On 17 January 1992 eight Protestantworkmen were killed by an IRA bomb. Their‘crime’ was to carry out work for the securityforces. A local journalist expressed a commonsense that it was time for the politicians tobecome more active in looking for asettlement.

Eight died in Tyrone. The level of outragerises so high. Still they refuse to come to thetable. What if 50 died, or 150? What then?Do Paisley and Hume, the whole damn lot ofthem have a body count in their heads abovewhich they will definitely begin to moveheaven and earth to do something about it.Pick a number lads. Any number.

Clinton encouraging American businesses to invest inNorthern Ireland, May 1995.

Emily O’Reilly, 1992.


SOURCE 7 SOURCE 8

More lives may have been lost inthe 1970s, but nearly all wholived through those times theynever felt as helpless or asfrightened as they do today.Frightened because of theincreasing savagery of thesectarian attacks; and helpless,because there seems no prospectof a settlement. The mostterrifying development of the lastyear or so has been the sharprise in atrocities carried out byLoyalist paramilitary groupings.Loyalists are now able tomanufacture bombs and are ableto carry out assassinations withapparent impunity. They havenow killed six people in two days.

The British government pledges to uphold the democratic wishof a greater number of the people of Northern Ireland on theissue of whether they prefer to support the union or asovereign united Ireland. The British government have noselfish strategic or economic interest in Northern Ireland. Theirprimary interest is to see peace, stability and reconciliationestablished by agreement. They will work together with theIrish Government to achieve such an agreement. The role ofthe British Government will be to encourage, facilitate andenable the achievement of such an agreement through aprocess of dialogue and co-operation. The British Governmentagree that it is for the people of Ireland alone, by agreementbetween the two parts, to exercise their right ofself-determination on the basis of consent, freely andconcurrently given, North and South, to bring about a unitedIreland, if that is their wish.

The Irish Government accepts the democratic right ofself-determination by the people of Ireland as a whole must beachieved and exercised with and subject to the agreement andconsent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland andmust respect the civil rights and liberties of both communities.. . In the event of an overall settlement, the Irish Governmentwill support a change in the Irish Constitution which wouldfully represent the principle of consent in Northern Ireland.

The ferocity of the UFF campaign ofsectarian killing put pressure on bothSinn Fein and the SDLP. By early 1993innocent Catholics were being regularlykilled by Loyalist assassins. TheNationalist newspaper, the Irish News,described the Catholic mood in March1993.

Extracts from the Downing Street Declaration.

SOURCE 9 SOURCE 10

Recognising the potential of the currentsituation and in order to enhance thedemocratic peace process and underline ourcommitment to its success, the leadership ofthe Irish Republican Army have decided thatas of midnight, Wednesday 31 August, therewill be complete cessation of militaryoperations. All our units have been instructedaccordingly.

The IRA has announced a complete cessationof military operations but it has refused todefine that cessation as permanent. In thecircumstances, to equate the presentcease-fire with peace is irresponsible. Theprivate army is still in being, heavily armedand organised within ourterritory, in defiance of our laws.

IRA statement announcing a cease-fire, 31 August1994.

Not everyone welcomed the IRA cease-fire. Thesouthern Irish writer, Conor Cruise O’Brien, writing inSeptember 1994, was suspicious of IRA plans.


Explain why the IRA agreed to a cease-fire in 1994. In your answer you should mention:• the influence of the Catholic Church;• the Hume-Adams talks;• Loyalist killings;• pressure from America;• the Downing Street Declaration.• Look at Sources 10 and 11. Why were some people unhappy with the cease-fire?• What problems followed the cease-fire?

SOURCE 11 SOURCE 12

Given the Unionist veto, Britain is likelyto take the cynical view thatrepublicans in unarmed struggle arelike birds without wings. SomeRepublicans also disapproved of thecease-fire. They felt that the IRA hadgot a very poor deal and would havelittle power without the use of force.

A Republican writer, Anthony Macintyre,criticised the Sinn Fein position in October1994.

A Catholic woman pleads with Orangemen not to march downthe Nationalist Garvaghy Road, Drumcree, Portadown, in July1996.


THE PROTESTANT MARCHES, 1996-97Rea, pp 70-1

Look at Sources A, B, and C, which were taken in Portadown in 1996 and 1997.

SOURCE A SOURCE C

Portadown 1996. Panic and fear spread among Catholicprotestors as the RUC make a baton charge to clear theroad so that the Orangemen can take part in theirtraditional march.

6 July 1997. Portadown Orangemen march along theCatholic Garvaghy Road. Heavy security was provided bythe army and the RUC.

SOURCE B

1. Look at Sources A and B. These twophotographs were taken on the same day,but we do not know which was taken first.Explain which you think was taken first andgive reasons for your choice.

2. Look at Source B. What is the woman doing?How are the marchers reacting to her?

3. Can you see evidence in Source A to supportthe statement in the original caption ofSource B?

4. Look at Source C. What evidence can yousee of the heavy security?

5. What are the similarities and differencesbetween the events shown in Sources A, B,and C?

6. According to the information in this featurealone, is it possible to say whether thepolice were guilty of taking sides?

7. Write an imaginary dialogue between thewoman in Source B and the man at the frontof the march she is talking to. Try to includeas many ideas as possible from each side, ofthe argument about the marches.

A Catholic woman, and Orangemen about to marchalong the Garvaghy Road, a Catholic area of Portadown,1996. The original caption went on, 'about 300 Catholicsattacked the RUC as they shielded the Orange marchers'.Can you see the armoured vans in the background?


Good Friday Agreement, 1998Walsh,, pp 114-15

1. Look carefully at the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.Which terms would be regarded as sensitive or controversial

a) in Northern Irelandb) in the Republicc) in mainland Britain?

2. Source 1 is meant to be humorous, but also attempts to get across an important point.What point is the cartoonist trying to make about Mo Mowlam?

3. Source 2 quotes a republican activist who is prepared to give up some important aims in orderto gain peace. What evidence is there in this section of other groups making importantcompromises as well?

SOURCE 1A cartoon from the Guardian, January 1998, referring to MoMowlam’s visit to the Maze prison. One of the prisoners she spoke towas called John 'Mad Dog' Adair.

I’m prepared as a Republican tosettle. My hopes are for theunification of this country, but I haveto accept in the long run that it’s notgoing to happen. The Brits are notgoing to sail away in the sunlight. Goback to war? What are we going todo? It would only cause moremisery, more suffering and mostly toour own people and to ourselves.

SOURCE 2Former IRA activist Gabriel Megahy,interviewed on BBC television in 1998


Did the Good Friday Agreement mean that Northern Ireland’s troubleswere over?Optimism versus pessimismB. Walsh, pp 128-31

The imagined conversations below set out the pessimistic and optimistic views on • the Northern Ireland Assembly • paramilitaries • the republican movement • security and policing • Orange marches1. Work in groups of five, and take one issue each.2. For your issue, decide whether you would side with the optimists or the pessimists. Make sure you can explain and support your

view. Use Sources 1-6 to help you. You may want to use the internet or other resources for extra research.

Subject Optimism Pessimism

The NorthernIreland Assembly

The Assembly has made good progress. It first meton 1 July 1998. It appointed the well-respectedLord Alderdice as its Speaker, David Trimble asFirst Minister and the SDLP’s Seamus Mallon as hisdeputy. Northern Ireland politicians were in thesame building, and arguing like normal politicians!

Yes, it did make a good start. But by 1999, theAssembly had not appointed a cabinet. The processwas completely hung up on the lack of progressmade in decommissioning IRA weapons. InJuly1999 the Assembly fell apart when Unionistsrefused to take part in forming a new governmentbecause the IRA had not started decommissioningweapons. Senator George Mitchell had to be calledback to carry out a review to rescue the wholepeace process.

Paramilitaries In the next few years, we should see an end topolitical violence altogether. It must be hard forvictims’ families to watch prisoners being releasedearly, but without releases it is hard to see howpeace will last.

But there has been no decommissioning of anyweapons. Also, paramilitary punishment beatings ofpeople in their own areas have not stopped. What’smore, the release of paramilitary prisoners is aninsult to the families and loved ones of thousandsof innocent victims.

Security &policing

It might be said that in 1969 the RUC andB-Specials were not always impartial. Today’s RUCis professional and well disciplined. It stood up tothe Loyalists at Drumcree in 1998 and 1999. Theindependent commission set up by thegovernment has already heard from 9000 people.When it reports in 2000, it will be clear that theRUC can win the confidence of both communities.

Drumcree has helped, but many Nationalists stilldon’t trust the RUC. They remember internmentand allegations of human rights abuses. They wantthe RUC disbanded and they won’t accept anythingless. Even moderate Catholics or Nationalists arereluctant to join the RUG because republicanactivists harass and intimidate their families.

The republicanmovement

Gerry Adams has won over most Republicans to anon-violent approach. The Omagh bomb of August1998 was horrific and inexcusable, but it might bea turning point. All Nationalists were appalled bythis vicious slaughter. In the Republic, where thealleged killers were based, people were horrified.After the Omagh bomb, there is not one shred ofsympathy left for violent republicanism. Thatmeans republican extremists have nowhere tohide. Their time is over.

There are still plenty of hardliners in the republicanmovement who will never accept anything but a32-county Irish Republic. Also, public opinion in theRepublic was appalled by the Enniskillen bombingin 1987 but the men and women of violence stillfound somewhere to hide. These extremists reallybelieve they are right, so they’ll be back.

Orange marches OK, I accept that the violent clashes at Drumcreehave not reflected much credit on anyone. TheOrangemen insist on marching down the mainlyCatholic Garvaghy Road (which was once mainlyProtestant). The local residents’ groups don’t wantthem to. But Drumcree’s an extreme example.There are thousands of peaceful Orange marchesevery summer in Northern Ireland, and only about50 are disputed. In July 1998, the Orange Ordercalled off another of the big controversial marches,on the Ormeau Road, in Belfast.

Drumcree has shown there is a core of loyalisthardliners associated with the Orange Order. Theykilled an RUC officer in riots at Drumcree inJuly1998. In December 1998, they broughtPortadown to a halt with a demonstration about theDrumcree march (Drumcree is on the edge ofPortadown). Local traders were furious at losingtheir Christmas trade.


Did the Good Friday Agreement mean that Northern Ireland's troubleswere over?What does the evidence suggest - sources 1-6?

SOURCE 1 Mutilation attacks and shootings carried out by the paramilitaries.These figures are from Families Against Intimidation and Terror (FAIT). You can find out more from their

website at http://www.fait.org/

Prisoner release has played a part in conflict resolution throughout the world. Those who havebeen part of the problem must be part of the solution. But only those who are committed topurely peaceful and democratic means and those whose parent organisation is on ceasefire. Noceasefire, no release!

SOURCE 2 Philip Dean, a member of the Ulster Democratic Party, one of the smaller unionist parties,commenting on prisoner releases in an e-mail conference in May 1998.

SOURCE 3 A poster published by hardline Republicansattacking the Good Friday Agreement, 1998.The poster shows Mo Mowlam, Gerry Adams and MartinMcGuinness. 'Gerry and the Peacemakers' is a pun onthe 1960s pop band Gerry and the Pacemakers. Thesellout tour is an ironic reference to this `band' whohave not sold out their tour in terms of tickets, but haveallegedly sold out their supporters and friends.

http://www.fait.org/


We want to express revulsion at the atrocity inOmagh; and express community sympathy withthe families who lost loved ones and theinjured of Omagh, Buncrana and the Spanishstudent group.We also want to express solidarity with thepeace process and re-ciffirm the referendumvote in favour of the Good Friday Agreement.We will demonstrate our disgust at those whowithout any mandate are bringing disgrace tothe town of Dundalk.We are saying directly to the 32-CountyMovement and the 'Real IRA' that there will beno hiding place in Dundalk or County Louth fortheir activities, and that the people of Dundalkand Louth support the government, the Garclai[the Irish police] and the RUC to take whateveraction is necessary to crush the activities of

SOURCE 4 A still from video footage showing thedevastation in the centre of Omagh, County Tyrone, inAugust 1998.A breakaway republican group called the Real IRA carbomb outside a children's clothes shop. An incorrectwarning meant people were gathered near the bomb.The final death toll was 29.

SOURCE 5 Part of a statement by Brian O'Neill, August1998.O'Neill was a leader of a demonstration in Dundalk, inthe Irish Republic, held to protest about the Omaghbombing. Dundalk was a traditional republicanstronghold, and home of the 32-County SovereigntyCommittee. This was said to be the political wing of theReal IRA. Two Spanish students were killed in theexplosion at Omagh. They were on an exchange withIrish students.

SOURCE 6 The results of a study by the University of Ulster into attitudes s the police,published in 1997.


UNDERSTANDING BOTH SIDESRea, p. 75

SOURCE A

Catholics stand in silence as an Orange march passes through their district.

SOURCE BThe ordinary Ulsterman is not going to surrender to the IRA or be betrayed into a united Irelandor put his neck under the jackboot of Catholicism.Ian Paisley, 1982

SOURCE C

History says, Don’t hopeOn this side of the graveBut then, once in a lifetimeThe longed for tidal waveOf justice can rise upAnd hope and history rhyme.

So hope for a great sea-changeOn the far side of revenge.Believe that a further shoreIs reachable from here.Believe in miraclesAnd cures and healing swells.

An extract from Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘The cure at Troy’, 1990

1. Look carefully at the expressions of the people in Source A. Explain as fully as you can what youthink is going through their minds. You could choose just one of the crowd if this helps.

2. Explain why many Northern Irish Protestants might agree with the statement by Ian Paisley inSource B?

3. Study the poem, Source C. What hope do you think there is for lasting peace in NorthernIreland?


REVIEW OF PEACE ATTEMPTSWalsh, p. 107

You are a reporter in 1993. Most otherreporters are writing articles about theDowning Street Declaration, which has justbeen signed. You have decided to be slightlydifferent. You are going to look back at thepolitical initiatives of the last twenty years inNorthern Ireland, leading up to and includingthe Declaration. You could work alone or witha team of researchers to help you.

1. First copy and complete the chart belowanalysing the three initiatives.

2. Use your completed chart to write an articlecovering at least some of the followingissues:

• Have any policies or ideas come up severaltimes in the political initiatives?

• Have any policies been dropped?• How have the main political parties in

Northern Ireland reacted to each of theinitiatives?

• Do any of the initiatives show one or moregroups or parties compromising?

• Have any initiatives successfully built onachievements of previous initiatives?

You should finish your report with a conclusionon whether you feel Northern Ireland is closerto peace in 1993, or whether it is no nearerthan it was in 1973.

Initiative Issues raised Reactions to initiative from ...

Self-government forNorthernIreland?

Cross-borderorganis-ations(s)?

Principle ofconsent?

Loyalists ModerateUnionists

ModerateNationalists

Republicans

1. The Power-SharingExecutive and theSunningdale Agreement,1973-74

2. The Anglo-IrishAgreement, 1985

3. The Downing StreetDeclaration, 1993


REVIEW OF GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENTWalsh, p. 126

1. Use the information and sources on pages 110-125 to complete your own copy of this diagram.

In each box, note a factor that made theGood Friday Agreement of 1998possible. Add extra boxes if you needthem. Colour code the finished diagramto showa) the influence of individualsb) developments outside Northern

Irelandc) developments inside Northern

Ireland.2. Look at your factors again. Sort them

into two categories:a) essential factors (without these no

agreement was possible)b) significant factors (these helped

achieve an agreement but it couldhave happened without them).

3. Decide whether each of your factorsmostly

a) addressed a modern (post-1969)political issue

b) addressed a deep-rooted historicalproblem.4. Finally, decide how far you agree withthese statements:

• 'History was never really the problemin Northern Ireland: it was politics.Two groups wanted power, andneither wanted to compromise. Thenthey went looking for suitable bits ofhistory to use as an excuse:

• 'The Good Friday Agreement allowedNorthern Ireland's people to ridthemselves of the burden of history’

Use your answers to prepare apresentation showing how effective youthink the Good Friday Agreement was.


COURSEWORK ASSIGNMENT`What made the Good Friday Agreement possible?'Walsh, p126

Many factors made the Good FridayAgreement possible:• the contributions of important

individuals• the importance of developments

outside Northern Ireland• the actions of paramilitaries and

their representatives• the part played by Northern

Ireland's democratic politicalparties

• the role of the British and Irishgovernments

• the role played by ordinarypeople

• the importance of previousdevelopments in the 1970s,1980s and 1990s.

The question is asking you to explain why somethinghas happened. You know that the causes werecomplicated and several were involved. These havebeen listed for you. But simply describing each ofthese in detail does not explain why the Agreementwas made. Nor does describing everything that hashappened in Northern Ireland in the last 30 years. Totackle this assignment you should:

1. Choose factors which you think made the GoodFriday Agreement possible.

2. Explain how each of the factors contributed.3. Show how they were linked to each other. You

could mention how they were linked to some otherfactors.

4. Finally, look at the examiner's' mark-scheme (youcan get this from your teacher) to check what theyare looking for.

attempts at a settlement in northern ireland, 1973-98 · pdf filethis was proposed by northern...

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