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1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/imagedump/7185.jpg

2. Summary In Northern Ireland, two communities, namely the Protestants and Catholics, have been fighting with each other over religious and political differences - Catholics and Protestants belong to two different main divisions of Christianity

3. United Kingdom Northern Ireland Britain England Scotland Wales Present State Republic of Ireland

4. Present State

5. Historical Background • Before the 12th century: Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland were one country called Ireland • 12th century: Ireland conquered and colonised by England • 17th century: Protestant Scottish and English settlers brought into Ireland • increase Protestant population

6. Map of UK and Ireland http://www.shunya.net/Pictures/Edinburgh/uk-map.jpg

7. Historical Background • Newcomers mostly settled in the northern part of Ireland • pushing out many local Irish Catholic farmers • those that stayed behind were given the least fertile land • thus northern part of Ireland became predominantly Protestant

8. Historical Background • For years, Irish fought against the Scottish and English settlers without success • 1800: Ireland became part of the United Kingdom (UK) • Hostilities between the local Catholics and Protestants continued • local Irish demanded Home Rule in late 1800s and fighting often broke out

9. Home Rule • Home Rule: An arrangement where the Irish could make their own laws concerning local issues (e.g. education and taxation) while allowing Britain to keep control of external issues (e.g. defence and foreign affairs) • Similar to self-governance

10. Historical Background • 1921: Ireland divided into two separate parts • based on majority religion of each part • Northern Ireland: largely Protestant, remained part of UK • Irish Free State: largely Catholic • 1941: Cut ties with Britain and became Republic of Ireland

11. Protestant - Catholic Tension 1. Divided Loyalties 2. Education System 3. Employment 4. Housing 5. Voting Rights

12. Protestant - Catholic Tension Divided Loyalties: • In Northern Ireland: Protestants regard themselves as British and wish to be a part of the UK • Many were afraid of union with Republic of Ireland • as Catholic government would be intolerant to their Protestant beliefs

13. Protestant - Catholic Tension Divided Loyalties: • In Northern Ireland: Catholics see themselves as Irish and would like to be reunited with Ireland • resent the past history of English conquest and the harsh treatment to the Catholics • remembered the struggle for Home Rule http://www.indybay.org/uploads/ireland.jpg

14. Protestant - Catholic Tension Divided Loyalties: Sense of loyalty to different countries make the Protestants and Catholics intolerant of each other

15. Protestant - Catholic Tension Education System: • Existence of public schools catering for Protestants or Catholics only • Protestant children - taught British history, play British sports (e.g. rugby, hockey and cricket) • Catholic children - taught Irish history, take up Irish sports (e.g. Hurling), and Irish language and culture • tend to regard British as a foreign country

16. Protestant - Catholic Tension Education System: • Mixed schools to cater for both Protestants and Catholics • set up by private individuals • not as popular as the school which cater to just one religious group • Protestant and Catholic rarely get to meet and know each other • increased distrust and hostility among each other

17. Protestant - Catholic Tension Employment: • Competition of jobs is one of the cause of the conflict • Catholics: feel that although they may be academically qualified as the Protestants, but they do not have the same opportunity in getting the jobs they want

18. Protestant - Catholic Tension Employment: • 1971: Population survey revealed that Catholic males were 2.5 times more likely to be jobless than Protestant males • Number of Catholic engineers and civil servants not proportional to their numbers in the country • Relative fewer Catholics in seniors positions in the public as well as private sectors

19. Protestant - Catholic Tension Housing: • Irish Catholics: unhappy with the provision of public housing by city councils • public houses are partly paid by the government • councils usually consist largely of Protestants

20. Protestant - Catholic Tension Housing: • Large Catholic families in need of housing are delayed in getting their houses: • 1968: 71% of the local houses in Dungannon were given to Protestants • although 53% of the people there were Catholics • thus the Catholics find the provision of housing unfair

21. Protestant - Catholic Tension Voting Rights: • Prior to 1968: Each household entitled to two votes • companies entitled to more votes depending on their size • more companies were owned by richer Protestants, they ended up with more votes • Catholics were unhappy as voting districts were often drawn up to include large proportion of Protestants

22. Protestant - Catholic Tension Voting Rights: • Since 1968: Everyone is entitled to one vote as long as he or she is • a British subject and • is above 18 years old • has to be born in Northern Ireland or has lived in the United Kingdom for seven years • Voting districts redrawn to ensure fairness

23. How did the Catholics Make Their Demands? • Mid 1960s: Civil Rights Movement emerged • to demand for equal rights • and to protest against unfair treatment of the Catholics • made peaceful demands for basic rights such as housing, jobs, education and voting

24. How did the Catholics Make Their Demands? • Met with hostility and violence from some Protestants: • including the police force who thought that the movement was an attempt to weaken the government • The Civil Rights Movement in 1968 marked the beginning of the period known as The Troubles

25. How did the Catholics Make Their Demands? • Worsened situation: Government called for more help • Aug 1969: British Army units sent to Northern Ireland to help keep order • welcomed by Catholics as first as they thought they would be protected • however loss faith in them when they began searching their homes and arresting suspects

26. How did the Catholics Make Their Demands? • Bloody Sunday - 1972: • Peaceful civil rights march was shot at by the British soldiers • 13 civilians shot dead • many more were wounded • this incident was a turning point for the Protestant-Catholic ties

27. Bloody Sunday

28. How did the Catholics Make Their Demands? • After 1972: • more violence between the Protestants and Catholics • destruction of Catholics’ property by Protestant mobs • British Army often raiding Catholic homes • witnessed by local police force which did not do anything to stop them

29. How did the Catholics Make Their Demands? • Catholics turned to Irish Republican Army (IRA) for help • IRA: An illegal organisation formed largely of Northern Irish Catholics • aim to use violence to drive British Army and representatives of the British government out of Northern Ireland

30. How did the Catholics Make Their Demands? • Gained substantial support in the Catholic community • during the rioting of the 1960s as they were perceived as defending communities against Protestants and police attacks • 1970s onwards: IRA engaged in armed confrontations with the British army • killing over 100 British soldiers by 1972 and carrying out more than 1300 explosions

31. Sunningdale Agreement • 1974: • mainstream Catholic and Protestant parties, along with the British and Irish governments, negotiated the Sunningdale Agreement • providing Power Sharing between Catholics and Protestants and a Council of Ireland • designed to encourage cross border co-operation • However, this agreement was opposed by extremists from both sides

32. Sunningdale Agreement • Brought down by mass action of Protestants: • organised general strikes that stopped all business on the province • and cut off water and electrical supplies • Catholics blamed British government for not doing enough to break the strike and uphold the agreement • agreement collapsed due to withdrawal of support

33. The Long War • IRA declared ceasefire in 1974 • returned to violence in 1976 • developing a strategy called the Long War • less intense, yet more sustained campaign of violence

34. Long War: Hunger Strikes • 1980 - 1981: • aimed at restoration of political status of paramilitary groups • 1981 Irish Hunger Strike: 10 Catholic prisoners starved to death • proved highly emotive for the Catholic community, 100 000 people attended their funeral • demonstrated high level of support among the Catholics

35. The Long War • 1976 -1994: Paramilitary violence continued on both sides • negative psychological effect on North Irish society • IRA was further boosted by large donation of arms from Libya in 1986 • now killing fewer British soldiers, they now directed their targets at Protestants

36. The Long War • 1976 -1994: Paramilitary violence continued on both sides • Protestant paramilitaries: imported arms from South Africa • and stepped up their killing of Catholics • Security forces were also alleged to operate a policy of “Shoot to Kill”, killing rather than arresting IRA suspects

37. Peace Process • Late 1980s: • Sinn Fein (political wing of IRA) sought a negotiated end to conflict • Aug 1994: IRA declared a ceasefire • 1998: Belfast Agreement produced

38. Belfast Agreement • Self-government restored to Northern Ireland on the bases of ‘power sharing’: • The government (the Northern Ireland Executive) must contain both the largest Protestant party and the largest Catholic party • All bills passed in the Northern Ireland Assembly must have the support of a majority of both Catholics and Protestants • Disbandment of the Protestant Police Force and replacement with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which must have a quota of Catholic recruits

39. Peace Process • 2001: Agreement suspended • Protestants withdrawing from Power Sharing agreement • until IRA destroyed its weapons • Although IRA decommissioning has since taken place (since September 2005), the Protestant party still refuse to accept the Catholic claims that “the war is over”

40. Casualties • 1969-2001: • more than 3 523 people were killed in the Protestant-Catholic conflict • IRA was responsible for two-thirds of the deaths • also responsible for the killing innocent Protestants

41. Casualties • Majority of them were civilians (1857 civilians) • Security forces (1121 members), Members of Catholic groups (392 members) • Members of Protestant groups (151 members)

42. Implications • Since the agreement, relatively moderate parties have been slowly eclipsed by more extremist parties • Although political violence has been greatly reduced, religious animosity is still present • residential areas are still largely segregated between Catholics and Protestants

43. Implications • Northern Ireland, especially Belfast, has areas for Catholics and Protestants • Protestant parades has marched into the Catholic area and sparked violence and deaths of civilians • Progress towards the Belfast Agreement seems unlikely

44. Implications • Major churches in Northern Ireland have condemned violence throughout the Troubles • emphasized that religion do not figure in the political ideologies of the contending parties • Regions are also split regarding ideologies • areas like South Armagh being hardline Catholic • while areas like Portadown, Derry and Antrim being staunch Protestant in nature

45. References - BBC History – The Troubles (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/troubles/) - Conflict Archive on the Internet (http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/) - Longman Upper Secondary Social Studies, Northern Ireland: A Troubled Land (Pg. 60-66)