Towards a United Kingdom (3)

The (Northern) Irish

Connection
 Prehistory
(British Isles in General)

• 25,000 BP: 1st humans (Homo sapiens)

- paleolithic/mesolithic hunter-gatherers
- land bridge with Europe
- gradual rise in sea levels
• 12,000 BP: Ireland (the Isle of Man) separated from
Great Britain
• 6,000 BP: GB separated from Europe
- beginning of agriculture (long after Middle East)
The earliest dated culture in the British Isles appeared about 6000 B.C.
 Neolithic Villages: 4500 BC
Newgrange (N.I.) Passage Grave (Barrow)
Skara Brae (Orkneys)
Stonehenge: 3000-1100 BC
Bronze Age: Beaker People
2000 BC Beakers
 Iron Age (Celts)
From 500 BC
The Celts
Celtic Villages & People
Celtic religion was dedicated
to a number of deities that
they believed inhabited the
forests and fens of Britain.
The Druid priests made
sacrifices and served as
teachers, judges, and
religious leaders.
 Celtic Ireland (1)
The Four Kingdoms (Administrative basis
The Five Fifths (c. time of Christ) for present-day Ireland)
 Celtic Ireland (2)
• No centralized power: chieftains usually
fighting for supremacy
• “Kings of Tara (Leinster) & High Kings of
Ireland
- more legend than reality
• Uí Neill (i.e. O’Neill) dynasty (Connacht)
- Dominated Ireland for about Tara Stone (on Hill of Tara)
300 years (600-900 AD)
- Traditionally descended from
semi-mythical Niall of the
Nine Hostages (c. 400 – 450 AD)
- DNA evidence may support
this claim (possibly 2-3 million
descendants)
Niall of the Nine Hostages
 Celtic Ireland (3):
Scottish Connection

• Gaels (Scoti) from

Northern Ireland)
invaded west of
Scotland
• 6th-7th cent: Kingdom
of Dalriada (N. Ireland &
W. Scotland)
• 565: St. Columba (from
Ireland) founded
monastery on Iona
Monastry on island of Iona
 Arrival of Christianity
• Palladius (from 431) mainly
in Munster & Leinster
• Patrick (from 432) mainly in
Ulster & Connacht
• Complete christianization
probably not until 9th century St. Patrick holding St. Patrick expelling
• Monastic tradition (monks & a shamrock snakes from Ireland
abbots / priors)
• Kept Christianity alive in
northern Europe during “dark
ages”
• Illuminated writing:
- e.g. Book of Kells (gospels) &
other manuscripts
Book of Kells
 Irish Christianity in Britain
• St. Columba (521-597)
o Founded abbey on island of
Iona (Inner Hebrides,
Scotland) in 565
• St. Aidan (from Iona)
o Founded Priory, (island of
Lindisfarne, Northumbria) in
635

Ruins of Lindisfarne Priory Close-up of Lindisfarne Priory

 Christianity: Competition with Rome
• St. Augustine 597 (Kent)
• Pope Gregory
o Non anglii sed angeli
• Venerable Bede (673?-635)
o Ecclesiastical History of
the English People
o only record of these
events
St Augustine (d. 604 Pope Gregory the
• Conflict with Celtic church
1st Archbishop of Great (540-604)
• Autonomous monastic Canterbury
system (abbots) vs
centralized, hierarchical
system (bishops)
 The Vikings in Ireland
• Viking raids from 795 AD
• Started founding cities (from
840):
o Dublin (852), Limerick,
Waterford, Wexford, Cork
• Intermarried with Irish &
participated in local feuds
o Many Irish women taken to
Iceland as slaves (recent DNA
evidence)
• Defeated by High King Brian
Boru (lived 941-1014) at Battle
of Clontarf (1014)
 Norman Invasion of England
Battle of Hastings (1066)
William Harold Godwinson
• Protagonists:
- Duke William of Normandy
(“The Conqueror”): 1028-1087
- King Harold II (Godwinson) of
England: 1022-1066
• Victor: William I: 1066-1087
• England finally subdued c. 1070 Detail of battle from Bayeux Tapestry
• Beginning of Feudal System in
England
• French language (for nobility),
Norman law & administration
 The Anglo-Norman Invasion
• 1167: Local dispute in Ireland:
loser asked Henry II (r. 1154-
1189) for Norman knights
• 1169: arrival of Richard de
Clare (“Strongbow” - Welsh
Richard de Clare
Marcher Lord) “Strongbow” Chepstow Castle (Another view)

• 1171: arrival of Henry II,

worried by Strongbow’s
power
• Named his infant son (John
“Lackland”, brother of
Richard I – the “Lionheart”)
“Lord of Ireland“ (1177) Henry II Dublin Castle today
 The English Pale
• Anglo-Normans established
themselves in Dublin & extended
influence in east
• Later:
o Many were assimilated
into Irish culture
o Suspicious English kings
tried to control their
power Maximum extent The English Pale - 1450
o Gradually, Irish chieftains of Anglo- Norman
won back most of their control - 1300
land Hence idomatic expression “beyond the pale”
• Anglo-Norman influence was (i.e. offensive / unacceptable behaviour)
restricted to the area around
Dublin (The Pale)
 English Reformation
• 1534: Henry VIII’s break with
Rome/Pope (Act of Supremacy)
• Followed by “Dissolution of
Monasteries” , i.e. seizure of
Church property (cf: Juárez
during “Reforma”)
• 1536: “re-conquest” of Ireland Martin Luther

o 1541: Henry changed his Henry VIII

status from Lord to King of
Ireland
• 16th & 17th cent: rise of
protestantism in England,
Wales & Scotland
• Ireland remained Catholic …
Typical monastery
 The “Plantations” (1): 16th Century
• English Protestants afraid of possible
invasion by Catholic powers (Spain,
then France), using Ireland
- a well-founded fear
• Elizabeth I (1558-1603) sent English
& Scottish settlers/colonists to
displace local Irish landowners
Elizabeth I
- system known as “plantation”)
• Attempted Spanish invasion: 1588
- destruction of the “Invincible
Armada”
- mainly by strong winds, rather
than English naval superiority)
• Rebellion led by Earl of Tyrone (1595-
1603) Route of the
Philip II of Spain Spanish Armada
 The “Plantations” (2): 17th Century
• James I (1603-1625)
continued plantation
policy – especially Scots
in Ulster
James I Guy Fawkes
• Plan facilitated by (& VI of Scotland)

(1) Gunpowder Plot

(Guy Fawkes etc)
(2) the “Flight of the
Earls” (1607)
• Resisted by Catholic
Irish – often violently
 The Irish Rebellion (1641-1653)
• Mainly in Ulster
• Predated & outlasted English Civil
War (1642-1649) between English
King (Charles I) and Parliament
• However, it became inseparable
from the English struggle
• Massacres were committed by Massacre of Protestant civilians at Portadown
by Irish Catholic insurgents (Nov 1641)
both sides, e.g. Portadown &
Drogheda)
• Rebellion crushed by Oliver
Cromwell & Ireton (1653)
• Up to 1/3 of population killed or
exiled (e.g. to Barbados in West Cromwell’s siege of Drogheda
Indies) & massacre of civilians (1649)
The “Plantations” (3): James II vs William III
• James II vs William III (of Orange)
o James was supported by France,
Spain & the Vatican
o Irish Catholics morally obliged to fight
for James &
o his successors (“Old” & “Young”
Pretenders) James II
• 1690: Battle of the (River) Boyne William III (of Orange)
o William III defeated James II
o Still celebrated every year (July 12th)
by Protestants in Northern Ireland
(often to provoke Catholics)
o More land distributed among
victorious generals …
• By the early 18th century, 86% of Irish
land was owned by 20% of the
population (mainly Scottish & English
James Edward Stuart Charles Edward Stuart
Protestants) (Old Pretender) (Young Pretender)
 Penal Laws in Ireland (1)
• Among many restrictive laws
since 1607 (after the “Flight
of the Earls”), no Catholics
could do the following:
o have any post in the
government
o serve in the armed forces
o marry Protestants
o educate their children in
Ireland or abroad or teach
in any school
o own a horse worth more
than £5
 Penal Laws (2)
• In addition to the above,
o priests had to be registered and masses were restricted
o all land had to be divided equally among all the children of a
Catholic landlord (cf: traditional English system)
o Protestant members of a Catholic family could inherit all the
family’s property
o Catholic tenants had to pay tithes (land taxes) to (Protestant /
Anglican) Church of Ireland to help pay for its upkeep
• Several of these restrictions also applied to Presbyterians (extreme
[Calvinist] Protestants)
• Application of laws depended very much on individual local
magistrates’ prejudices
• Penal laws gradually relaxed during late 18th century, but full
emancipation not achieved until 1829 (See below)
 Yet Another Rebellion …
• Irish (whether Protestant or Catholic) were forbidden
to export woollen cloth, cattle, butter or cheese
• Irish Parliament Theobald
oOnly Protestants could vote for its members Wolfe Tone
oEvery act to be approved by the British Parliament
(at Westminster)
• 1782: Irish (Protestants & Catholics) declared their
Parliament to be independent, even though some
restrictions had already been lifted
• 1798 Rebellion (by Society of United Irishmen)
o Aim: independence from England
o Inspired by U.S. independence & French
Revolution
o Leaders: Wolfe Tone (Protestant) & Lord
Edward Fitzgerald
o Storm prevented French fleet from supporting
them
o Tone died in prison; Fitzgerald died after
resisting arrest
o Now regarded as national heroes
Capture of Lord Edward Fitzgerald
 Act of Union: 1800
• Motivated, in part, by
the 1798 rebellion
• Passed in both Parliaments
(Irish & British)
• Irish [Protestants] now able
to be Members of British Union Flag 1707, first used at sea in 1606,
Parliament incorporating Scottish saltire (St. Andrew’s cross
• But Irish Parliament had to
be abolished (just as in
England & Scotland in 1707)
• Came into effect in 1801

Union flag since 1801, incorporating

St. Patrick’s cross
 Catholic Emancipation
• King George III refused to sign
the part of the bill that would
have emancipated (i.e. granted
full rights to) Catholics
• Emancipation was finally
granted in 1829
o due to pressure by Daniel
O’Connell (also known as
“The Liberator”, “The
Emancipator”)
o Ireland’s first Catholic
Member of Parliament (MP)
o later tried to have the Act of
Union repealed
 The Great Famine (1): Direct Causes
• Extreme poverty in rural Ireland
o Land tenure system: plots of land too
small to be farmed efficiently (similar to
Mexico’s at that time – almost feudal)
o Population explosion ( >8 million by
1845) (Cf: Mexico 1846: c.7m)
o Little or no industry outside Ulster
(which also had the richest agricultural land)
• Dependence on potatoes (cheaper & more
nutritious than corn – cereals like
wheat, oats, barley, rye or maize – but
less resistant to disease
• 1845-7: “Blight” (diseases) caused a series
of failed potato harvests
o Many Irish (especially tenant farmers)
now unable to buy other kinds of food
o Many evictions as Irish farm workers
now unable to pay rents
Typical eviction
 The Great Famine (2): Indirect Causes
• Slow response by British Government. Reasons:
o Initial denial of problem (failed potato crops were not
new)
o ineffective measures:
 maize imported from North America – but hard to
grind & not liked
 low-paid public sector work
 “workhouses” (i.e. hostels) & soup kitchens
Robert Peel John Russell
o Contempt / indifference felt by many Protestants for the
(1788-1850) (1792-1878)
Irish (i.e. as ignorant, lazy, Catholic peasants being
punished by “divine providence”)
• Repeal, by Robert Peel’s (Tory) government, of “Corn
Laws” (1846): special import duties in England in order to
guarantee high prices for (relatively inefficient)
English/Irish landlords/farmers
• Result: Irish agricultural produce being exported from
Ireland despite famine
• New Whig government’s fanatical adherence to free trade
or “laissez-faire” economics (i.e. no government
interference, little or no taxation) Charles Edward Trevelyan
(1807-1886)
o Irish to be responsible for solving their own problems
(despite being part of UK)
Famine Memorial, Dublin
 Effects of Famine (1): Fall in Population
• Drastic fall in population of up to 2 million (25%)
by c. 1850
• Possibly 1 million deaths from starvation &
related diseases (e.g. typhus)
• About 1 million emigrants (to England, USA,
Canada, Australia, etc)
o despised & resented by the citizens of
these countries (language problems,
ignorance, cheap labour, etc)
o e. g. Batallón de San Patricio in US- Mexican
war (1846-1848)
• Continued emigration
o only 4.4m were left in 1911 (down from
8.2m in 1841)
o even in 1961 the total population of the
island was only 4.1m
o Present population (of island): c. 6.6m
• Decrease in number of Gaelic-speakers (L1 of
most of those who died/emigrated)
 Bridget O’Donnel Emigrants leave Ireland
Skibbereen (Co. Cork) & children 1849 (Henry Doyle 1868)
(James Mahony 1847)

Funeral in Skibbereen 1847 Abandoned village of Tullig, Country Clare, 1850

 Effects of the Famine: (2)
• Hatred of the English (Protestants)
– especially by the Irish in the USA
o many believed that British
indifference/incompetence was
really genocide (Some still do!)
• Creation of “Fenians”: groups
opposed to British rule, funded Rossmore Bridge, River
mainly by Irish immigrants in the Punch cartoon Suir, Tipperary
28-12-1867
USA
o forerunners of the Irish
Republican Army (IRA) of the
20th/21st century
• Irish rising / rebellion in 1867 (also
in Canada)
o easily put down - but there were
more to come … Mural, Belfast (N.I.), 2007
 Saint Patrick’s Battalion
• Young Irishmen originally drafted into
US army after emigrating due to
potato famine
o Also, Germans & others from
various countries – mainly Catholics
• Deserted from US army because of
Reconstruction of battalion’s flag as explained by
bad treatment (e.g. for being John Riley. English “corruption” of original Éirinn
Catholics) go Brách, meaning approximately: Ireland Forever.
• Joined Mexican army against invading
US army in 1846-1848
o Mainly artillery specialists under
command of John Riley
o Brave & disclipined - nothing to lose
• Most captured after battle of
Churubusco & hanged as deserters
o Considered heroes in Mexico Battle of Cerro Gordo,
Veracruz, 18-4-1847
• Film: One Man’s Hero (1999, with Tom Officer of the (by Carl Nebel)
Berenger & Daniela Romo) Battalion (by
Dan Leahy)
Monument (1959), San Jacinto Plaza,
San Ángel, Mexico City Annual commemoration, Mexico City
“One man’s hero … is another man’s traitor”.
Spoken by Sgt. John Riley (aka Tom Berenger)
 Gladstone’s Policies(1)
• William Gladstone: UK’s Liberal Prime Minister:
1868-74, 1880-85, Feb-July 1886, 1892-94
o Promoted reforms for Ireland
o Opposed by conservative MPs
• Disestablished [Anglican] Church of Ireland
o tithes abolished(especially from Catholics), so
o C of I now forced to finance itself
• Land Acts (i.e. laws on landlord-tenant relations, William Gladstone
(1809-1898)
etc): 1870 & 1881
o aim to make rural Irish more independent & “Captain” Charles
Boycott (1832-1897)
productive through land reform
o Like Mexican agrarian reform after Revolution
• Land League
o founded by Michael Davitt (1879)
o promoted civil disobedience (e.g. treatment
of Captain Boycott – hence verb to boycott
(boicotear in Spanish). Result …
• 2nd Land Act (1881): 3 F’s (fair rent, fixed tenure,
free sale) A typical Land League poster
Michael Davitt c. 1978
 Gladstone’s Policies (2)
• Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-1891)
o Led the Irish Parliamentary Party’s
“nuisance” policy by …
o … instructing other Irish MPs to keep dis-
rupting British parliamentary business by
forcing MPs to focus on Irish problems

• Gladstone wanted autonomy / self-

government (called “home rule”) for Ireland
(as in Canada 1867, Australia 1901, etc)

• He introduced two Home Rule bills:

o 1st bill (1886): defeated in House of
Punch magazine depicts Par-
Commons nell as Frankenstein and the
o 2nd bill (1893): defeated in House of Fenian movement as his
Lords monster

• Home Rule issue divided Liberal Party:

o Half joined Conservative Party, calling
themselves Liberal Unionists (later
known as Ulster Unionists) opposed to
Home Rule Kitty O’Shea
 3rd Home Rule Bill
• 3rd Home Rule Bill
ointroduced 1912 & passed
through House of Commons
but not House of Lords
o eventually passed in both Houses (1914) but
…
o… delayed because of 1st World War (1914-
18) Irish Volunteers 1913
H H Asquith
(PM 1908-1916) (later IRA)
• 1912: Ulster Covenant (Protestants opposing
home rule).

• Paramilitary groups formed:

oUlster Volunteers (Protestants) → Ulster
Volunteer Force (Jan. 1913)
o Irish Volunteers [25-Nov-1913] (later became
Irish Republican Army [IRA] 27-Oct-1917)

• See miniseries Titanic for instances of Catholic-

Protestant friction in Ulster Ulster Volunteers 1914
 The Ulster Covenant

As written on a wall somewhere

in Northern Ireland …
Original document
 The Easter Rising
• Easter Rising (24-4-1916)
• Mainly intellectuals inspired by
Gaelic Renaissance (W B Yeats’
poetry etc)
o Nobel Prize for literature 1923
• Basically, amateurs
o militarily unprepared
• Initially, cool – even hostile
-reaction from most Irish
o i.e. considered trouble-
makers, even traitors)
• Many participants were
executed, thus causing great
resentment
• Centenary celebrated 2016 Netflix miniseries: Rebellion (2016)
 Dublin Post Office Flag raised over
Dublin Post Office
(Sir) Roger Casement
(1864-1916)

Éamon de Valera (1882-1975) Patrick Pearse

captured after Easter Rising (1879-1916)

James Connolly
1868-1916 Countess Constance
Markievicz (1868-1927)
Proclamation of the Irish Republic Satirical Propaganda Article
 Towards Partition (1)
• (Spring 1918) Attempt to conscript Irish
men for western front of 1st World War
o resented very much
o ironically, 1000s of volunteers
• Election (1918)
o Sinn Fein (Gaelic for “We ourselves”) party
o founded by Arthur Griffith 1905, but
Eamon de Valera became leader after
Anti-conscription rally
1917)
o won in most of Ireland
• Winning members refused to take up
seats in Westminster, forming instead
“Dáil Eireann” (National Assembly)
o Ironic: Countess Markievicz 1st
woman elected to British
Parliament
• Unilateral [i.e. unofficial] Declaration of
Éamon de Valera
Independence (UDI) by …
o … 1st Dail Eireann (21-Jan-19) Markievicz at a rally
Boston, USA, 1922
1st Dail Eireann (I.e. Irish Parliament)
 Towards Partition (2): The “Troubles”
• Anglo-Irish War (Aka The Troubles): 21-Jan
1919-11 July 1921
o Ambush of 2 policemen in Tipperary
o Basically, beginning of guerrilla war
• Irish Republican Army (IRA) vs
o British Army
o Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) i.e. police)
• Many RIC members resigned due to conflicts Sean Hogan's (No. 2) Flying Column,
of interest 3rd Tipperary Brigade, IRA.
• July 1920: Special Reserve was created to
strengthen RIC
o Poorly trained, undisciplined new recruits
(mainly former BritishWWI soldiers) –
often no better than hired thugs
o Known as “Black and Tans”
o (See (1) film The Wind that Shakes
the Barley (2) Rebellion, Season 2)

Black and Tans

 (First) Bloody Sunday
• 21 November 1920
• Gaelic Football match at Croke
Park, Dublin (=Irish equivalent of
Wembley Stadium or Estadio
Azteca)
• Black and Tans, in armoured cars,
crashed through gates
• Began shooting indiscriminately
into the crowd
• Also destroyed Cork’s city centre
• May have been revenge for IRA
murders of 14 undercover RIC
policemen (morning of same day)
• See clips from film Michael
Collins
 Attempt at Partition
• 1920: Government of Ireland Act David Lloyd George,
(I.e. 4th Home Rule Act) UK Prime Minister
• Island to be divided 1916-1922
o Southern Ireland aka (26
counties)
o Northern Ireland (6 counties of
north-east Ulster)
• Each to have its own parliament &
equal status under the Crown
• Each parliament to send 20
members to joint Council of Ireland
(with power to unite both regions)
• Unacceptable to both Nationalists
and Unionists …
 Anglo-Irish Treaty
• National election (21 May 1921)
oSinn Fein formed new Dáil (ignoring aims of the Anglo-Irish Act)
oÉamon de Valera as president
oMeanwhile IRA continued guerrilla / terrorist war against British …
• Ceasefire / Truce (11-July-1921) – but no peace treaty yet
oMichael Collins & Arthur Griffith sent to London to negotiate
(from 11-Oct-1921)
oAnglo-Irish Treaty (signed 6-Dec-1921): Southern Ireland to
become Irish Free State with “dominion” status within British
Empire (like Canada, Australia & New Zealand)
o De Valera rejected this, but Dail approved it (64-57), so De Valera
resigned as president of the “Republic” & Griffith became new
president
• Provisional Government of Southern Ireland formed (16 Jan - 6 Dec 1922)
oElection for Dáil (between factions of Sinn Fein) 18 June 1922
- Anti-treaty (Eamon Devalera etc) vs
- Pro-treaty (Michael Collins etc)
oVictory for pro-treaty faction (See film Michael Collins)
 Satirical Cartoon: Bit of a Mouthful
Michael Collins signs the treaty (6-Dec-21) (National Library of Ireland)

Michael Collins in London

Arthur Griffith 1872-1922
Founder of Sinn Fein (1905)
Éamon de Valera (1882-1975)

Michael Collins (1890-1922)

Chairman of Provisional Irish Gvt
16-Jan-1922 – 22-Aug-1922
Irish Civil War (28-June-22 to 24-May-1923
• Irish Civil War (28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923): Anti-treaty vs Pro-treaty
• Pro-treaty eventually won (supported by British Government – and the
Catholic Church)
o Arthur Griffith dies of a brain haemorrhage (12-Aug-1922)
o Michael Collins ambushed & killed (22 August 1922)
o collins replaced by Gen. Richard Mulcahy as head of Irish National
Army
• Effects still felt today, e.g. political parties derived from the original Sinn
Fein:
o Fine Gael (continuation of pro-treaty faction)
o Fianna Fáil (continuation of anti-treaty faction)

Richard Mulcahy (1886-

1922 (22 August) 1971) Succeeded Collins as
Death of Michael Collins (print) head of Irish armed forces
 Birth of a Nation
• 6-Dec-1922: Creation of Irish Free State
o Northern Ireland immediately opted out: i.e. it
decided to remain in the United Kingdom (now of
Great Britain & Northern Ireland) …
o … but with its own government & parliament (as in
Scotland & Wales)
• Birth of Eire (1937): new constitution (to replace that
of 1922)
o still within the British Commonwealth of Nations
(Like Canada, etc)
• Birth of Republic of Ireland (1949): break with UK &
Commonwealth
 The “Troubles” in Northern Ireland (1)
• Period of extreme political and sectarian violence in Northern Ireland (1969 →1998 – but
sporadic incidents since)

• Deaths estimated at over 3500

• Causes:
o disputed status of NI: unionists/loyalists (usually “Protestants”) vs
nationalists/republicans (usually Roman Catholics)
o Northern Ireland governed by Ulster Unionist party since partition
o discrimination of Catholics by Protestant majority (Church of
Ireland & Presbyterians): “housing, employment, policing, and
electoral procedures” (Wikipedia: 13-10-13)

• Phase 1: from 1967 to 1972

oNorthern Ireland Civil Rights Association (formed Jan 1967)
ocivil rights marches inspired by those of Martin Luther King Jr.
ocampaign of civil resistance to anti-Catholic discrimination
 The “Troubles” in Northern Ireland (2)
• Combatants:
o(Official [Old] & Provisional [New]) IRA (1969-1997):
continuing struggle for a united Ireland
oUlster Volunteer Force (created 1966) & Ulster Defence
Association (formed 1971) – both mainly protestants
oBritish Army (officially neutral, but regarded by most
Catholics as army of occupation)
o Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) – i.e. the police (mainly
protestants)

• Causes of resentment towards occupation by the British Army

o Internment without trial of suspected IRA members (similar to
use of Guantánamo (Cuba) after 9/11 & US invasion of
Afghanistan)
o 2nd “Bloody Sunday” (30 Jan 1972): 13 unarmed civil rights
demonstrators (& 1 months later) shot dead by British troops
U2: Sunday Bloody Sunday (1983) (Thanks to Aleph Castañeda
for telling me about this)
 U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday (Lyrics)

• Songwriters: PAUL HEWSON, DAVE EVANS, ADAM CLAYTON, LARRY How long...
MULLEN (U2) How long must we sing this song
• © Universal Music Publishing Group How long, how long...
'cause tonight...we can be as one
• Yes... Tonight...tonight...
I can't believe the news today
Oh, I can't close my eyes Sunday, Bloody Sunday
And make it go away Sunday, Bloody Sunday
How long...
How long must we sing this song Wipe the tears from your eyes
How long, how long...
'cause tonight...we can be as one
Wipe your tears away
Tonight... Oh, wipe your tears away
Oh, wipe your tears away
Broken bottles under children's feet (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
Bodies strewn across the dead end street Oh, wipe your blood shot eyes
But I won't heed the battle call
It puts my back up
(Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
Puts my back up against the wall
Sunday, Bloody Sunday (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
And it's true we are immune
And the battle's just begun When fact is fiction and TV reality
There's many lost, but tell me who has won And today the millions cry
The trench is dug within our hearts We eat and drink while tomorrow they die
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters
Torn apart
(Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday The real battle just begun
To claim the victory Jesus won
On...
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Sunday Bloody Sunday...
A British soldier drags a Catholic protester during Bloody Sunday when British
paratroopers killed 13 Catholic protesters in Derry on Jan. 30, 1972. (/AFP/Getty
Images) (THOPSON/AFP/Getty Images) (via Washington Post 16-3-19)
The “Troubles” in Northern Ireland (3)
Phase 2: Direct Rule (1972-1998)
• N.I. government & parliament suspended (30 March 1972)
- N.I. to be ruled directly from London for the first time since
partition
• IRA’s bombing campaign taken to England, e.g.
- 5 Oct 1974: bombing of two pubs in Guildford (5 killed, 65 injured)
See film In the Name of the Father (1993)
- 21 Nov 1974: bombing of two pubs in Birmingham (21 killed, 182
injured)
• 1981: 10 imprisoned IRA members went on hunger strike after their “special
category status” (i.e. as “prisoners of war”, not common criminals) was
withdrawn
- Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (the “Iron Lady”) refused to
accept their demands
- 1st to die was Bobby Sands, who became a symbol for resistance
Guildford 5 October 1974
Gerry Conlon freed 1989
Birmingham Bombings 21 Nov 1974
Assassination of Earl Louis Mountbatten 27-Aug-1979

Cousin of QEII
Last Viceroy of India

Mulaghore, Co. Sligo)

 The “Troubles” in Northern Ireland (4)
Phase 3: 1994-1998
• Ceasefires by IRA: (1) 1 Aug 1994 (2)
July 1997
• 1995: George Mitchell: special envoy
sent by U.S. president Clinton to
negotiate a peace agreement
• Belfast (“Good Friday”) Agreement
(10-Apr-1998, effective from 2-Dec-
1999): Ulster Unionists & Sinn Fein
agree to negotiate
oSelf-government was restored to
Northern Ireland: four main political
parties were to share power in the
government & legislature
oNew police force (Police Service of
Northern Ireland) replaced the old
RUC
Ian Paisley (6-Apr-1926 to 12-Sep-1)

Paisley 1972
 Martin McGuinness (23-May-1950 to 21-Mar-2017)
First Minister, NI, May 2007 to Mar 2013 [resigned])

As IRA member (Photo Daily Telegraph Martin McGuinness (as First Minister)
11-Nov-2006) With QEII June 2012 (BBC)
 The “Troubles” in Northern Ireland (5)
Phase 3: 1994-1998
• Division within IRA: “Real” IRA was formed to continue struggle for unification
of Ireland, rejecting the “Good Friday” peace agreement
o Car-bomb in Omagh (15-Aug-1998) killed 29
o Drastically reduced support for IRA by most Catholics
o Continues to operate fighting for a united Ireland
• Self-government was suspended yet again (2002) because of Provisional IRA
spy network inside Sinn Fein party
• Self-government was reinstated 8-May-2007
o Radical , hard-line parties (Democratic Unionist Party & Sinn Fein) have
overtaken the more moderate ones (Ulster Unionist Party & SDLP)
o Radical loyalist Ian Paisley (DUP) and former IRA officer Martin McGuinness
(Sinn Fein) were elected as First Minister and Deputy First Minister
respectively
• Self-government shut down again (Jan. 2017)
o Reasons: Two main parties DUP & Sinn Fein cannot agree of key issues
such as equivalent status for Irish language and same-sex marriage
o Remains closed as of 30-Mar-2019
 Omagh Bombing
(County Tyrone, 15-Aug-1998)

• Car bomb (see photo)

• Perpetrators: “Real” IRA,
successors of the
“Provisional” IRA
• Original target: County
Courthouse (but no nearby
parking space)
• Listen to Bono’s reference
to Omagh in U2 clip above Minutes after the explosion
as being 3 years before the 29 killed – including the (County Courthouse in the
concert (2001, I imagine) Spanish person who background)
took this photo. The
bomb was inside the car.

Same view (2001)

Continuing Sectarianism in Northern Ireland

Catholic rioters attacking police

Orange Order parade

“Loyalist” bonfire 12-7-15 celebrating Catholic youth throwing rocks

Battle of the Boyne (12-7-1690)
 Sectarianism in Northern Ireland

“Peace” line, Belfast, 5.5m high Mural of IRA fighter Bobby Sands
(died in hunger strike 1981)

Close-up of “Peace” Wall Mural, Belfast, depicting

Cromwell’s victories (1650’s)
A mural in homage to Irish republican women by Danny Devenney and Marty Lyons
in the Bogside neighborhood of Derry. Credit Rob Stothard. From the article
The Irish Border is a Scar by Patricken Radden Keefe (New York Times, 30-Mar-2019)
Crosses for Irish republicans who died in the hunger strike at the Maze prison in Belfast
in 1981 are part of a memorial in County Armagh. Credit Rob Stothard for The New
York Times. From the article The Irish Border is a Scar by Patricken Radden Keefe (New
York Times, 30-Mar-2019)
 The “Troubles” in Northern Ireland (5)
Phase 4: 1998→Present
• Self-government was suspended yet again (2002) because of Provisional IRA
spy network inside Sinn Fein party
• Self-government was reinstated 8-May-2007
o Radical , hard-line parties (Democratic Unionist Party & Sinn Fein) have
overtaken the more moderate ones (Ulster Unionist Party & SDLP)
o Radical loyalist Ian Paisley (DUP) and former IRA officer Martin McGuinness
(Sinn Fein) were elected as First Minister and Deputy First Minister
respectively
• Self-government shut down again (Jan. 2017)
o Reasons:
(1) Martin McGuinness resigned as deputy First Minister (after 10 years –
died 2 months later)
(2) His party (Sinn Fein) refused to nominate another minister
(3) Two main parties DUP & Sinn Fein cannot agree on key issues such as
equivalent status for Irish language and same-sex marriage
o Remains closed as of 30-Mar-2019
 Northern Ireland after Brexit?
• Basic issue: how to
preserve peace in NI
• “Hard” vs “soft” border
• between NI & Republic
• Hard: Brexit with no deal
with EU
• Soft: Brexit with negotiated
deal (i.e. “Backstop”)
• E.g. NI to stay within
o single market and/or
o customs union
From The Daily Mail, 13-Dec-2018
From The Irish News, 19-Mar-2019