The conflict in Northern Ireland: the cause, the chronology of events and the consequences for the participating countries

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40

The conflict in Northern Ireland is an ethno-political confrontation provoked by a dispute between local national republican organizations, which were left-wing and Catholic, and the central British authorities. The main force opposing the United Kingdom was the Irish Republican Army. Her opponent was the Protestant Orange Order and right-wing organizations that supported it.

Backstory

The roots of the conflict in Northern Ireland lie deep in the past. Ireland has been dependent on Britain since the Middle Ages. The seizure of land plots from residents massively began in the 16th century, when they began to be transferred to immigrants from England. In subsequent years, the number of Englishmen in Ireland grew steadily.

The land policy pursued by the Britishcaused widespread discontent among local landowners. This constantly led to new uprisings and minor skirmishes. In parallel, local residents were actually evicted from the island. In the early years of the 19th century, Ireland became an official part of the British Kingdom.

In the middle of the XIX century, the oppression of landowners resumed after a break. Land confiscations, the repeal of the Corn Laws, and crop failures led to a famine that lasted from 1845 to 1849. Anti-English sentiment increased significantly. There was a series of armed uprisings, but then the protest activity died down for a long time.

Early 20th century

Before the First World War, a militarized nationalist organization appears in Ireland. Its members call themselves the "Irish Volunteers". In fact, these were the forerunners of the IRA. During the war, they armed themselves and gained the necessary combat experience.

A new uprising broke out in 1916, when the independent Republic of Ireland was proclaimed by the rebels. The uprising was suppressed by force, but after three years it flared up with renewed vigor.

It was then that the Irish Republican Army was created. She immediately begins to conduct a guerrilla war against the police and British troops. The Republic, which declared its independence, occupied the territory of the entire island.

In 1921, a formal treaty was signed between Ireland and Great Britain, according to which the territory of the rebelsreceived the status of a dominion, becoming known as the Irish Free State. At the same time, several counties in the northeast of the island were not included in it. They had significant industrial potential. Most of the population in them were Protestants. So Northern Ireland broke away and remained in the United Kingdom.

Despite the formal separation of Ireland from Great Britain, the British left their military bases on its territory.

After a formal peace agreement was signed and ratified by the Irish Parliament, the Republican army split. Most of its leaders went over to the side of the newly formed state, having received high posts in the Irish National Army. The rest decided to continue the fight, in fact, starting to oppose their yesterday's comrades-in-arms. However, they had little chance of success. The National Army was greatly strengthened by the support of the British military. As a result, in the spring of 1923, the leader of the restless rebels, Frank Aiken, ordered an end to the fight and lay down their arms. Those who obeyed his orders created a liberal party called Fianna Fáil. Its first leader was Eamon de Valera. He would later write the Irish constitution. Currently, the party remains the largest and most influential in Ireland. The rest, refusing to obey Aiken, went underground.

Ireland's dependence on Great Britain gradually but steadily declined throughout the 20th century. In 1937, the dominion officially became a republic. After the end of the war against fascism, Irelandfinally withdrew from the union, turning into a fully independent state.

At the same time, opposite processes were observed in the north of the island. For example, in 1972 the parliament in Northern Ireland was actually liquidated and dispersed. After that, the fullness of power returned entirely to the hands of the British. Since then, Northern Ireland has essentially been ruled from London. Dissatisfaction with their dependent status has become the main cause of the conflict in Northern Ireland.

Gradually there was an increase in self-awareness, not only on a national basis, but also on a religious basis. The conflict in Northern Ireland has been brewing for decades. Against this background, right-wing parties and organizations were consistently popular among the local population.

Activation of the IRA

Initially, the Irish Republican Army was subordinate to a left-wing nationalist party called Sinn Féin. At the same time, it carried out military actions from its very foundation. The IRA moves into active action in the 1920s, then they return in the next decade after a break. Carry out a series of explosions on objects belonging to the British.

After there was a long break, which was the war against Hitler. The repeated period of IRA activity and the escalation of the conflict in Northern Ireland began in 1954.

It all began with separate attacks by members of the Irish Republican Army on British military installations. The most famous action of that period was the attack on the barracks in Arbofield,located in England. In 1955, two people's representatives representing the political organization Sinn Féin were arrested on charges of these attacks, they were deprived of their mandates and immunity.

Powerful suppression led to massive anti-English speeches. There were more and more participants in the conflict between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Accordingly, the number of IRA attacks has increased.

During 1956 alone, the paramilitary group carried out about six hundred actions in Ulster alone. In 1957, violent violence is on the wane after mass arrests by the British police.

Change in tactics

After that, relative calm remained for about five years. In 1962, the conflict between Northern Ireland and England entered a new stage, when the IRA decided to change the tactics of the struggle. Instead of single clashes and actions, it was decided to move on to massive attacks. In parallel, militarized Protestant organizations joined the fight and began to fight against Irish Catholics.

In 1967, a new participant appeared in the conflict between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It becomes the Association, declaring the upholding of civil rights as its main goal. She advocates the elimination of discrimination against Catholics in housing and employment, advocates the abolition of multiple voting. Also, members of this organization opposed the dissolution of the police, which consisted mainly of Protestants, and the abolition ofemergency laws in force since 1933.

The association used political methods. She organized rallies and demonstrations, which law enforcement agencies constantly dispersed. The Protestants reacted extremely sharply to this, starting to smash the Catholic quarters. Speaking briefly about the conflict between Northern Ireland and the UK, this only aggravated it.

Mass clashes

At the end of the summer of 1969, riots took place in Belfast and Derry, in which Protestants and Catholics became participants. This opened a new page in the history of the conflict between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. To prevent further clashes, British troops were immediately sent into the British part of Ulster.

Initially, the Catholics were in favor of the presence of troops in the region, but soon became disillusioned with the way the army reacted to the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. The fact is that the military took the side of the Protestants.

These events in 1970 led to a further split in the IRA. There were temporary and official parts. The so-called Provisional IRA was radically inclined, advocating the continuation of military tactics, mainly in the cities of England.

Crack down on protests

In 1971, the Ulster Defense Association began to participate in the conflict between Northern Ireland and England. She was created ascounterweight to Irish paramilitary nationalist organizations.

The statistics show the intensity of the ethnic conflict in Northern Ireland during this period. In 1971 alone, the British authorities recorded about a thousand and a hundred cases of bombing. The military had to engage in skirmishes with detachments of the Irish Republican Army about one thousand seven hundred times. As a result, 5 members of the Ulster Regiment, 43 soldiers and an officer of the British army were killed. It turns out that for every day in 1971, the British military found an average of three bombs and exchanged fire at least four times.

At the end of the summer, the ethnic conflict between Great Britain and Northern Ireland was decided to try to freeze by concluding active members of the IRA in concentration camps. This was done without investigation in response to the high level of violence in the country. At least 12 members of the Irish Republican Army were subjected to psychological and physical abuse under the "five methods". This is a common collective name for hard methods of interrogation, which became famous just during the years of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland. The name comes from the number of basic techniques used by the authorities during interrogation. These were torture by an uncomfortable posture (long standing against the wall), deprivation of water, food, sleep, acoustic overload with white noise, sensory deprivation, when external influence on one or several sense organs partially or completely stops. The most common method is an eye patch. At present thisthe technique is considered a form of torture.

When the brutal interrogations became known to the public, it became the occasion for a parliamentary inquiry led by Lord Parker. It resulted in a report published in March 1972. These interrogation methods were qualified as a violation of the law.

After the completion of the investigation, British Prime Minister Heath officially promised that no one else uses these methods of inquiry. In 1976, these violations became the subject of proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights. Two years later, the court decided that the use of this method of inquiry was a violation of the convention for the protection of rights and fundamental freedoms in the form of inhuman and degrading treatment, but did not see torture in the actions of the British.

Bloody Sunday

In the history of the conflict in Northern Ireland, the regime of direct rule, introduced by the British in 1972 in order to stabilize the situation, was of great importance. This led to uprisings and riots, which were brutally suppressed.

The climax of this confrontation was the events of January 30, which went down in history as "Bloody Sunday". During a demonstration organized by the Catholics, thirteen unarmed people were killed by British troops. The reaction of the crowd was swift. She broke into the British Embassy in Dublin and burned it down. A total of 475 people were killed during the religious conflict in Northern Ireland between 1972 and 1975.

To ease the tension that has arisen in the country, the British government even wentto hold a referendum. However, the Catholic minority said they were going to boycott him. The government decided to stick to its own line. In 1973, the leaders of Ireland and Great Britain signed the Sunningdale Agreement. Its result was the creation of a consultative interstate body, which included members of parliament and ministers from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. However, the agreement was never ratified, as Protestant extremists opposed it. The most massive action was the Ulster Workers' Council strike in May 1974. Attempts to recreate the assembly and the convention also failed.

Going underground

Telling briefly about the conflict in Northern Ireland, it should be noted that in the mid-70s, the British authorities managed to almost completely neutralize the IRA. However, the temporary part of the Irish Republican Army created an extensive network of deeply conspiratorial small detachments, which over time began to organize high-profile actions mainly in England.

Now these were targeted attacks, usually aimed at specific people. In June 1974, an explosion was arranged in London near the Houses of Parliament, 11 people were injured. Five years later, the famous British Admiral Louis Mountbatten was killed in an IRA terrorist attack. Two radio-controlled explosive devices were planted on the yacht, on which the officer was with his family. The explosion killed the admiral himself with his daughter, his 14-year-old grandsonand a 15-year-old Irish teenager who worked on the ship. On the same day, IRA fighters blew up a British military convoy. 18 soldiers were killed.

In 1984, an explosion occurred at the British Conservative Party convention in Brighton. 5 people were killed, 31 wounded. In the winter of 1991, the Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street was fired from a mortar. The IRA made an attempt to eliminate the British Prime Minister John Major and the military elite of the kingdom, who were going to discuss the situation in the Persian Gulf. Four people received minor injuries. The politician and officers were unhurt due to the bulletproof windows that withstood the blast from the shell that exploded in the backyard.

In total, between 1980 and 1991, the IRA carried out 120 terrorist attacks in the UK and more than 50 in other countries of the world.

Trying to collaborate

Looking briefly at the conflict in Northern Ireland, it is worth noting that the first successful attempt to find a common language was an agreement that was concluded in 1985. It confirmed the entry of Northern Ireland into the United Kingdom. At the same time, citizens had the opportunity to change this within the framework of a referendum.

The agreement also required regular conferences and meetings between members of the governments of both countries. A positive consequence of this agreement was the adoption of a declaration on the principles of participation in negotiations of any interested parties. This happened in 1993. The main condition for this was the complete renunciation of violence.

As a result, the IRA declared a ceasefire, soon followed by Protestant military radical organizations. After that, an international commission was set up to deal with the disarmament process. However, it was decided to refuse her participation, which significantly slowed down the entire negotiation process.

The truce was broken in February 1996 when the IRA staged another terrorist attack in London. This aggravation forced official London to start negotiations. At the same time, they were opposed by another wing of the terrorist organization, which called itself the Genuine IRA. In order to disrupt the agreements, it carried out a series of terrorist attacks in 1997-1998. In September, its members also announced that they were laying down their arms.

Consequences

In April 1998, the Irish and British governments signed a treaty in Belfast, which was ratified by the Northern Irish Parliament. On May 23, he was supported in a referendum.

The result was the re-establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly (local parliament). Despite political agreements and a formal ceasefire, the conflict still remains unresolved. Currently, a number of Catholic and Protestant militarized organizations continue to operate in Northern Ireland. And some of them still associate themselves with the IRA.