Overview
"The Troubles" refers to the three-decade conflict betweenBackground
1609–1791
In 1609, Scottish and English settlers, known as ''planters'', were given land escheated from the native Irish in the1791–1912
Following the foundation of the republican1912–1922
By the second decade of the 20th century, Home Rule, or limited Irish self-government, was on the brink of being conceded due to the agitation of the Irish Parliamentary Party. In response to the campaign for Home Rule which started in the 1870s, unionists, mostly Protestant and largely concentrated in Ulster, had resisted both self-government and independence for Ireland, fearing for their future in an overwhelmingly Catholic country dominated by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1912, unionists led by Edward Carson signed the Ulster Covenant and pledged to resist Home Rule by force if necessary. To this end, they formed the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). In response, nationalists led by Eoin MacNeill formed the Irish Volunteers in 1913, whose goal was to oppose the UVF and ensure enactment of the1922–1966
A marginalised remnant of theLate 1960s
There is little agreement on the exact date of the start of the Troubles. Different writers have suggested different dates. These include the formation of the modern Ulster Volunteer Force in 1966, the civil rights march in Derry on 5 October 1968, the beginning of the ' Battle of the Bogside' on 12 August 1969 or the deployment of British troops on 14 August 1969.Civil rights campaign and unionist backlash
In March and April 1966, Irish nationalists/republicans held parades throughout Ireland to mark the 50th anniversary of theAugust 1969 riots and aftermath
On 19 April there were clashes between NICRA marchers, the RUC and loyalists in the Bogside. RUC officers entered the house of Samuel Devenny (42), an uninvolved Catholic civilian, and beat him along with two of his teenage daughters and a family friend. One of the daughters was beaten unconscious as she lay recovering from surgery. Devenny suffered a heart attack and died on 17 July from his injuries. On 13 July, RUC officers beat a Catholic civilian, Francis McCloskey (67), during clashes in1970s
Violence peaks and Stormont collapses
Despite the British government's attempt to do "nothing that would suggest partiality to one section of the community" and the improvement of the relationship between the Army and the local population following the Army assistance with flood relief in August 1970, theBloody Sunday
Sunningdale Agreement and UWC strike
In June 1973, following the publication of a British White Paper and a 1973 Northern Ireland border poll, referendum in March on the status of Northern Ireland, a new parliamentary body, the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973, Northern Ireland Assembly, was established. 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election, Elections to this were held on 28 June. In October 1973, mainstream nationalist and unionist parties, along with the British and Irish governments, negotiated the Sunningdale Agreement, which was intended to produce a political settlement within Northern Ireland, but with a so-called "Irish dimension" involving the Republic. The agreement provided for "power-sharing" – the creation of an executive containing both unionists and nationalists; and a "Council of Ireland" – a body made up of ministers from Northern Ireland and the Republic, designed to encourage cross-border co-operation. Unionists were split over Sunningdale, which was also opposed by the IRA, whose goal remained nothing short of an end to the existence of Northern Ireland as part of the UK. Many unionists opposed the concept of power-sharing, arguing that it was not feasible to share power with those (nationalists) who sought the destruction of the state. Perhaps more significant, however, was the unionist opposition to the "Irish dimension" and the Council of Ireland, which was perceived as being an all-Ireland parliament-in-waiting. Remarks by a young Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) councillor, Hugh Logue, to an audience at Trinity College Dublin that Sunningdale was the tool "by which the Unionists will be trundled off to a united Ireland" also damaged chances of significant unionist support for the agreement. In January 1974, Brian Faulkner was narrowly deposed as UUP leader and replaced by Harry West, although Faulkner retained his position as Chief Executive in the new government. A February 1974 United Kingdom general election, UK general election in February 1974 gave the anti-Sunningdale unionists the opportunity to test unionist opinion with the slogan "Dublin is only a Sunningdale away", and the result galvanised their support: they won 11 of the 12 seats, winning 58% of the vote with most of the rest going to nationalists and pro-Sunningdale unionists. Ultimately, however, the Sunningdale Agreement was brought down by mass action on the part of loyalist paramilitaries and workers, who formed the Ulster Workers' Council. They organised a general strike, the Ulster Workers' Council strike. This severely curtailed business in Northern Ireland and cut off essential services such as water and electricity. Nationalists argue that the British Government did not do enough to break this strike and uphold the Sunningdale initiative. There is evidence that the strike was further encouraged by MI5, a part of their campaign to 'disorientate' British prime minister Harold Wilson's government. (see also Harold Wilson conspiracy theories) Faced with such opposition, the pro-Sunningdale unionists resigned from the power-sharing government and the new regime collapsed. Three days into the UWC strike, on 17 May 1974, two UVF teams from the Belfast and UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade, Mid-Ulster brigadesPeter Taylor (journalist), Peter Taylor. ''Loyalists'' (1990). London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. pp. 41–44, 125, 143, 163, 188–90 detonated Dublin and Monaghan bombings, three no-warning car bombs in Dublin's city centre during the Friday evening rush hour, resulting in 26 deaths and close to 300 injuries. Ninety minutes later, a fourth car bomb exploded in Monaghan, killing seven additional people. Nobody has ever been convicted for these attacks, with the bombings being the greatest loss of life in a single day during the Troubles.Proposal of an independent Northern Ireland
Even as his government deployed troops in August 1969, Wilson ordered a secret study of whether the British military could withdraw from Northern Ireland, including all 45 bases such as the submarine school in Derry. The study concluded that the military could do so in three months, but if increased violence collapsed civil society, Britain would have to send in troops again. Without bases, such would be an invasion of Ireland; Wilson thus decided against a withdrawal. Wilson's cabinet discussed the more drastic step of complete British withdrawal from an independent Northern Ireland as early as February 1969, as one of various possibilities for the region including direct rule. He wrote in 1971 that Britain had "responsibility without power" there, and secretly met with the IRA that year while leader of the opposition; his government in late 1974 and early 1975 again met with the IRA to negotiate a ceasefire. During the meetings the parties discussed complete British withdrawal. Although the British government publicly stated that troops would stay as long as necessary, widespread fear from the Birmingham pub bombings and other IRA attacks in Britain itself increased support among MPs and the public for a military withdrawal. The failure of Sunningdale, and the effectiveness of the UWC strike against British authority, to Wilson were more evidence of his 1971 statement. They led to the serious consideration in London until November 1975 of independence. Had the withdrawal occurred – which Wilson supported but others, including James Callaghan, opposed – the region would have become a separate dominion. According to the secret plan, codenamed "Doomsday", Britain would have as little to do with the new "Ulster Dominion" as possible, with financial subsidies ending within five years. It would not be an associated state of which Britain would only control foreign relations, because a war between Ulster and the Republic would involve Britain. The dominion would also not be a member of the British Commonwealth. The Northern Ireland Office cited the 1948 Newfoundland referendums—in which the island voluntarily joined Canada, its larger neighbor—as an example that divided Ireland might hopefully follow. The British negotiations with the IRA, an illegal organisation, angered the Republic's government. It did not know what they discussed but feared that the British were considering abandoning Northern Ireland. Irish Foreign Minister Garret FitzGerald discussed in a memorandum of June 1975 the possibilities of orderly withdrawal and independence, Repartition of Ireland, repartition of the island, or a collapse of Northern Ireland into civil war and anarchy. The memorandum preferred a negotiated independence as the best of the three "worst case scenarios", but concluded that the Irish government could do little. The Irish government had already failed to prevent a crowd from burning down the Embassy of the United Kingdom, Dublin, British Embassy in 1972. It believed that it could not enlarge the country's small army of 12,500 men without negative consequences. A civil war in Northern Ireland would cause many deaths there and severe consequences for the Republic, as the public would demand that it intervene to protect nationalists. FitzGerald warned Callaghan that the failure to intervene, despite Ireland's inability to do so, would "threaten democratic government in the Republic", which would jeopardise British and European security against Communist and other foreign nations. Wilson's aides had in 1969 come to a similar conclusion, telling him that removing Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom would cause violence, and a military intervention by the Republic, that would not allow removing British troops. Loyalist leader Glen Barr said in 2008 that a British withdrawal would have caused civil war, as Loyalists would have expected the Republic to invade Northern Ireland. Peter Ramsbotham, British Ambassador to the United States, warned of a hostile American reaction. The British so wanted to leave Northern Ireland in 1975, however, that only the catastrophic consequences of doing so prevented it. The Irish government so dreaded the consequences that FitzGerald refused to ask Britain not to withdraw—as he feared that openly discussing the issue could permit the British to proceed—and other members of government opposed the Irish Cabinet even discussing what FitzGerald referred to as a "doomsday scenario". He wrote in 2006 that "Neither then nor since has public opinion in Ireland realised how close to disaster our whole island came during the last two years of Harold Wilson's premiership", and in 2008 said that the Republic "was more at risk then than at any time since our formation".Mid 1970s
In February 1974, an IRA time bomb M62 coach bombing, killed 12 people on a coach on the M62 motorway, M62 in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Merlyn Rees, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, lifted the proscription against the UVF in April 1974. In December, a month after the Birmingham pub bombings killed 21 people, the IRA declared a ceasefire; this would theoretically last throughout most of the following year. The ceasefire notwithstanding, sectarian killings actually escalated in 1975, along with internal feuding between rival paramilitary groups. This made 1975 one of the "bloodiest years of the conflict". On 5 April 1975 Irish republican paramilitary members killed a Ulster Defence Association, UDA volunteer (Ulster loyalist), volunteer and four Ulster Protestants, Protestant civilians in a gun and bomb Mountainview Tavern attack, attack at the Mountainview Tavern on the Shankill Road,Late 1970s
By the late 1970s, war-weariness was visible in both communities. One sign of this was the formation of the Community for Peace People, Peace People, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976. The Peace People organised large demonstrations calling for an end to paramilitary violence. Their campaign lost momentum, however, after they appealed to the nationalist community to provide information on the IRA to security forces.Brian Dooley. ''Black and Green: Fight for Civil Rights in Northern Ireland and Black America'', pg 129; . In February 1978, the IRA La Mon restaurant bombing, bombed La Mon, a hotel restaurant in Comber, County Down. The decade ended with a double attack by the IRA against the British. On 27 August 1979, Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Lord Mountbatten while on holiday in Mullaghmore, County Sligo, was killed by a bomb planted on board his boat. Three other people were also killed: Doreen Knatchbull, Baroness Brabourne, Lady Brabourne, the elderly mother of Mountbatten's son-in-law; and two teenagers, a grandson of Mountbatten and a local boatman. That same day, eighteen British soldiers, mostly members of the Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom), Parachute Regiment, were killed by two remote-controlled bombs in the Warrenpoint ambush at Narrow Water Castle, near Warrenpoint, County Down. It was the British Army's largest loss of life in a single incident in Operation Banner. Successive British Governments, having failed to achieve a political settlement, tried to "normalise" Northern Ireland. Aspects included the removal of internment without trial and the removal of political status for paramilitary prisoners. From 1972 onward, paramilitaries were tried in juryless Diplock courts to avoid intimidation of jurors. On conviction, they were to be treated as ordinary criminals. Resistance to this policy among republican prisoners led to more than 500 of them in the Maze prison initiating the blanket protest, "blanket" and dirty protest, "dirty" protests. Their protests culminated in hunger strikes in 1980 and 1981, aimed at the restoration of political status, as well as other concessions.1980s
In the 1981 Irish hunger strike, ten republican prisoners (seven from the Provisional IRA and three from the INLA) died of starvation. The first hunger striker to die, Bobby Sands, was elected to Parliament on an Anti-H-Block ticket, as was his election agent Owen Carron following Sands's death. The hunger strikes resonated among many nationalists; over 100,000 people attended Sands's funeral mass in West Belfast and thousands attended those of the other hunger strikers. From an Irish republican perspective, the significance of these events was to demonstrate potential for a political and electoral strategy. In the wake of the hunger strikes, Sinn Féin, which had become the Provisional IRA's political wing,Peter Taylor. ''Behind the Mask: The IRA and Sinn Féin'', TV books, Inc., New York, 1997; .Kevin Toolis. ''Rebel Hearts: Journeys Within the IRA's Soul'', Picador 2000; . began to contest elections for the first time in both Northern Ireland (as abstentionism, abstentionists) and in the Republic. In 1986, Sinn Féin recognised the legitimacy of the Irish Dáil, which caused a small group of members to break away and form Republican Sinn Féin. The IRA's "Long War (Provisional IRA strategy), Long War" was boosted by large donations of arms from Libya in the 1980s (see Provisional IRA arms importation) due to Muammar Gaddafi's anger at British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher's government for assisting the Reagan government's 1986 bombing of Libya, which had allegedly killed one of Gaddafi's children. Additionally, it received funding from supporters in the United States and elsewhere throughout the Irish diaspora. In July 1982, the IRA Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings, bombed military ceremonies in London's Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park and Regent's Park, killing four soldiers, seven bandsmen and seven horses. The INLA was highly active in the early and mid-1980s. In December 1982, it Droppin Well bombing, bombed a disco in Ballykelly, County Londonderry, frequented by off-duty British soldiers, killing 11 soldiers and six civilians. In December 1983, the IRA Harrods bombing, attacked Harrods using a car bomb, killing six people. One of the IRA's most high-profile actions in this period was the Brighton hotel bombing on 12 October 1984, when it set off a 100-pound time bomb in the Grand Brighton Hotel in Brighton, where politicians including Thatcher, were staying for the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party conference. The bomb, which exploded in the early hours of the morning, killed five people, including Conservative MP Sir Anthony Berry, and injured 34 others. On 28 February 1985 in Newry, nine RUC officers were killed in 1985 Newry mortar attack, a mortar attack on the police station. It was planned by the IRA's South Armagh Brigade and an IRA unit in Newry. Nine shells were fired from a mark 10 mortar which was bolted onto the back of a hijacked Ford van in Crossmaglen. Eight shells overshot the station; the ninth hit a portable cabin which was being used as a canteen. It was the RUC's largest loss of life during the Troubles. On 8 May 1987, eight IRA members Loughgall ambush, attacked an RUC station in Loughgall, County Armagh, using a bomb and guns. All were killed by the SAS – the most IRA members killed in a single incident in the Troubles. On 8 November 1987, in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, a Provisional IRA Enniskillen bombing, time bomb exploded during a Remembrance Sunday ceremony for UK Commonwealth war casualties. The bomb went off by a cenotaph which was at the heart of the parade. Eleven people (ten civilians and one serving member of the RUC) were killed and 63 were injured. Former school headmaster Ronnie Hill was seriously injured in the bombing and slipped into a coma two days later, remaining in this condition for more than a decade before his death in December 2000. The unit that carried out the bombing was disbanded. Loyalist paramilitaries responded to the bombing with revenge attacks on Catholics, mostly civilians. Another bomb had been planted at nearby Tullyhommon at a parallel Remembrance Day commemoration but failed to detonate. In March 1988, three IRA volunteers who were planning a bombing were shot dead by the SAS at a Royal Dutch Shell, Shell petrol station on Winston Churchill Avenue in Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory attached to the south of Spain. This became known as Operation Flavius. Their funeral at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast Milltown Cemetery attack, was attacked by Michael Stone (loyalist), Michael Stone, a UDA member who threw grenades as the coffin was lowered and shot at people who chased him. Stone killed three people, including IRA volunteer Kevin Brady. Stone was jailed for life the following year, but was freed 11 years later under the Good Friday Agreement. Two British Army corporals, David Howes and Derek Wood, who were in plain clothes, drove their car into Brady's funeral cortege in Andersonstown. The crowd assumed the soldiers were loyalists intent on repeating Stone's attack; dozens of people surrounded and attacked their car. The soldiers were pulled out of their car, kidnapped and shot dead by the IRA. This became known as the Corporals killings. In September 1989, the IRA used a time bomb Deal barracks bombing, to attack the Royal Marine Depot, Deal in Kent, killing 11 bandsmen. Towards the end of the decade, the British Army tried to soften its public appearance to residents in communities such as Derry in order to improve relations between the local community and the military. Soldiers were told not to use the telescopic sights on their rifles to scan the streets, as civilians believed they were being aimed at. Soldiers were also encouraged to wear berets when manning checkpoints (and later other situations) rather than helmets, which were perceived as militaristic and hostile. The system of complaints was overhauled – if civilians believed they were being harassed or abused by soldiers in the streets or during searches and made a complaint, they would never find out what action (if any) was taken. The new regulations required an officer to visit the complainants house to inform them of the outcome of their complaint. In the 1980s, loyalist paramilitary groups, including the Ulster Volunteer Force, the Ulster Defence Association and Ulster Resistance, imported arms and explosives from South Africa. The weapons obtained were divided between the UDA, the UVF and Ulster Resistance, although some of the weaponry (such as rocket-propelled grenades) were hardly used. In 1987, the Irish People's Liberation Organisation (IPLO), a breakaway faction of the INLA, engaged in a bloody feud against the INLA which weakened the INLA's presence in some areas. By 1992, the IPLO was destroyed by the Provisionals for its involvement in drug dealing thus ending the feud.1990s
Escalation in South Armagh
The Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade, IRA's South Armagh Brigade had made the countryside village of Crossmaglen their stronghold since the 1970s. The surrounding villages of Silverbridge, County Armagh, Silverbridge, Cullyhanna, Cullaville, Forkhill, Jonesborough, County Armagh, Jonesborough and Creggan, County Armagh, Creggan were also IRA strongholds. In February 1978, a British Army Gazelle helicopter 1978 British Army Gazelle downing, was shot down near Silverbridge, killing Lieutenant Colonel Ian Corden-Lloyd. In the 1990s, the IRA came up with a new plan to restrict British Army foot patrols near Crossmaglen. They developed South Armagh Sniper (1990–1997), two sniper teams to attack British Army and RUC patrols. They usually fired from an Improvised vehicle armour, improvised armoured car using a .50 BMG calibre Barrett M82, M82 sniper rifle. Signs were put up around South Armagh reading "Sniper at Work". The snipers killed a total of nine members of the security forces: seven soldiers and two constables. The last to be killed before the Good Friday Agreement was a British soldier, bombardier Steven Restorick. The IRA had developed the capacity to attack helicopters in South Armagh and elsewhere since the 1980s, including the 1990 1990 British Army Gazelle shootdown, shootdown of a Gazelle flying over the border between Tyrone and County Monaghan, Monaghan; there were no fatalities in that incident. Another incident involving British helicopters in South Armagh was the Battle of Newry Road in September 1993. Two other 1994 British Army Lynx shootdown, helicopters, a British Army Lynx and a Royal Air Force Puma were shot down by Barrack buster, improvised mortar fire in 1994. The IRA set up checkpoints in South Armagh during this period, unchallenged by the security forces.Downing Street mortar attack
On 7 February 1991, the IRA attempted to assassinate prime minister John Major and his war cabinet by Downing Street mortar attack, launching a Mortar (weapon), mortar at 10 Downing Street while they were gathered there to discuss the Gulf War. The mortar bombing caused only four injuries, two to police officers, while Major and the entire war cabinet were unharmed.First ceasefire
After a prolonged period of background political manoeuvring, during which the 1992 Baltic Exchange bombing, Baltic Exchange and 1993 Bishopsgate bombings occurred in London, both loyalist and republican paramilitary groups declared ceasefires in 1994. The year leading up to the ceasefires included a mass shooting in Castlerock, County Londonderry, in which 1993 Castlerock killings, four people were killed. The IRA responded with the Shankill Road bombing in October 1993, which aimed to kill the UDA leadership, but instead killed eight Protestant civilian shoppers and a low-ranking UDA member, as well as one of the perpetrators, who was killed when the bomb detonated prematurely. The UDA responded with attacks in nationalist areas including Greysteel massacre, a mass shooting in Greysteel, in which eight civilians were killed – six Catholics and two Protestants. On 16 June 1994, just before the ceasefires, the Irish National Liberation Army 1994 Shankill Road killings, killed three UVF members in a gun attack on the Shankill Road. In revenge, three days later, the UVF Loughinisland massacre, killed six civilians in a shooting at a pub in Loughinisland, County Down. The IRA, in the remaining month before its ceasefire, killed four senior loyalist paramilitaries, three from the UDA and one from the UVF. On 31 August 1994, the IRA declared aSecond ceasefire
On 9 February 1996, less than two years after the declaration of the ceasefire, the IRA revoked it with the 1996 Docklands bombing, Docklands bombing in the Canary Wharf area of London, killing two people, injuring 39 others, and causing £85 million in damage to the city's financial centre. Sinn Féin blamed the failure of the ceasefire on the British Government's refusal to begin all-party negotiations until the IRA decommissioned its weapons. The attack was followed by several more, most notably the 1996 Manchester bombing, which destroyed a large area of the centre of the city on 15 June. It was the largest bomb attack in Britain since World War II. While the attack avoided any fatalities due to a telephone warning and the rapid response of the emergency services, over 200 people were injured in the attack, many of them outside the established cordon. The damage caused by the blast was estimated at £411 million. Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick, the last British soldier killed during the Troubles, was shot dead at a checkpoint on the Green Rd near Bessbrook on 12 February 1997 by the IRA's South Armagh Sniper (1990–1997), South Armagh sniper. The IRA reinstated their ceasefire in July 1997, as negotiations for the document that became known as the Good Friday Agreement began without Sinn Féin. In September of the same year Sinn Féin signed Mitchell Principles, the Mitchell Principles and were admitted to the talks. The UVF was the first paramilitary grouping to split as a result of their ceasefire, spawning the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) in 1996. In December 1997, the INLA assassinated LVF leader Billy Wright (loyalist), Billy Wright, leading to a series of revenge killings by loyalist groups. A group split from the Provisional IRA and formed the Real IRA (RIRA). In August 1998, Omagh bombing, a Real IRA bomb in Omagh killed 29 civilians, the most by a single bomb during the Troubles. This bombing discredited "dissident republicans" and their campaigns in the eyes of many who had previously supported the Provisionals' campaign. They became small groups with little influence, but still capable of violence. The INLA also declared a ceasefire after the Belfast Agreement of 1998. Since then, most paramilitary violence has been directed at their "own" communities and at other factions within their organisations. The UDA, for example, has feuded with their fellow loyalists the UVF on two occasions since 2000. There have been internal struggles for power between "brigade commanders" and involvement in organised crime.Political process
After the ceasefires, talks began between the main political parties in Northern Ireland to establish political agreement. These talks led to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. This Agreement restored self-government to Northern Ireland on the basis of "power-sharing". In 1999, an executive was formed consisting of the four main parties, including Sinn Féin. Other important changes included the reform of the RUC, renamed as the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which was required to recruit at least a 50% quota of Catholics for ten years, and the removal of Diplock courts under the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007. A security normalisation process also began as part of the treaty, which comprised the progressive closing of redundant British Army barracks, border observation towers, and the withdrawal of all forces taking part in Operation Banner – including the resident battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment – that would be replaced by 19th Light Brigade (United Kingdom), an infantry brigade, deployed in ten sites around Northern Ireland but with no operative role in the province. The power-sharing Executive and Assembly were suspended in 2002, when unionists withdrew following "Stormontgate", a controversy over allegations of an IRA spy ring operating at Stormont. There were ongoing tensions about the Provisional IRA's failure to disarm fully and sufficiently quickly. IRA decommissioning has since been completed (in September 2005) to the satisfaction of most parties. A feature of Northern Ireland politics since the Agreement has been the eclipse in electoral terms of parties such as the SDLP and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), by rival parties such as Sinn Féin and the DUP. Similarly, although political violence is greatly reduced, sectarian animosity has not disappeared. Residential areas are more segregated between Catholic nationalists and Protestant unionists than ever. Thus, progress towards restoring the power-sharing institutions was slow and tortuous. On 8 May 2007, devolved government returned to Northern Ireland. DUP leaderCollusion between security forces and paramilitaries
There were many incidents of collusion between the British state security forces (the British Army and RUC) and loyalist paramilitaries. This included soldiers and policemen taking part in loyalist attacks while off-duty, giving weapons and intelligence to loyalists, not taking action against them, and hindering police investigations. The ''Desmond Lorenz de Silva, De Silva Report'' found that, during the 1980s, 85% of the intelligence loyalists used to target people came from the security forces, who in turn also had double agents and Informant, informers within loyalist groups who organised attacks on the orders of, or with the knowledge of, their Agent handling, handlers. Of the 210 loyalists arrested by the Stevens Inquiries team, all but three were found to be state agents or informers."UK agents 'worked with NI paramilitary killers'"The Disappeared
During the 1970s and 1980s, republican and loyalist paramilitaries abducted a number of individuals, many alleged to have been informers, who were then killed and secretly buried. Eighteen people—two women and sixteen men—including one British Army officer, were kidnapped and killed during the Troubles. They are referred to informally as "Disappeared (Northern Ireland), The Disappeared". All but one, Lisa Dorrian, were abducted and killed by republicans. Dorrian is believed to have been abducted by loyalists. The remains of all but four of "The Disappeared" have been recovered and turned over to their families. British government security forces, including the Military Reaction Force (MRF), carried out what have been described as "extrajudicial killings" of unarmed civilians. Their victims were often Catholic or suspected Catholic civilians unaffiliated with any paramilitaries, such as the Whiterock Road shooting of two unarmed Catholic civilians by British soldiers on 15 April 1972, and the Military Reaction Force#Andersonstown shootings, Andersonstown shooting of seven unarmed Catholic civilians on 12 May that same year.McKittrick. ''Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles'', p. 182. A member of the MRF stated in 1978 that the Army often attempted false flag sectarian attacks, thus provoking sectarian conflict and "taking the heat off the Army".Raymond Murray. ''The SAS in Ireland''. Mercier Press, 1990. pp. 44–45. A former member stated: "[W]e were not there to act like an army unit, we were there to act like a terror group."Shoot-to-kill allegations
Republicans allege that the security forces operated a shoot-to-kill policy rather than arresting IRA suspects. The security forces denied this and pointed out that six of the eight IRA men killed in the Loughgall ambush in 1987 were heavily armed. On the other hand, the Operation Flavius, shooting of three unarmed IRA members in Gibraltar by the Special Air Service ten months later appeared to confirm suspicions among republicans, and in the British and Irish media, of a tacit British shoot-to-kill policy of suspected IRA members.Maxine WilliamParades issue
Inter-communal tensions rise and violence often breaks out during the "marching season" when the Protestant Orange Order parades take place across Northern Ireland. The parades are held to commemorate William of Orange's victory in the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which secured the Protestant Ascendancy and British rule in Ireland. One particular flashpoint which has caused continuous annual strife is the Garvaghy Road area in Portadown, where an Orange parade from Drumcree Church passes through a mainly nationalist estate off the Garvaghy Road. This parade has now been banned indefinitely, following nationalist riots against the parade, and also loyalist counter-riots against its banning. In 1995, 1996 and 1997, there were several weeks of prolonged rioting throughout Northern Ireland over the impasse at Drumcree. A number of people died in this violence, including a Catholic taxi driver, killed by the Loyalist Volunteer Force, and three (of four) nominally Catholic brothers (from a mixed-religion family) died when their house in Ballymoney Quinn brothers' killings, was petrol-bombed.Social repercussions
The impact of the Troubles on the ordinary people of Northern Ireland has been compared to that of the The Blitz, Blitz on the people of London. The stress resulting from bomb attacks, street disturbances, security checkpoints, and the constant military presence had the strongest effect on children and young adults. There was also the fear that local paramilitaries instilled in their respective communities with the punishment beatings, "romperings", and the occasional tarring and feathering meted out to individuals for various purported infractions.Sarah Nelson. ''Ulster's Uncertain Defenders: Protestant Political, Paramilitary and Community Groups and the Northern Ireland Conflict'', 1984, Belfast: Appletree Press. p. 126. In addition to the violence and intimidation, there was chronic unemployment and a severe housing shortage. Many people were rendered homeless as a result of intimidation or having their houses burnt, and urban redevelopment played a role in the social upheaval. Belfast families faced being transferred to new, alien estates when older, decrepit districts such as Sailortown, Belfast, Sailortown and the Pound Loney were being demolished. According to social worker and author Sarah Nelson, this new social problem of homelessness and disorientation contributed to the breakdown of the normal fabric of society, allowing for paramilitaries to exert a strong influence in certain districts. Vandalism was also a major problem. In the 1970s there were 10,000 vandalised empty houses in Belfast alone. Most of the vandals were aged between eight and thirteen. According to one historian of the conflict, the stress of the Troubles engendered a breakdown in the previously strict sexual morality of Northern Ireland, resulting in a "confused hedonism" in respect of personal life. In Derry, illegitimate births and alcoholism increased for women and the divorce rate rose. Teenage alcoholism was also a problem, partly as a result of the drinking clubs established in both loyalist and republican areas. In many cases, there was little parental supervision of children in some of the poorer districts. The Department of Health has looked at a report written in 2007 by Mike Tomlinson of Queen's University of Belfast, Queen's University, which asserted that the legacy of the Troubles has played a substantial role in the current rate of suicide in Northern Ireland. Further social issues arising from the Troubles include antisocial behavior and an aversion towards political participation. According to one historian, children raised during the Troubles were found to develop similar antisocial external behaviors as children similarly born in regions of conflict, notably those born and raised during World War II. Further studies into the impact of violence on the psychological development of children in Northern Ireland also found that those raised during the Troubles were more likely to be averse towards political participation, noting that while older generations still actively associated with their own social and political groups, younger generations became wary of such groups as social and political divisions continued to expand during the thirty years of the Troubles.Casualties
According to the Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN), 3,532 people were killed as a result of the conflict between 1969 and 2001. Of these, 3,489 were killed up to 1998. According to the book ''Lost Lives'' (2006 edition), 3,720 people were killed as a result of the conflict, from 1966 to 2006. Of these, 3,635 were killed up to 1998. There are reports that 257 of the victims were children under the age of seventeen, representing 7.2% of all the total during this period. Other reports state that a total of 274 children under the age of eighteen were killed during the conflict. In ''The Politics of Antagonism: Understanding Northern Ireland'', Brendan O'Leary and John McGarry point out that "nearly two per cent of the population of Northern Ireland have been killed or injured through political violence [...] If the equivalent ratio of victims to population had been produced in Great Britain in the same period some 100,000 people would have died, and if a similar level of political violence had taken place, the number of fatalities in the USA would have been over 500,000". Using this relative comparison to the US, analyst John M. Gates suggests that whatever one calls the conflict, it was "certainly not" a "low intensity conflict". In 2010, it was estimated that 107,000 people in Northern Ireland suffered some physical injury as a result of the conflict. On the basis of data gathered by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, the Victims Commission estimated that the conflict resulted in 500,000 'victims' in Northern Ireland alone. It defines 'victims' are those who are directly affected by 'bereavement', 'physical injury' or 'trauma' as a result of the conflict.Responsibility
Approximately 60% of the dead were killed by republicans, 30% by loyalists and 10% by British security forces. According to Malcolm Sutton's ''Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland'': (choose "organization summary" and "status summary" as the variables) Of those killed by British security forces: * 186 (~51.2%) were civilians * 146 (~40.2%) were members of republican paramilitaries * 18 (~5.0%) were members of loyalist paramilitaries * 13 (~3.6%) were fellow members of the British security forces Of those killed by republican paramilitaries: * 1,080 (~52.5%) were members/former members of the British security forces * 721 (~35.1%) were civilians * 188 (~9.2%) were members of republican paramilitaries * 57 (~2.8%) were members of loyalist paramilitaries * 11 (~0.5%) were members of the Irish security forces Of those killed by loyalist paramilitaries: * 878 (~85.5%) were civilians * 94 (~9.2%) were members of loyalist paramilitaries * 41 (~4.0%) were members of republican paramilitaries * 14 (~1.4%) were members of the British security forcesStatus
Approximately 52% of the dead were civilians, 32% were members or former members of the British security forces, 11% were members of republican paramilitaries, and 5% were members of loyalist paramilitaries. About 60% of the civilian casualties were Catholics, 30% of the civilians were Protestants, and the rest were from outside Northern Ireland. Of the civilian casualties, 48% were killed by loyalists, 39% were killed by republicans, and 10% were killed by the British security forces. Most of the Catholic civilians were killed by loyalists, and most of the Protestant civilians were killed by republicans. It has been the subject of dispute whether some individuals were members of paramilitary organisations. Several casualties that were listed as civilians were later claimed by the IRA as their members. One Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and three Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) members killed during the conflict were also Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldiers at the time of their deaths. At least one civilian victim was an off-duty member of the Territorial Army (United Kingdom), Territorial Army.Location
Most killings took place within Northern Ireland, especially in Belfast and County Armagh. Most of the killings in Belfast took place in the west and north of the city. Dublin, London and Birmingham were also affected, albeit to a lesser degree than Northern Ireland itself. Occasionally, the IRA attempted or carried out attacks on British targets in Gibraltar, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.Chronological listing
Additional statistics
See also
* Outline of the Troubles * List of Irish uprisings * Timeline of the Troubles * Timeline of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions * Timeline of Irish National Liberation Army actions * Timeline of Ulster Volunteer Force actions * Timeline of Ulster Defence Association actions * Timeline of Real Irish Republican Army actions * Timeline of Continuity IRA actions * Irish Children's Fund * List of bombings during the Troubles * List of Gardaí killed in the line of duty * Segregation in Northern Ireland * 2021 Northern Ireland riotsIn popular culture
* :Works about The Troubles (Northern Ireland) * List of books about the Troubles * Murals in Northern IrelandSimilar conflicts
* Basque conflict – Basque Country, Spain * Corsican conflict – Corsica, France * Sri Lankan Civil War – Sri LankaExplanatory notes
References
Further reading
* Paul Bew, Bew, Paul and Gillespie, Gordon (1993). ''Northern Ireland: A Chronology of the Troubles 1968–1993''. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. * Richard Bourke (academic), Bourke, Richard (2003). ''Peace in Ireland: The War of Ideas''. Random House. * Coogan, Tim Pat (2006). ''Ireland in the Twentieth Century''. Palgrave Macmillan. . * English, Richard (2003). ''Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA''. Oxford University Press. * English, Richard (2009). "The Interplay of Non-violent and Violent Action in Northern Ireland, 1967–72", in Adam Roberts (scholar), Roberts, Adam and Timothy Garton Ash, Ash, Timothy Garton (eds.). ''Civil Resistance and Power Politics: The Experience of Non-violent Action from Gandhi to the Present''. Oxford University Press. . * Harkin, Greg and Martin Ingram, Ingram, Martin (2004). ''Stakeknife: Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland''. O'Brien Press. . * Kelly, Stephen (2021). ''Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative Party and the Northern Ireland conflict, 1975–1990''. Bloomsbury. . * * McKittrick, David; Kelters, Seamus; Feeney, Brian and Thornton, Chris (1999). ''Lost Lives: The stories of the men, women and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland troubles''. Mainstream Publishing Company. . * * Myers, Kevin (2006). ''Watching the Door: A Memoir 1971–1978'', Lilliput Press, Dublin. * Potter, John Furniss (2001). ''A Testimony to Courage: The Regimental History of the Ulster Defence Regiment 1969–1992''. Pen & Sword Books. . * Ryder, Chris (1991). ''The Ulster Defence Regiment: An Instrument of Peace?'' .External links