Attempts at a settlement in Northern Ireland,

Transcription

1 Ireland in Schools Blackpool Pilot Scheme Attempts at a settlement in Northern Ireland, Sunningdale Agreement & the Power-sharing Executive, Anglo-Irish Agreement, Good Friday Agreement, 1998 Tasks set in textbooks on the attempts and events leading up to them. J. Brooman, A Changing Nation, Longman History Project, X S. Gillespie & G. Jones, Northern Ireland & Its Neighbours since 1920, Hodder & Stoughton, X T. McAleavy, Conflict in Ireland, Collins Educational, New Edition, T. Rea & J. Wright, Ireland. A Divided Ireland, B. Walsh, The Struggle for Peace in Northern Ireland, John Murray,

2 Attempts at a settlement, The Power-Sharing Executive and the Sunningdale Agreement, This was proposed by Northern Ireland Secretary William Whitelaw in consultation with the main Northern Ireland parties. A new Assembly was elected to govern Northern Ireland. The main parties in the Assembly were represented on a Power-Sharing Executive (a government which would guarantee to share power between nationalist and unionist communities). A Council for Ireland was set up which would link Belfast, Dublin and London over issues of concern to all of them. (Details of this Council were worked out between the Northern Ireland parties and the British and Irish governments in the Sunningdale Agreement of December 1973.) 2. The Anglo-Irish Agreement, 1985 This was agreed between Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garrett Fitzgerald. It set up an Intergovernmental Conference: the Northern Ireland Secretary and Irish Foreign Minister would meet regularly. There would be cross-border co-operation on security, legal and political issues. The Agreement set up its own civil service with staff from both sides of the border. The British government accepted that there might one day be a united Ireland, but only with the consent of the majority in Northern Ireland. The Irish government accepted the existence of Partition, and also the principle of consent. 3. The Good Friday Agreement, 10 April 1998* This was agreed between the Irish and British governments and the main political parties of Northern Ireland, except the DUP. A new Northern Ireland Assembly with 108 members would be set up. All key decisions would require the consent of both communities in the province. A North-South Council of Ministers would also be set up, made up of members of the new Assembly and ministers from the Republic. The Irish government would remove Articles 2 and 3 of its constitution, which claimed the North as part of its territory (subject to a referendum of the people of the Republic). There would be a review of policing in Northern Ireland. Early release for paramilitary prisoners was promised. * The Good Friday Agreement built upon the earlier The Downing Street Declaration, 1993 This was agreed between Prime Minister John Major and the Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds. Talks were to be set up to decide on a new form of government for Northern Ireland. The new Northern Ireland government would respect all traditions in Northern Ireland. Only parties which rejected violence would be allowed any say in the talks. The British government said it had no selfish political or economic interest in Northern Ireland, but was concerned only with the welfare of all the people of Northern Ireland. The British government accepted that Irish unity was an issue for Irish people, but said that it could only happen with the consent of those in the North. The Irish government accepted the principle of consent for Irish unity. The Irish government also accepted that it might have to drop the parts of its constitution which claimed the North as part of its territory. The Irish government would set up a Forum for Peace and Reconciliation to promote trust and understanding between the traditions. Only those who rejected violence could be part of this. BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 2

3 Tasks set on attempts at a settlement, Walsh, pp 103 Imagine you are reading the Observer in November 1973 and someone asks you what the cartoon (Source 1) means. Explain it to them. SOURCE 1 A cartoon from the Observer newspaper in November 1973, commenting on the Power-sharing Executive. The man creeping away from the house of cards if the British Northern Ireland Secretary William Whitelaw. Note the labels on the winds which are about to blow on the Executive. Problems facing the Executive Some members of the Executive found it difficult to work with politicians from other parties. Supporters of power-sharing feared their interests would be sacrificed to make the power-sharing administration work. The Executive was heavily criticised by unionists opposed to the Sunningdale Agreement. Unionist parties opposed to the Sunningdale Agreement joined forces to disrupt business in the Assembly. Britain was still responsible for Northern Ireland's security policy, but the Executive was blamed for not stopping the high level of violence. The Irish government did not officially recognise Northern Ireland or introduce extradition (laws to allow people suspected of committing violent crime in Northern Ireland to be returned there to stand trial for the offences). There were also serious differences of opinion about the role of a Council of Ireland. BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 3

4 THE POWER-SHARING EXECUTIVE & THE SUNNINGDALE AGREEMENT, Gillespie, pp How safe did the cartoonist in Source A consider the new Northern Ireland power-sharing executive to be? This cartoon was drawn before the Sunningdale Agreement was signed. If it had been drawn afterwards what other clouds might the cartoonist have added? 2. Examine Source C. What percentage of opinion on both sides of the community in 1974 favoured: (a) power-sharing? (b) a Council of Ireland? 3. In what ways do Sources B and D help to explain unionist anxiety about the role of a Council of Ireland? SOURCE B Dublin is just a Sunningdale away. United Ulster Unionist Coalition election poster. SOURCE A The Northern Ireland Executives chances of success. The Observer, 24 November 1973 (i) (ii) Do you approve or disapprove of power within the Executive being shared? Protestant % Catholic % Approve strongly Just approve Don't know Just disapprove Disapprove strongly Do you think that the Sunningdale proposal for a Council of Ireland is a good or bad idea? Protestant % Catholic % Good idea Bad idea Have not heard of proposals Don't know The general approach of the SDLP to the (Sunningdale) talks was to get all Ireland institutions established... which could lead ultimately to an agreed single state for Ireland. SOURCE D Nationalist view of Sunningdale Paddy Devlin, SDLP delegate at Sunningdale, speaking in SOURCE C Results of the opinion poll on the Sunningdale Agreement taken between 31 March and 7 April BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 4

5 THE FAILURE OF POWER-SHARING, McAleavy, pp 76-7 Look at sources, 1-3. Using these sources explain why many Protestants were so opposed to power-sharing? SOURCE 1 SOURCE 2 Catholics don't want a share in the government of Northern Ireland. They want Northern Ireland to be destroyed, and to have a united Ireland. Even if they were to join a government it's only until such time as they can destroy the government and the state. Ian Paisley. Paisley was one of the leading critics of power-sharing. Later he explained why he disliked the idea so much. The more militant Protestants reached the stage by the end of 1971 in which they identified the whole Catholic community with the IRA. An Irish historian, T. W. Moody, explained that even the moderate SDLP was greatly distrusted by some Protestants, SOURCE 3 SOURCE 4 Working-class Protestants celebrate the end of power-sharing. Strikers' blockade and march on Stormont, SOURCE 5 A cartoon commenting on the role of the Protestant private armies in the strike. BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 5

6 SOURCE 6 SOURCE 7 The people on this side of the water - British parents - have seen their sons spat upon and murdered. British taxpayers have seen the taxes they have poured out, almost without regard to cost, going into Northern Ireland. They see property destroyed by evil violence and are asked to pick up the bill for rebuilding it. Yet people who benefit from this now viciously defy Westminster, people who spend their lives sponging on Westminster and British democracy. Who do these people think they are? Harold Wilson, British Prime Minister, in a television message, 25 May The UWC were delighted. Glen Barr, their leader, said later that they thought of making Wilson an 'honorary' member of the Ulster Workers' Council. 'Any hope he had of wrecking the strike went with that speech,' he said. Wilson's speech deeply offended many Protestant people and increased support for the strike. A British journalist, Robert Fisk, later wrote this about the impact of the speech. What did the Protestant strikers do to bring down the power-sharing Executive? How did the speech of Harold Wilson help the strikers? BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 6

7 WHY DID POWER SHARING FAIL? Brooman, pp 37-9 SOURCE 1 SOURCE 2 The line in the Bogside from local SDLP chiefs was that the Agreement should be supported because it helped towards the work of ending Northern Ireland and that there was therefore no need for the IRA any longer. Meanwhile Protestants were being urged by Mr Faulkner to believe that the Council of Ireland would be a mere talking shop, that... Catholics... were accepting the Northern State - and that for this reason the Agreement would end IRA violence and should therefore be supported. Eamonn McCann, War in an Irish Town, I was actually at the end of a telephone during that strike, and for the first few days the telephone line was constantly occupied by people ringing up from housing estates, places in the country, to say, look, we can't get into our work, there are people with sticks and staves and masks at the end of our road, and what is the government going to do about it? Lady Faulkner, the Chief Executive's wife, quoted in Philip Whitehead, The Writing On the Wall, SOURCE 3 Harry Murray, one of the strike leaders, speaking on Radio 4 Northern Ireland, 24 May We never attempted to intimidate anybody going into work - definitely not... These people are honest, industrious... It's a constitutional stoppage and we have the backing of I would say 450,000 people. SOURCE 4 There are very few photographs of strikers forcing people to stop work. This is the only known photograph of a lorry being hijacked during the 1974 general strike. It shows armed men threatening the crew of a bakers' lorry in East Belfast on 16 May The youths in masks and balaclavas had stopped the lorry by standing in the road. SOURCE 5 As we walked through the lounge full of middle-class late-night drinkers, the cry of 'traitors' came in unison... It was a spontaneous response of anger: we, the Brits, were the outsiders, always ready to sell good loyalists down that mythical river into the Catholic South. From Northern Ireland. A Personal Perspective, the memoirs of Merlyn Rees. He was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 7

8 SOURCE 6 Protestant women in Belfast celebrate the collapse of the power-sharing Executive on 28 May Look at Source 1. a. Why would the SDLP find it difficult to persuade Catholics in the Bogside that they did not need the IRA any longer? b. Suggest why Faulkner told Protestants that the Council of Ireland would be a 'mere talking shop'. c. How might Protestants have reacted if they could have heard what Catholics in the Bogside were being told about the Sunningdale Agreement? What might Catholics have said if they had heard what Faulkner was telling Protestants? 2. The elections for the new Northern Ireland Assembly gave a majority of seats to people who supported power-sharing. The elections for Parliament only seven months later gave a majority to those who opposed power-sharing. How can this be explained? 3. Look at Source 6. a. What was the 'Executive' mentioned in the newspaper headline? b. What caused it to 'collapse' on 28 May 1974? c. Suggest why the people in the picture looked so happy about this event. BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 8

9 REVIEW: CONFLICT AND CO-OPERATION IN NORTHERN IRELAND Brooman, p. 40 The cartoon below is an interpretation of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Study it carefully, then answer these questions: 1. a. Look at the wall on the left. What do you think the graffiti 'Rem 1690' and 'Ulster says no' is supposed to mean? b. On the wall on the right, what do you think the graffiti '1916', the `Provos' and 'H blocks' is meant to mean? 2. a. What is unusual about the stairs the people are climbing? b. Why do you think the cartoonist drew the stairs in this way? 3. Look at the characters on the stairs. a. What kind of person do you think each character is meant to represent? b. Which character does the cartoonist seem to blame for the Troubles? c. Judging by what you have read in this book, is the cartoonist right to blame this person? d. Who else on the stairs could also be blamed for the Troubles? Why? 4. The cartoonist is Northern Irish. How might this affect his interpretation of the Troubles? 5. a. Some people might say the cartoon is a fair interpretation, some that it is unfair. What kind of people might think it unfair? b. Why would it be difficult to make an interpretation of the Troubles that everybody accepted as fair? This cartoon was drawn in 1991 by a Northern Irish p o l i t i c a l cartoonist, Martyn Turner. It was used to illustrate the front cover of a book called Troubled Times, about the Troubles in Northern Ireland from 1970 to BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 9

10 ANGLO-IRISH CO-OPERATION Gillespie, pp FOCUS What factors brought the British and Irish governments towards closer co-operation in the 1980s? What effect did the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 have on the way Northern Ireland was governed? (Right) Margaret Thatcher and Garret FitzGerald at the signing the Anglo-Irish Agreement at Hillsborough Castle with Tom King, the Northern Ireland Secretary of State in the background. Cartoon on the New Ireland Forum. The Brighton bomb BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 10

11 SOURCE A SOURCE B British government response to the New Ireland Forum A united Ireland was one solution. That is out. A second solution was a confederation of the two states. That is out. A third solution was joint authority. That is out. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, 19 November I984 After the Anglo-Irish Agreement was signed posters saying 'Mrs Thatcher is a Traitor' appeared in loyalist areas, including this one with an effigy of Thatcher. SOURCE C Garret FitzGerald's motives for signing the Anglo-Irish Agreement I don't know what the verdict of history will be on the 1985 Agreement. But I can say that in negotiating it I was moved by one purpose: to block the dangerous growth of supportfor IRA/Sinn Fein during the post hunger strike years , by attempting to create conditions in which northern nationalists could more readily identify with the system of government and security in Northern Ireland. In this way I hoped to weaken support and tolerance of the IRA among part of the northern community, a phenomenon which seemed to me to be a potential major threat to the security of the whole island. Whatever many cif you think, the idea of attempting to undermine the right of the people of Northern Ireland to decide the jurisdictlon under whose sovereignty they wish to live was, and has always been, abhorrent to me. Garret FitzGerald, Letter to the unionist community, The Belfast Newsletter, 1 September SOURCE D On 21 November 1985 the Irish Parliament in Dublin, the Dail, approved the Anglo-Irish Agreement by 88 votes to 75. Six days later, the House of Commons at Westminster approved the Agreement by 473 to 47 votes. All the main British political parties supported the Agreement. The fact that all the Ulster Unionist MPs were opposed to the Agreement was ignored. ACTIVITIES 1. What factors persuaded the Irish government to set up the New Ireland Forum? 2. Why would unionists have been reassured by Source A (page 30), Mrs Thatcher's reaction to the New Ireland Forum Report? 3. Why did many unionists view Mrs Thatcher (Source B) as a traitor after she signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement? 4. What reasons does Garret FitzGerald give in Source C to explain why he signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement? Why might many Protestants find it difficult to accept his explanation? 5. The Anglo-Irish Agreement was passed with one of the largest majorities in the House of Commons this century (Source D). Why do you think the Agreement was given so much support? 6. The Fianna Fail Party in the Republic, led by Charles Haughey, opposed the Anglo-Irish Agreement because it said the Agreement reinforced partition. Choose two points in the Agreement and explain how each might be viewed as reinforcing partition. BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 11

12 ANGLO-IRISH-AGREEMENT, 1885 Walsh, pp What does Source 1 tell historians about unionist opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement? 3. Look at Source 2. What is the cartoonist saying about the opponents of the Agreement? 4. In what ways do Sources 2 and 4 present different views of the opposition to the Agreement? SOURCE 1 A loyalist crowd demonstrating outside Belfast City Hall in November Estimates put the size of the crown at 100,000, comparable to the opposition to Home Rule in SOURCE 2 A cartoon in the Belfast newspaper Fortnight, 8 January The three people in the boat, Margaret Thatcher, Neil Kinnock (Labour leader at the time) and David Steel (Liberal leader), are ignoring the protest. The two dinosaurs are the Ulster Unionist leaders James Molyneaux and Peter Taylor. The dam is Ian Paisley An IRA bomb kills eleven people and injures over 60 at a Remembrance Day service in Enniskillen. A single loyalist gunman kills three mourners at an IRA activist's funeral Eight soldiers are killed by an IRA landmine Loyalists kill 31 people in the course of the year, mostly innocent Catholics and usually as revenge for IRA attacks The UFF kill five Catholic civilians in an attack on a betting shop. A huge IRA bomb in central London causes up to 1 billion worth of damage The IRA kill two young boys in Warrington with a bomb placed in a rubbish bin. An IRA bomb goes off prematurely in a Shankill fish shop. The bomber and nine innocent Protestant civilians are killed. Loyalist gunmen kill thirteen in revenge attacks for the Shankill bomb. SOURCE 3 Selected examples of violence, BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 12

13 ANGLO-IRISH AGREEMENT, 1985 Gillespie & Jones, pp Nationalist reaction Nationalists in Northern Ireland were divided in their attitude to the Agreement. The SDLP saw it as a chance for progress while Sinn Fein regarded it as reinforcing partition. British and Irish reaction While the majority of politicians in Britain and the Republic accepted the Agreement, some, like Mary Robinson of the Irish Labour Party (later elected President of the Republic) and Ian Gow, a member of the British government (later killed by the IRA), resigned in protest against it. SOURCE A Unionist response We are going to be delivered, bound and trussed like a turkey ready for the oven, from one nation to another. James Molyneaux at a special meeting of the Assembly, 1985 SOURCE B SDLP response The SDLP welcomes the Anglo-Irish Agreement. It... presents a major opportunity and challenge to the nationalist people of the north... It is an opportunity to create equality, justice and fair play for all the people of the north. West Belfast SDLP pamphlet, December 1985 SOURCE C Republican response This deal does not go anywhere near bringing peace to this part of Ireland. On the contrary it reinforces partition because Dublin is recognising Northern Ireland. Gerry Adams, President of Sinn Fein, 16 November 1985 SOURCE D Individual objection within the Conservative Party The Agreement would never have been signed unless there had been a prolonged campaign of violence... The involvement of a foreign power in a consultative role in the administration of the province will prolong, and not diminish, Ulster s agony. Ian Gow, British Treasury Minister, November 1985 SOURCE E Labour Party response The Anglo-Irish Agreement, is the reward the gunmen got for their violence. They have created such hatred of insecurity, fear and brutality that they have made nationalists seek change even at the cost of indefinitely postponing a united Ireland. Neil Kinnock, Leader, 21 November, 1985 SOURCE F Individual objection within the Irish Labour Party The Agreement is unacceptable to all sections of unionist opinion. I do not believe it can achieve... peace and stability within Northern Ireland or on the island as a whole. Senator Mary Robinson, Irish Labour Party, 18 November 1985 ACTIVITIES 1. What does Source A tell you about unionists views of the Anglo-lrish Agreement? 2. Using Sources B and C, describe how the SDLP s views of the Anglo-lrish Agreement differed from Sinn Fein's views. 3. Both Sinn Fein and the unionists were opposed to the Anglo-Irish Agreement. In what respects were their reasons for opposing the Agreement different? 4. What did Neil Kinnock (Source E) consider would be the outcome of the Anglo-Irish Agreement? Why might his viewpoint not be shared by unionists? 5. Why did Ian Gow (Source D) and Mary Robinson (Source F)) object to the Anglo-lrish Agreement? How do you think northern unionists would have felt about Mary Robinson s resignation? Explain your answer. BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 13

14 MCALEAVY ANGLO-IRISH AGREEMENT, 1985: 1 McAleavy, pp 51-3 SOURCE 1 SOURCE 4 You either be killed by the IRA or kill them and I want to see them dead. Something has to be done to finish this trouble once and for all and the only way to do this with the IRA is to kill them. Gregory Campbell, Democratic Unionist Party Councillor, To the glorious memory of King William III, who saved us from Slaves and Slavery, Knaves and Knavery, Popes and Popery. Whoever denies this toast may be crammed and jammed into the muzzle of the great gun of Athlone and fired into the Pope's belly, and the Pope into the Devil's belly and the Devil into hell, and the door locked and the key in an Orangeman's pocket. An Orange Order toast from about SOURCE 2 SOURCE 3 Members of the UDA. A drawing of King William of Orange from a purse of an Orangeman c On it are the words 'The immortal memory of 1690'. SOURCE 6 SOURCE 5 Question: How can I help to keep Ulster Protestant, loyal and British? Answer: a. by being a faithful member of my own church. b. by being a regular member of my own junior Loyal Orange Lodge. c. by showing in my own character that the Ulster-British way of life is worth having and holding. Carson and the Ulster Volunteer Force, An extract from the Junior Orangeman's Catechism, BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 14

15 SOURCE 7 SOURCE 8 Ian Paisley paraded 500 men from a private Protestant army today. He said 'These men are ready to fight and die rather than accept an all-ireland Republic. They are prepared to defend their province in the same way as Lord Carson and the men of the Ulster Volunteer Force!' Armed B Specials at a road block in the 1930s. Report from the London New Standard, 6 February SOURCE 9 Ian Paisley. SOURCE 10 'We pray this night that thou wouldst deal with the Prime Minister of our country.ogod, in wrath take vengeance on this wicked, treacherous lying woman. Take vengeance upon her, O Lord, and grant that we shall see a demonstration of Thy power.' The depth of Protestant suspicions of the British government was seen in the reaction to the Anglo-Irish Agreement. Speaking in his church in Belfast, Ian Paisley called upon God to punish the British Prime Minister for her treachery to Ulster. What is the Orange Order? What part does it play in the lives of the Protestant community? Why do you think that many Unionists mistrust the British government? Which party has been more successful in the 1990s: the Democratic Unionist Party or the Ulster Unionist Party? BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 15

16 MCALEAVY ANGLO-IRISH AGREEMENT, 1985: 2 McAleavy, pp SOURCE 1 SOURCE 2 If we cannot arrest the IRA and disarm them they are going to kill us. We have not only the right but the duty to kill them before they kill me, my family and others. The ordinary Ulster man is not going to surrender to the IRA or be betrayed into a united Ireland or put his neck under the jackboot of Popery. Ian Paisley, January Ian Paisley, holding a sledgehammer with the words 'Smash Sinn Fein'. SOURCE 3 SOURCE 4 The only thing that Protestants are afraid of is a dirty, underhanded deal done behind our backs. We are in the hands of our English masters. And we understand that they are not our friends. They would like to destroy us. Protestants love their liberty too much to put themselves into a state where there is censorship but no divorce. A Protestant wall-painting with slogans in support of the Protestant paramilitaries. Adapted from a speech by Ian Paisley, December Look at the following sources, 5-8. What can we learn from these extracts about Unionist attitudes towards the Agreement? BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 16

17 SOURCE 5 SOURCE 6 This agreement will not bring peace, but a sword. I have to say honestly and truthfully that I have never known what I can only describe as a universal cold fury. The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, James Molyneaux, expresses the common Unionist view of the Agreement in November The hearts of Ulster have been stricken with the deepest of sorrows. Mrs Thatcher tells us that the Republic has got a say in this province. We say never, never, never, never. We are prepared to lay down our lives for Ulster. I never thought I would live to see the day when 1912 was repeated. Ian Paisley, speaking at a Unionist rally in Belfast, 24 November SOURCE 7 SOURCE 8 Popular Unionism. Protestant shipyard workers demonstrate against the Anglo-Irish Agreement. SOURCE 9 SOURCE 10 Unionists were outraged when an IRA bomb killed ten Protestants on the Shankill Road, Belfast, in October Protestant shipyard workers lead thousands of protesters along the Shankill Road after the October 1993 bombing. How did Unionists respond to the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985? How successful were Unionist attempts to overthrow the Anglo-Irish Agreement? Explain in your own words how loyalist violence increased in the early 1990s. BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 17

18 THE 1994 CEASE-FIRE McAleavy, pp 80-1 SOURCE 1 SOURCE 2 The only way to persuade the IRA to end its campaign was to demonstrate to them the existence of, not only of an alternative peaceful strategy, but also of a coalition of forces sufficiently powerful as to make this achievement a credible possibility. Sinn Fein made a statement as early as 1983 that made clear that some of its leaders were prepared to consider an alternative to armed struggle. As everybody now knows, the patience, skill and determination shown by clergy has been nothing less than indispensable in bringing about the peace we now enjoy. I can say that without them the present hopeful situation would not and could not have come about. John Hume, December SOURCE 3 SOURCE 4 You call on Republicans to renounce violence and join in the peaceful struggle for the rights of Nationalists. What peaceful struggle? Those who condemn the armed struggle have a responsibility to spell out an alternative course by which Irish independence can be secured. I, for one, would be pleased to consider such an alternative. Gerry Adams, John Hume SOURCE 5 SOURCE 6 I urge American businessmen and all others to consider investing in Northern Ireland and the Border counties. The workforce is well educated and well motivated. The productivity levels are high. The unit labour costs are low. The labour relations are good. The infrastructure, the communications, the access to the European market are fine. Clinton encouraging American businesses to invest in Northern Ireland, May On 17 January 1992 eight Protestant workmen were killed by an IRA bomb. Their crime was to carry out work for the security forces. A local journalist expressed a common sense that it was time for the politicians to become more active in looking for a settlement. Eight died in Tyrone. The level of outrage rises so high. Still they refuse to come to the table. What if 50 died, or 150? What then? Do Paisley and Hume, the whole damn lot of them have a body count in their heads above which they will definitely begin to move heaven and earth to do something about it. Pick a number lads. Any number. Emily O Reilly, BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 18

19 SOURCE 7 SOURCE 8 More lives may have been lost in the 1970s, but nearly all who lived through those times they never felt as helpless or as frightened as they do today. Frightened because of the increasing savagery of the sectarian attacks; and helpless, because there seems no prospect of a settlement. The most terrifying development of the last year or so has been the sharp rise in atrocities carried out by Loyalist paramilitary groupings. Loyalists are now able to manufacture bombs and are able to carry out assassinations with apparent impunity. They have now killed six people in two days. The ferocity of the UFF campaign of sectarian killing put pressure on both Sinn Fein and the SDLP. By early 1993 innocent Catholics were being regularly killed by Loyalist assassins. The Nationalist newspaper, the Irish News, described the Catholic mood in March The British government pledges to uphold the democratic wish of a greater number of the people of Northern Ireland on the issue of whether they prefer to support the union or a sovereign united Ireland. The British government have no selfish strategic or economic interest in Northern Ireland. Their primary interest is to see peace, stability and reconciliation established by agreement. They will work together with the Irish Government to achieve such an agreement. The role of the British Government will be to encourage, facilitate and enable the achievement of such an agreement through a process of dialogue and co-operation. The British Government agree that it is for the people of Ireland alone, by agreement between the two parts, to exercise their right of self-determination on the basis of consent, freely and concurrently given, North and South, to bring about a united Ireland, if that is their wish. The Irish Government accepts the democratic right of self-determination by the people of Ireland as a whole must be achieved and exercised with and subject to the agreement and consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland and must respect the civil rights and liberties of both communities... In the event of an overall settlement, the Irish Government will support a change in the Irish Constitution which would fully represent the principle of consent in Northern Ireland. Extracts from the Downing Street Declaration. SOURCE 9 SOURCE 10 Recognising the potential of the current situation and in order to enhance the democratic peace process and underline our commitment to its success, the leadership of the Irish Republican Army have decided that as of midnight, Wednesday 31 August, there will be complete cessation of military operations. All our units have been instructed accordingly. IRA statement announcing a cease-fire, 31 August The IRA has announced a complete cessation of military operations but it has refused to define that cessation as permanent. In the circumstances, to equate the present cease-fire with peace is irresponsible. The private army is still in being, heavily armed and organised within our territory, in defiance of our laws. Not everyone welcomed the IRA cease-fire. The southern Irish writer, Conor Cruise O Brien, writing in September 1994, was suspicious of IRA plans. BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 19

20 SOURCE 11 SOURCE 12 Given the Unionist veto, Britain is likely to take the cynical view that republicans in unarmed struggle are like birds without wings. Some Republicans also disapproved of the cease-fire. They felt that the IRA had got a very poor deal and would have little power without the use of force. A Republican writer, Anthony Macintyre, criticised the Sinn Fein position in October A Catholic woman pleads with Orangemen not to march down the Nationalist Garvaghy Road, Drumcree, Portadown, in July Explain why the IRA agreed to a cease-fire in In your answer you should mention: the influence of the Catholic Church; the Hume-Adams talks; Loyalist killings; pressure from America; the Downing Street Declaration. Look at Sources 10 and 11. Why were some people unhappy with the cease-fire? What problems followed the cease-fire? BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 20

21 THE PROTESTANT MARCHES, Rea, pp 70-1 Look at Sources A, B, and C, which were taken in Portadown in 1996 and SOURCE A SOURCE C Portadown Panic and fear spread among Catholic protestors as the RUC make a baton charge to clear the road so that the Orangemen can take part in their traditional march. 6 July Portadown Orangemen march along the Catholic Garvaghy Road. Heavy security was provided by the army and the RUC. SOURCE B A Catholic woman, and Orangemen about to march along the Garvaghy Road, a Catholic area of Portadown, The original caption went on, 'about 300 Catholics attacked the RUC as they shielded the Orange marchers'. Can you see the armoured vans in the background? 1. Look at Sources A and B. These two photographs were taken on the same day, but we do not know which was taken first. Explain which you think was taken first and give reasons for your choice. 2. Look at Source B. What is the woman doing? How are the marchers reacting to her? 3. Can you see evidence in Source A to support the statement in the original caption of Source B? 4. Look at Source C. What evidence can you see of the heavy security? 5. What are the similarities and differences between the events shown in Sources A, B, and C? 6. According to the information in this feature alone, is it possible to say whether the police were guilty of taking sides? 7. Write an imaginary dialogue between the woman in Source B and the man at the front of the march she is talking to. Try to include as many ideas as possible from each side, of the argument about the marches. BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 21

22 Good Friday Agreement, 1998 Walsh,, pp Look carefully at the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Which terms would be regarded as sensitive or controversial a) in Northern Ireland b) in the Republic c) in mainland Britain? 2. Source 1 is meant to be humorous, but also attempts to get across an important point. What point is the cartoonist trying to make about Mo Mowlam? 3. Source 2 quotes a republican activist who is prepared to give up some important aims in order to gain peace. What evidence is there in this section of other groups making important compromises as well? I m prepared as a Republican to settle. My hopes are for the unification of this country, but I have to accept in the long run that it s not going to happen. The Brits are not going to sail away in the sunlight. Go back to war? What are we going to do? It would only cause more misery, more suffering and mostly to our own people and to ourselves. SO URCE 1 A cartoon from the Guardian, January 1998, referring to Mo Mowlam s visit to the Maze prison. One of the prisoners she spoke to was called John 'Mad Dog' Adair. SOURCE 2 Former IRA activist Gabriel Megahy, interviewed on BBC television in 1998 BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 22

23 Did the Good Friday Agreement mean that Northern Ireland s troubles were over? Optimism versus pessimism B. Walsh, pp The imagined conversations below set out the pessimistic and optimistic views on the Northern Ireland Assembly paramilitaries the republican movement security and policing Orange marches 1. Work in groups of five, and take one issue each. 2. For your issue, decide whether you would side with the optimists or the pessimists. Make sure you can explain and support your view. Use Sources 1-6 to help you. You may want to use the internet or other resources for extra research. Subject Optimism Pessimism The Northern Ireland Assembly Paramilitaries Security & policing The republican movement Orange marches The Assembly has made good progress. It first met on 1 July It appointed the well-respected Lord Alderdice as its Speaker, David Trimble as First Minister and the SDLP s Seamus Mallon as his deputy. Northern Ireland politicians were in the same building, and arguing like normal politicians! In the next few years, we should see an end to political violence altogether. It must be hard for victims families to watch prisoners being released early, but without releases it is hard to see how peace will last. It might be said that in 1969 the RUC and B-Specials were not always impartial. Today s RUC is professional and well disciplined. It stood up to the Loyalists at Drumcree in 1998 and The independent commission set up by the government has already heard from 9000 people. When it reports in 2000, it will be clear that the RUC can win the confidence of both communities. Gerry Adams has won over most Republicans to a non-violent approach. The Omagh bomb of August 1998 was horrific and inexcusable, but it might be a turning point. All Nationalists were appalled by this vicious slaughter. In the Republic, where the alleged killers were based, people were horrified. After the Omagh bomb, there is not one shred of sympathy left for violent republicanism. That means republican extremists have nowhere to hide. Their time is over. OK, I accept that the violent clashes at Drumcree have not reflected much credit on anyone. The Orangemen insist on marching down the mainly Catholic Garvaghy Road (which was once mainly Protestant). The local residents groups don t want them to. But Drumcree s an extreme example. There are thousands of peaceful Orange marches every summer in Northern Ireland, and only about 50 are disputed. In July 1998, the Orange Order called off another of the big controversial marches, on the Ormeau Road, in Belfast. Yes, it did make a good start. But by 1999, the Assembly had not appointed a cabinet. The process was completely hung up on the lack of progress made in decommissioning IRA weapons. In July1999 the Assembly fell apart when Unionists refused to take part in forming a new government because the IRA had not started decommissioning weapons. Senator George Mitchell had to be called back to carry out a review to rescue the whole peace process. But there has been no decommissioning of any weapons. Also, paramilitary punishment beatings of people in their own areas have not stopped. What s more, the release of paramilitary prisoners is an insult to the families and loved ones of thousands of innocent victims. Drumcree has helped, but many Nationalists still don t trust the RUC. They remember internment and allegations of human rights abuses. They want the RUC disbanded and they won t accept anything less. Even moderate Catholics or Nationalists are reluctant to join the RUG because republican activists harass and intimidate their families. There are still plenty of hardliners in the republican movement who will never accept anything but a 32-county Irish Republic. Also, public opinion in the Republic was appalled by the Enniskillen bombing in 1987 but the men and women of violence still found somewhere to hide. These extremists really believe they are right, so they ll be back. Drumcree has shown there is a core of loyalist hardliners associated with the Orange Order. They killed an RUC officer in riots at Drumcree in July1998. In December 1998, they brought Portadown to a halt with a demonstration about the Drumcree march (Drumcree is on the edge of Portadown). Local traders were furious at losing their Christmas trade. BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 23

24 Did the Good Friday Agreement mean that Northern Ireland's troubles were over? What does the evidence suggest - sources 1-6? SOURCE 1 Mutilation attacks and shootings carried out by the paramilitaries. These figures are from Families Against Intimidation and Terror (FAIT). You can find out more from their website at Prisoner release has played a part in conflict resolution throughout the world. Those who have been part of the problem must be part of the solution. But only those who are committed to purely peaceful and democratic means and those whose parent organisation is on ceasefire. No ceasefire, no release! SOURCE 2 Philip Dean, a member of the Ulster Democratic Party, one of the smaller unionist parties, commenting on prisoner releases in an conference in May SOURCE 3 A poster published by hardline Republicans attacking the Good Friday Agreement, The poster shows Mo Mowlam, Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness. 'Gerry and the Peacemakers' is a pun on the 1960s pop band Gerry and the Pacemakers. The sellout tour is an ironic reference to this `band' who have not sold out their tour in terms of tickets, but have allegedly sold out their supporters and friends. BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 24

25 We want to express revulsion at the atrocity in Omagh; and express community sympathy with the families who lost loved ones and the injured of Omagh, Buncrana and the Spanish student group. We also want to express solidarity with the peace process and re-ciffirm the referendum vote in favour of the Good Friday Agreement. We will demonstrate our disgust at those who without any mandate are bringing disgrace to the town of Dundalk. We are saying directly to the 32-County Movement and the 'Real IRA' that there will be no hiding place in Dundalk or County Louth for their activities, and that the people of Dundalk and Louth support the government, the Garclai [the Irish police] and the RUC to take whatever action is necessary to crush the activities of SOURCE 4 A still from video footage showing the devastation in the centre of Omagh, County Tyrone, in August A breakaway republican group called the Real IRA car bomb outside a children's clothes shop. An incorrect warning meant people were gathered near the bomb. The final death toll was 29. SOURCE 5 Part of a statement by Brian O'Neill, August O'Neill was a leader of a demonstration in Dundalk, in the Irish Republic, held to protest about the Omagh bombing. Dundalk was a traditional republican stronghold, and home of the 32-County Sovereignty Committee. This was said to be the political wing of the Real IRA. Two Spanish students were killed in the explosion at Omagh. They were on an exchange with Irish students. SOURCE 6 The results of a study by the University of Ulster into attitudes s the police, published in BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 25

26 UNDERSTANDING BOTH SIDES Rea, p. 75 SOURCE A Catholics stand in silence as an Orange march passes through their district. SOURCE B The ordinary Ulsterman is not going to surrender to the IRA or be betrayed into a united Ireland or put his neck under the jackboot of Catholicism. Ian Paisley, 1982 SOURCE C History says, Don t hope On this side of the grave But then, once in a lifetime The longed for tidal wave Of justice can rise up And hope and history rhyme. So hope for a great sea-change On the far side of revenge. Believe that a further shore Is reachable from here. Believe in miracles And cures and healing swells. An extract from Seamus Heaney s poem The cure at Troy, Look carefully at the expressions of the people in Source A. Explain as fully as you can what you think is going through their minds. You could choose just one of the crowd if this helps. 2. Explain why many Northern Irish Protestants might agree with the statement by Ian Paisley in Source B? 3. Study the poem, Source C. What hope do you think there is for lasting peace in Northern Ireland? BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 26

27 REVIEW OF PEACE ATTEMPTS Walsh, p. 107 You are a reporter in Most other reporters are writing articles about the Downing Street Declaration, which has just been signed. You have decided to be slightly different. You are going to look back at the political initiatives of the last twenty years in Northern Ireland, leading up to and including the Declaration. You could work alone or with a team of researchers to help you. 1. First copy and complete the chart below analysing the three initiatives. 2. Use your completed chart to write an article covering at least some of the following issues: Have any policies or ideas come up several times in the political initiatives? Have any policies been dropped? How have the main political parties in Northern Ireland reacted to each of the initiatives? Do any of the initiatives show one or more groups or parties compromising? Have any initiatives successfully built on achievements of previous initiatives? You should finish your report with a conclusion on whether you feel Northern Ireland is closer to peace in 1993, or whether it is no nearer than it was in Initiative Issues raised Reactions to initiative from... Self-govern ment for Northern Ireland? Crossborder organisations(s)? Principle of consent? Loyalists Moderate Unionists Moderate Nationalists Republicans 1. The Power-Sharing Executive and the Sunningdale Agreement, The Anglo-Irish Agreement, The Downing Street Declaration, 1993 BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 27

28 REVIEW OF GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT Walsh, p Use the information and sources on pages to complete your own copy of this diagram. In each box, note a factor that made the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 possible. Add extra boxes if you need them. Colour code the finished diagram to show a) the influence of individuals b) developments outside Northern Ireland c) developments inside Northern Ireland. 2. Look at your factors again. Sort them into two categories: a) essential factors (without these no agreement was possible) b) significant factors (these helped achieve an agreement but it could have happened without them). 3. Decide whether each of your factors mostly a) addressed a modern (post-1969) political issue b) addressed a deep-rooted historical problem. 4. Finally, decide how far you agree with these statements: 'History was never really the problem in Northern Ireland: it was politics. Two groups wanted power, and neither wanted to compromise. Then they went looking for suitable bits of history to use as an excuse: 'The Good Friday Agreement allowed Northern Ireland's people to rid themselves of the burden of history Use your answers to prepare a presentation showing how effective you think the Good Friday Agreement was. BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 28

29 COURSEWORK ASSIGNMENT `What made the Good Friday Agreement possible?' Walsh, p126 Many factors made the Good Friday Agreement possible: the contributions of important individuals the importance of developments outside Northern Ireland the actions of paramilitaries and their representatives the part played by Northern Ireland's democratic political parties the role of the British and Irish governments the role played by ordinary people the importance of previous developments in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. The question is asking you to explain why something has happened. You know that the causes were complicated and several were involved. These have been listed for you. But simply describing each of these in detail does not explain why the Agreement was made. Nor does describing everything that has happened in Northern Ireland in the last 30 years. To tackle this assignment you should: 1. Choose factors which you think made the Good Friday Agreement possible. 2. Explain how each of the factors contributed. 3. Show how they were linked to each other. You could mention how they were linked to some other factors. 4. Finally, look at the examiner's' mark-scheme (you can get this from your teacher) to check what they are looking for. BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 29

30 BPS, Tasks on settlement attempts, 30