Troubles

:The "Troubles" is a term used to describe two periods of violence in Ireland during the twentieth century. This article describes the latter; for the earlier Troubles, see Anglo-Irish War and Irish Civil War.

Background

The Troubles were another chapter in the long-running hatred between Ulster's Protestant and Roman Catholic communities. They were brought to an uneasy end by a peace process which included the declaration of ceasefires by some paramilitary organisations, the withdrawal of some troops from the streets and the creation of a new police force in a series of reforms, as agreed by the signatories to the Belfast Agreement (commonly known as the Good Friday Agreement).

Related Topics:
Ulster - Protestant - Roman Catholic - Peace process - Belfast Agreement

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Though the number of active participants in the Troubles was small, and the paramilitary organisations that claimed to represent the communities were usually unrepresentative of the general population, the Troubles touched the lives of most people within Northern Ireland on a daily basis, while occasionally spreading to Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Almost four thousand people (most of them civilians) died as a result of the violence. Many people today have had their political, social and communal attitudes and perspectives shaped by the Troubles.

Related Topics:
Great Britain - Republic of Ireland - Civilian

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Though not itself part of the Troubles, the Civil Rights campaign in the mid to late 1960s in Northern Ireland, which was largely modelled on the American Civil Rights Movement of Martin Luther King and others in the United States, was seen by some in the unionist community as the starting point for the Troubles. They argue that it led to a destabilisation of government and created a void filled later by paramilitary groups. Others, mainly though not exclusively nationalist, disagree, arguing that the Civil Rights campaign was a reaction to a corrupt system of government, the failure to reform the system causing the collapse in law and order that led to the Troubles. All are agreed that the Troubles include Bloody Sunday, Bloody Friday, internment, the suspension of the unionist-controlled Stormont Home Rule government, the campaigns of violence by the various paramilitary organisations, including the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings, the La Mon bombing, the killing of Lord Mountbatten and members of his family, the assassination of Sir Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the then British Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, the attempted assassination of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet in the Brighton hotel bombing, the assassination of Airey Neave and the attempted assassination of John David Taylor, the Enniskillen and Omagh bombings, the hunger strikers in the Long Kesh prison, the creation of the Peace People organisation (which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976), the splits in the IRA and ultimately the Belfast Agreement.

Related Topics:
Civil Rights - American Civil Rights Movement - Martin Luther King - United States - Unionist - Government - Bloody Sunday - Bloody Friday - Internment - Stormont - Home Rule - Dublin and Monaghan Bombings - Lord Mountbatten - Christopher Ewart-Biggs - Republic of Ireland - Margaret Thatcher - Brighton hotel bombing - Airey Neave - John David Taylor - Enniskillen - Omagh - Long Kesh - Nobel Peace Prize - 1976 - Belfast Agreement

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