The Northern Ireland Conflict: A Beginner's Guide

By Aaron Edwards and Cillian McGrattan

The definitive study of this troubled region

The Northern Ireland conflict is the most protracted and bitter campaign of terrorist violence in modern history. Despite decommissioning and political compromise, violent incidents are still rife and Unionists and Nationalists are as segregated as ever. This landmark introduction uses the latest archival material to chart the history of The Troubles and examine their legacy. Exploring the effects of sectarian violence, British intervention, and efforts to improve community relations, this astute book extends beyond the usual cliches found elsewhere.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Oneworld Publications
• Release date: Dec 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781780741710

Aaron Edwards

Aaron Edwards is a Senior Lecturer in Defence and International Affairs at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Leicester. He is the author of several books, including Mad Mitch’s Tribal Law: Aden and the End of Empire (2014), UVF: Behind the Mask (2017) and Agents of Influence (2021). His work has been featured in The Irish Times, Belfast Telegraph, Belfast News Letter and The Irish News.

Book preview

The Northern Ireland Conflict: A Beginner’s Guide

Illuminating and challenging. Caters well for both the newcomer and the old hands who have grown jaded with the current state of conventional wisdom.

Henry Patterson – Professor of Politics, University of Ulster, and author of Ireland since 1939: The Persistence of Conflict

Outstanding. I would certainly recommend it.

Thomas Hennessey – Reader in History, Canterbury Christ Church University, and author of A History of Northern Ireland, 1920-1996

An excellent introduction. It draws on an impressive range of sources and is admirably clear-sighted about the problems that remain in the wake of the 1998 Agreement.

Graham Walker – Professor of Political History, Queen’s University Belfast, and author of A History of the Ulster Unionist Party: Protest, Pragmatism, and Pessimism

ONEWORLD BEGINNER’S GUIDES combine an original, inventive, and engaging approach with expert analysis on subjects ranging from art and history to religion and politics, and everything in between. Innovative and affordable, books in the series are perfect for anyone curious about the way the world works and the big ideas of our time.

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the northern ireland conflict

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A Oneworld Paperback Original

Published by Oneworld Publications 2010

This ebook edition published by Oneworld Publications 2012

Copyright © Aaron Edwards and Cillian McGrattan 2010

The moral right of Aaron Edwards and Cillian McGrattan to be identified as the Authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved

Copyright under Berne Convention

A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-85168-729-9

ebook ISBN 978-1-78074-171-0

Typeset by Jayvee, Trivandrum, India

Cover design by Simon McFadden

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Contents

Acknowledgements

Chronology

Note on terminology

Introduction

1 The origins of the conflict, 1921–72

2 Direct rule and power sharing, 1972–4

3 ‘Refereeing the fight’: the limitations of British intervention, 1974–85

4 The peace process, 1985–98

5 Institutional stalemate and community relations, 1998–2008

6 ‘An age-old problem’? Why did the Troubles happen?

Conclusion: troubled legacies

Further reading

Endnotes

Index

Acknowledgements

We would like to extend special thanks to Professor Henry Patterson for his support during the writing of this book. Aaron Edwards wishes to thank Stephen Bloomer, Shirley Brace, Catherine Cooke, Michael Doherty, Harry Donaghy, Nigel Gardiner, Jon McCourt, and Syd Trotter for invaluable assistance with chapter 5. He is particularly grateful for the research funding provided by Sean McKnight, the Director of Studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which enabled him to visit archival institutions in London and Oxford. Stephen Bloomer, Ed Flint, Ali Parchami, Colin Reid, and Jennifer Ullah also provided much-needed moral support when the heavy teaching load at RMAS threatened to impinge upon research and writing. Cillian McGrattan thanks the School of Politics at the University of Ulster for providing funding for research trips and the staff at the School for their encouragement. He also wishes to thank Sahla Aroussi, who read over an early draft of the Conclusion. While we adhered to a division of labour approach when writing the book it is, above all, a joint effort and we remain equally responsible for any remaining errors.

Chronology

Note on terminology

The language used to describe the Northern Ireland conflict is often politically loaded, and we have endeavoured to use terms preferred by different groups when describing those groups.

For example, while nationalists refer to Northern Ireland’s second largest city as ‘Derry’, unionists refer to it as ‘Londonderry’; nationalists also often refer to Northern Ireland as ‘the North’ or the ‘six counties’.

In order to avoid repetition, we have also referred to the conflict as the ‘Troubles’, although we acknowledge that this euphemistic colloquialism does not capture adequately the very real suffering endured by many families and individuals.

We have used ‘Unionist’ to refer to the Ulster Unionist and Democratic Unionist parties, and to the government of Northern Ireland, which was controlled by the Ulster Unionist Party from 1921 to 1972. We reserve the lower-case ‘unionist’ to refer to the wider political community that favours maintaining constitutional links with the UK. Similarly, we have referred to ‘nationalists’ in the lower case to refer to the political community that favours ending partition.

Introduction

For more than a generation Northern Ireland was a byword for sectarian conflict, terrorism, and civil disobedience. The sound of gun-fire and explosions rang out across the world, leading many contemporaries to wonder if ‘the Troubles’ were truly insoluble. Yet, as we glance back over the course of the past half century, the Northern Ireland conflict cuts a familiar, almost banal, silhouette when illuminated against the backdrop of current global and regional instability. While we can debate the finer points of scale, the dark history of this bloody conflict continues to cast a long shadow.

Despite this reputation, the Northern Ireland conflict has been transformed beyond violence over the past decade, and especially since a power-sharing administration was formed in 2007 by the region’s two dominant, yet diametrically opposing, political parties: the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin. Despite the bedding-down of the new executive and Assembly, there remains some controversy over whether the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement paved the way for this eventual transformation.¹ Political engagement between these once implacable enemies has been played out against a backdrop of fundamental change in the relationships within and between the unionist and nationalist communities. The de-escalation of the military dimension of the conflict since the early 1990s certainly added the necessary lubricant to the wheels of what former Prime Minister Tony Blair called ‘the settlement train’, but it does not explain why the idea of peace captured the imagination of so many when it did, or how it has lasted for so long. From a conflict which at its height saw up to 30,000 British soldiers deployed on the streets to provide military aid to the civil power, to the ruthless long-running paramilitary campaigns perpetrated by loyalist and republican groups, Northern Ireland has since become a model for successful peace and reconciliation processes elsewhere. This book explains what made compromise possible in one of the most bitter and protracted conflicts