Post by Saph on Jul 20, 2006 9:23:07 GMT -5
INTRODUCTION
Several invasions have threatened to change the Irish way of life, which originally began with the native inhabitants of Ireland, the Gaels, who spoke Gaelic. The first invaders, the Viking pagans, who adopted the Irish way of life, set up trading towns on the coast and even intermarried with them. Later on St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland.
In 1167, 100 years after their conquest in England, the Normans invaded Ireland. The Irish way of life was threatened, for the Irish were catholic and were faithful to the pope while the Normans were loyal to the English king. Like the Vikings, the Normans intermarried with the Irish.
It was King Henry VIII that brought the real conflict in Ireland. Henry had broke ties with the Roman Catholic church. Ireland had not. He believed the French would use Ireland to invade England because of this, and so he brought in Protestant bibles and bishops. The Irish rebelled. Ever since then the Irish have been fighting for Independence, through both political and violent means. Major landmarks in this fight include the rise of the Nationalists, the potato famine and the battle of boyne.
The following events have all helped shape the course of Irish History in the 20th Century.
A) The Easter Rising of 1916.
B) The deployment of British troops in Northern Ireland in 1969.
C) “Bloody Sunday” 30 January 1972.
What impact did each event have on the history of the conflict in Ireland?
In 1916, Britain was in the middle of World War I. Most of the British army was abroad. To the fenians, this was a great advantage for their planned Easter Rising. It happed on Good Friday and caused the British hold on Ireland to loosen its grip. Several communication points were taken over by the Fenians, such as newspapers, postal points and the GPO. This resulted in the communications between Britain and Ireland to stop.
What caused the Easter Rising? World War I, as already mentioned, was a large factor because Britain was focusing on fighting the Germans. Ireland wasn’t considered very important so the number of soldiers stationed there decreased. The RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary) was the only real organisation in Ireland sustaining law and order, which although unarmed, could get weapons if it wanted.
Another cause was the Fenians desire for Irish Independence. Other organisations have aspired to that goal but have all failed due to timing. The fenians plans had more potential because they took the right oppurtunity. They didn’t always have a master plan, because in the 10 years beforehand several other plans were put in to action and failed. The thing that annoyed the fenians the most was Home Rule. Home Rule allowed Ireland to rule independently, but they still had a connection with the parliament in London. This wasn’t total independence. Britain still owned Northern Ireland, so Ireland wasn’t completely happy.
When the uprising was over 14 rebel leaders were executed, to set an example fpr anyone who wanted to try an uprising again. The Catholics weren’t happy that people were executed without a trial, so the rebel leaders were met with sympathy and the ‘Irish Cause’ seemed a lot more attractive. This resulted in the creation of more revolutionary groups.
In 1969 Catholics had took to performing peaceful marches for civil rights. Unforunately, the marches went through protestant areas and conflict was the result, turning peaceful marches into violent brawls. August 1969 saw the introduction of British Troops, deployed to keep the peace. The British troops were at first welcomed, but the Irish became less trusting and this slowed the reform down. The Provisional IRA came into being and Internment was introduced, infuriating the Catholics. The IRA became more and more active on a much grander scale and campaigns to remove the British troops were set up by the Catholics. They also campainged against Internment.
In 1972 the marches against internment met with British troops and the result was a riot that killed 300 civillians and 130 British soldiers. This was Bloody Sunday. Who started the riot? It isn’t clear whether it was the British or the Irish, but the IRA didn’t like it and they began bombing campaigns that even happened in England, like the Birmingham pub bombing. Even public figures were singled out, one example being the death of Lord Mountbatten who had his boat blown up, while he was on it.
The British Parliament had had enough and they enforced Direct Rule. Now Britain controlled Ireland completely.
In conclusion, all three events (The Easter Rising, Troops In and Bloody Sunday) were turning points in the Conflict in Ireland. Each event resulted in the opposite of what was wanted and expected. When the rebel leaders of the Easter Rising were executed, the reaction wasn’t what the British wanted and the Irish cause was more important in the thoughts of the Irish. Britain’s attempt to steer the Irish away from the cause in 1969 ended up as a bloodbath that made the situation worse. The Irish fought back hard, and the result was that instead of getting total control like they wanted, Ireland lost any control they once had and now Britain completely controlled them.
The event that had the most impact in my opinion was the Easter Rising, because it glorified the Irish cause and made the British appear more opressive in the eyes of the Irish, due to sympathy for the 14 executed rebel leaders. The Irish now had something to fight for.
With what success has the British government tried to resolve the Irish ‘Troubles’ in the years since 1972?
Since 1972, the British government have tried to resolve the conflict in Ireland, with varying success. This includes events such as the Sunningdale Agreement and The Downing Street Declaration.
Several invasions have threatened to change the Irish way of life, which originally began with the native inhabitants of Ireland, the Gaels, who spoke Gaelic. The first invaders, the Viking pagans, who adopted the Irish way of life, set up trading towns on the coast and even intermarried with them. Later on St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland.
In 1167, 100 years after their conquest in England, the Normans invaded Ireland. The Irish way of life was threatened, for the Irish were catholic and were faithful to the pope while the Normans were loyal to the English king. Like the Vikings, the Normans intermarried with the Irish.
It was King Henry VIII that brought the real conflict in Ireland. Henry had broke ties with the Roman Catholic church. Ireland had not. He believed the French would use Ireland to invade England because of this, and so he brought in Protestant bibles and bishops. The Irish rebelled. Ever since then the Irish have been fighting for Independence, through both political and violent means. Major landmarks in this fight include the rise of the Nationalists, the potato famine and the battle of boyne.
The following events have all helped shape the course of Irish History in the 20th Century.
A) The Easter Rising of 1916.
B) The deployment of British troops in Northern Ireland in 1969.
C) “Bloody Sunday” 30 January 1972.
What impact did each event have on the history of the conflict in Ireland?
In 1916, Britain was in the middle of World War I. Most of the British army was abroad. To the fenians, this was a great advantage for their planned Easter Rising. It happed on Good Friday and caused the British hold on Ireland to loosen its grip. Several communication points were taken over by the Fenians, such as newspapers, postal points and the GPO. This resulted in the communications between Britain and Ireland to stop.
What caused the Easter Rising? World War I, as already mentioned, was a large factor because Britain was focusing on fighting the Germans. Ireland wasn’t considered very important so the number of soldiers stationed there decreased. The RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary) was the only real organisation in Ireland sustaining law and order, which although unarmed, could get weapons if it wanted.
Another cause was the Fenians desire for Irish Independence. Other organisations have aspired to that goal but have all failed due to timing. The fenians plans had more potential because they took the right oppurtunity. They didn’t always have a master plan, because in the 10 years beforehand several other plans were put in to action and failed. The thing that annoyed the fenians the most was Home Rule. Home Rule allowed Ireland to rule independently, but they still had a connection with the parliament in London. This wasn’t total independence. Britain still owned Northern Ireland, so Ireland wasn’t completely happy.
When the uprising was over 14 rebel leaders were executed, to set an example fpr anyone who wanted to try an uprising again. The Catholics weren’t happy that people were executed without a trial, so the rebel leaders were met with sympathy and the ‘Irish Cause’ seemed a lot more attractive. This resulted in the creation of more revolutionary groups.
In 1969 Catholics had took to performing peaceful marches for civil rights. Unforunately, the marches went through protestant areas and conflict was the result, turning peaceful marches into violent brawls. August 1969 saw the introduction of British Troops, deployed to keep the peace. The British troops were at first welcomed, but the Irish became less trusting and this slowed the reform down. The Provisional IRA came into being and Internment was introduced, infuriating the Catholics. The IRA became more and more active on a much grander scale and campaigns to remove the British troops were set up by the Catholics. They also campainged against Internment.
In 1972 the marches against internment met with British troops and the result was a riot that killed 300 civillians and 130 British soldiers. This was Bloody Sunday. Who started the riot? It isn’t clear whether it was the British or the Irish, but the IRA didn’t like it and they began bombing campaigns that even happened in England, like the Birmingham pub bombing. Even public figures were singled out, one example being the death of Lord Mountbatten who had his boat blown up, while he was on it.
The British Parliament had had enough and they enforced Direct Rule. Now Britain controlled Ireland completely.
In conclusion, all three events (The Easter Rising, Troops In and Bloody Sunday) were turning points in the Conflict in Ireland. Each event resulted in the opposite of what was wanted and expected. When the rebel leaders of the Easter Rising were executed, the reaction wasn’t what the British wanted and the Irish cause was more important in the thoughts of the Irish. Britain’s attempt to steer the Irish away from the cause in 1969 ended up as a bloodbath that made the situation worse. The Irish fought back hard, and the result was that instead of getting total control like they wanted, Ireland lost any control they once had and now Britain completely controlled them.
The event that had the most impact in my opinion was the Easter Rising, because it glorified the Irish cause and made the British appear more opressive in the eyes of the Irish, due to sympathy for the 14 executed rebel leaders. The Irish now had something to fight for.
With what success has the British government tried to resolve the Irish ‘Troubles’ in the years since 1972?
Since 1972, the British government have tried to resolve the conflict in Ireland, with varying success. This includes events such as the Sunningdale Agreement and The Downing Street Declaration.