Verified Document

Northern Ireland Essay

¶ … Northern Ireland From 1968 to 1992 Northern Ireland was plagued by sectarian violence between the Protestant majority, who favored their Union with Britain, and the Catholic minority, who didn't. As a province of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, prior to the beginning of the 1968 "troubles," had an independent government dominated by Protestant Unionists. However, their insistence on treating the Catholic minority as second class citizens, and the resulting outbreak of violence in 1968, forced the British to flood the province with British troops in order to keep the warring parties apart. This sparked an all out insurrection on the part of the nationalist Irish Republican Army (IRA) which in turn precipitated a policy of counter-intelligence operations by the British. But these operations have called into question how to reconcile the notion of domestic law with the need to conduct counter-intelligence operations. Finally, while British intelligence may have been able to predict the outbreak of the "troubles," British politicians did not and their response to the out break of violence was a series of blunders and policy changes that could be described as "schizophrenic."

As Northern Ireland was an self-governed province of the United Kingdom, its government was dominated by the majority Protestants...

This situation came to be because "a Unionist government dominated the State and Protestant/Unionist interests de facto became the State's." (Dingley 2009, Chapter 2) Not only were the official police forces stridently Unionist, there were also a number of Unionist paramilitary organizations which held legal standing and were instrumental in instigating violence against Catholics. Because the conflict took place within the United Kingdom and was primarily a sectarian one, between two religious groups with divergent political ideals, the British had no choice but to intervene with troops and try to separate the warring parties until a political settlement could be reached.
The British Army used counter-insurgency (COIN) operations in Northern Ireland in an attempt to gain support from the Catholic minority, to protect those that the IRA targeted, and to support the policies of the government. However, in order to accomplish these goals the operations often were not in accordance with the laws in place to protect citizens against unlawful intrusions against their rights. COIN operations often involved such things as "shoot to kill policy, the over-zealous use of 'informers'…the oppressive treatment…

Sources used in this document:
Reference List

Dickson, Brice. 2012. "Counterinsurgency and Human Rights in Northern Ireland." In

The British Approach to Counterinsurgency: From Malay and Northern Ireland

to Iraq and Afghanistan. Ed. Paul Dixon. United Kingdom: Palgrave MacMillan.

Dingley, James. 2009. "Northern Ireland and the 'troubles'." In Combating Terrorism in Northern Ireland. Ed. James Dingley. New York: Routledge.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Northern Ireland the Troubles in
Words: 3029 Length: 10 Document Type: Research Paper

Rioting throughout Belfast and Derry became regular, and culminated in 1969 with the Battle of the Bogside. The confrontation resulted from peaceful marching by Bogside residents that was disrupted by police officers and citizens loyal to the Union. Rioting grew for three days until the British Army was dispatched to renew peace and disperse the crowds that had quickly grown in response. However, the riot was incendiary throughout Northern Ireland,

Northern Ireland
Words: 645 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

British in Northern Ireland The British Empire had been one of the greatest in the history of humankind but the years following the Second World War saw a period of decolonization and the rise of regional conflicts as a result. In some former colonies, such as Malaya, the British intervened military to maintain the government put in place and successfully defeated the insurgency. Other places, for example Northern Ireland, saw a

Northern Ireland the Troubles and Seamus Heaney S Poetry
Words: 588 Length: 2 Document Type: Annotated Bibliography

Annotated BibliographyAlexander, Stephanie. \\\"They \\\'smelt of rot\\\': Abjection and Infection in Seamus Heaney�s EarlyWork.\\\" Estudios Irlandeses, Issue 18, 2023, pp. 11-24.In this scholarly article, Stephanie Alexander examines the early pastoral poetry of Seamus Heaney through the lens of Julia Kristeva�s notion of the abject. The article focuses on several themes, such as darkness, fear, and fertility. Alexander�s main argument is that Heaney�s poetry and the landscapes he presents are complex

Conflict Resolution in Northern Ireland and Cyprus
Words: 1624 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

Conflict Resolution in North Ireland and Cyprus Describe what Lederach means by the concept of moral imagination in the field of conflict resolution Moral imagination is dealing with real world challenges. During this process innovative ideas will establish new philosophies and movements. To achieve these objectives a number of criteria must be me: a web of relationships exist between different parties, the ability to sustain the interests of stakeholders, the desire to

Terrorism in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Has
Words: 1431 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Terrorism in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland has been traditionally associated with pleasant concepts standing as a reference to its beautiful landscape, its benevolent people, and the general atmosphere in the country. However, things have changed significantly in recent decades as terrorism has pervaded the nation and as terrorists there have become more determined and more powerful. While the Irish Republican Army's choice to employ non-violent strategies in dealing with the government

Sports Tourism: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Words: 4283 Length: 13 Document Type: Assessment

Planning such an event when it has not been done before is very difficult and time consuming. Mistakes can easily be made on cost, time, and other issues when people are unsure as to what they should do to create an event that is successful - which could happen because the promotion company is uncertain about putting on such a large event and has questions about many aspects of it. Volunteers and

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now