Northern Ireland Between 1963 and 1972 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Northern Ireland Between 1963 and 1972 - Essay Example This particular time period is one of the most important in regards to the entire history of the competing forces between the Unionists and the Nationalists and even in regards to Northern Ireland overall, and in order to understand why the British government was so ineffective during this time, there are several key issues that need to be discussed in regards to this matter. By addressing and examining different people's points of view, as well as integrating somewhat of a personal opinion, we will be able to not only answer the argument of why the British government was so ineffective in this regards, but also the things that they should and could have done in order to best mend relations between these competing forces. Furthermore, we will be addressing the issue of why there was only a political initiative being tabulated after all of this, in the year 1973, and why it was not done before this, as it certainly should have been. This is what will be dissertated in the following. Between the years of 1963 and 1972, there was much turmoil that took place in Northern Ireland, particularly in regards to the competing forces of the Unionists and the Nationalists. ... The Troubles is a term which is used to basically describe the era that is in discussion here, however the Troubles actually initialized in the early 1920s. It is a term which is used to describe "the latest installment of periodic communal violence involving republican and loyalist paramilitary organizations, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the British Army and others in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s until the late 1990s ending with the Good Friday Agreement on April 10, 1998".2 Although the Troubles are considered as having truly initialized during the late 1920s, they really did not become acknowledged as to have had begun until the year 1968, when there was widespread rioting and public disorders all over Northern Ireland that had broken out at the marches of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA). This was one of the main times when the British government should have stepped in and really done something to arbiter these competing forces however they in a sense basically stood by and did nothing. There are a few different reasons that can be used to explain why this is, and one in particular is the fact that they were afraid. Basically, although the Nationalists (Catholics) made up the majority of the population even at that time, it was the Unionists (Protestants) who tended to be richer and more powerful, however when the NICRA group ended up launching a peaceful civil rights campaign in the year 1967, they were "seeking a redress of Catholic and Nationalist grievances within Northern Ireland. Specifically, they wanted an end to the gerrymandering of electoral constituencies that produced unrepresentative local councils (particularly in Derry City) by