The Troubles facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Troubles |
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The Troubles was a period of conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years, from the late 1960s to 1998. It is also known as the Northern Ireland conflict. The conflict was about whether Northern Ireland should stay in the United Kingdom or join the Republic of Ireland to form a united Ireland.
Although people often talk about the two sides as Protestant and Catholic, the conflict was not primarily about religious beliefs. Instead, it was about national identity, political power, and civil rights. The side that wanted to stay in the United Kingdom were mostly Protestants, called unionists or loyalists. The side that wanted a united Ireland were mostly Catholics, called nationalists or republicans.
The Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, but sometimes the violence spread to the Republic of Ireland, England, and other parts of Europe. The conflict officially ended with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which was a peace deal signed by most of the political parties in Northern Ireland.
Contents
What Caused the Troubles?
The roots of the conflict go back hundreds of years. In the 1600s, many Protestant settlers from England and Scotland moved to the Ulster province of Ireland. This created a division between them and the native Irish Catholics.
In 1921, Ireland was divided into two parts. The larger part became the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland), an independent country. Six counties in the north, which had a Protestant majority, became Northern Ireland and remained part of the United Kingdom. A local parliament was established at Stormont in Belfast to manage regional affairs.
From the 1920s onwards, laws called the Penal Laws limited the rights of Catholics and other groups who did not belong to the official church. This meant they were treated unfairly in jobs, housing, and voting. Nationalists, who made up about one-third of the population, felt excluded from political and economic life.
The local police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), was almost entirely Protestant. Many Catholics felt the police did not protect them fairly. These inequalities created deep frustration that boiled over in the late 1960s.
How the Conflict Began
The Civil Rights Movement
Inspired by the American civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., people in Northern Ireland formed civil rights groups in the 1960s. The largest was the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA). They demanded to put an end to discrimination against Catholics.
Their goals included::
- An end to unfairness in jobs and housing.
- Fair voting rights for everyone ("one man, one vote").
- An end to the unfair drawing of electoral boundaries.
- Changes to the police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), which was over 90% Protestant.
Riots and the Army's Arrival
Many unionists saw the civil rights movement as a threat. In 1968, civil rights marches were held across Northern Ireland, notably in Derry and Dungannon.
On 5 October 1968, police broke up a banned march in Derry using heavy force. TV cameras filmed the event, and the images were shown around the world. This caused outrage and led to more protests and riots.
Tensions grew, and in August 1969, a three-day riot known as the Battle of the Bogside took place in Derry between residents and the police.
Riots quickly spread to Belfast and other towns. Many homes and businesses were burned, leaving hundreds of families without shelter. The local police could no longer control the disorder.
To restore order, the British government sent the British Army to Northern Ireland. At first, many Catholics welcomed the army, hoping they would be more neutral than the RUC. However, this feeling did not last long.
To prevent clashes between neighbouring streets, authorities began building tall fences and concrete barricades called "peace lines". Although meant to be temporary, many of these peace walls remain standing in Belfast today.
A Time of Great Violence
Relations between the Catholic community and the British Army deteriorated rapidly in the early 1970s. In August 1971, the government introduced internment. This allowed authorities to arrest and hold suspects in prison without an open trial. Internment was heavily directed at Catholics, causing immense public anger.
On 30 January 1972, a massive anti-internment protest took place in Derry. British paratroopers opened fire during the protest, leading to the deaths of fourteen unarmed civilians. The tragedy became known around the world as Bloody Sunday.
Bloody Sunday caused massive protests and led hundreds of young men to join the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). Violence escalated rapidly across Northern Ireland.
In March 1972, the British government decided the local administration could no longer maintain order. It suspended the Northern Ireland Parliament at Stormont and introduced direct rule, running Northern Ireland straight from London. The year 1972 became the deadliest single year of the Troubles, with nearly 500 people killed.
The Rise of Paramilitary Organisations
During the Troubles, several unofficial armed groups operated outside the law:
- Irish Republican Groups: The largest was the Provisional IRA. Their goal was to force the British Army out of Northern Ireland and unite the island. Another active republican group was the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA).
- Ulster Loyalist Groups: The two main organisations were the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). They stated their purpose was to defend Protestant areas and fight against republican groups.
Paramilitary groups carried out bombings and shooting attacks. While their declared targets were often state forces or rival combatants, many innocent civilians were caught in the crossfire or targeted directly in retaliatory attacks.
The Sunningdale Agreement and the 1974 Strike
In 1973, British and Irish political leaders met at Sunningdale in England to negotiate a peace plan. The Sunningdale Agreement proposed two major ideas:
- Power-sharing: An elected executive where unionists and nationalists shared political power.
- Council of Ireland: A joint council to encourage cooperation between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Moderate politicians from both sides formed a temporary power-sharing executive in January 1974. However, hardline unionists strongly opposed the agreement, arguing that the Council of Ireland was a step toward a united Ireland.
In May 1974, loyalist workers organised a massive general strike called the Ulster Workers' Council strike. The strike shut down electricity plants, factories, and fuel deliveries across the region. Under intense pressure, the power-sharing government collapsed after only a few months, and direct rule from London was resumed.
The Conflict During the 1980s
The 1981 Hunger Strikes and Bobby Sands
In the late 1970s, the British government stopped treating paramilitary prisoners differently from regular lawbreakers. In response, republican prisoners held at the Maze Prison launched a series of protests demanding to be treated as political prisoners.
In 1981, prisoners led by Bobby Sands began a hunger strike, refusing to eat. While on strike, Sands was elected as a member of the British Parliament for the area of Fermanagh and South Tyrone.
Ten prisoners, including Sands, died from the strike before it ended. The hunger strikes captured global attention and deeply affected the nationalist community. The event proved that republican ideas had significant electoral support. As a result, the political party Sinn Féin began contesting elections alongside the IRA's armed campaign.
Continued Violence
Violence continued throughout the 1980s. The IRA carried out major attacks, including the Brighton hotel bombing in 1984, which was an attempt to kill British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet. In 1987, an IRA bomb killed 11 people at a Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Enniskillen. Loyalist groups also continued their attacks.
The Path to Peace
By the early 1990s, many people on both sides were tired of the violence. Secret talks began between political leaders and the British and Irish governments to find a peaceful solution.
In December 1993, the British and Irish Prime Ministers issued the Downing Street Declaration. It declared that the people of the island of Ireland had the right to decide their own political future, based on consent.
Encouraged by these developments, the IRA declared a complete ceasefire in August 1994. Six weeks later, loyalist paramilitaries followed with their own ceasefire. Although the IRA briefly broke its ceasefire in 1996 with bombings in London and Manchester, peace negotiations resumed, and the ceasefire was reinstated in 1997.
The Good Friday Agreement
On 10 April 1998, after years of negotiations, the Good Friday Agreement (or Belfast Agreement) was signed. This was a historic peace deal supported by most of Northern Ireland's political parties, as well as the British and Irish governments.
The main points of the Good Friday Agreement included:
- Principle of Consent: Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom unless a majority of its citizens vote otherwise in a future referendum.
- Power-Sharing Government: Northern Ireland would be governed by a local Assembly and Executive, where unionists and nationalists share decision-making power.
- North-South and East-West Bodies: New councils were created to manage cross-border matters between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as well as ties with Britain.
- Disarmament: Paramilitary groups agreed to surrender and destroy their weapons, a process called decommissioning.
- Prisoner Releases: Paramilitary prisoners who belonged to groups maintaining ceasefires were released early from prison.
- Police Reform: The RUC was reformed and replaced by the modern Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), designed to represent both communities fairly.
In a vote, the people of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland overwhelmingly approved the agreement.
Northern Ireland After the Peace Deal
The Good Friday Agreement was a major success and largely ended the Troubles. The main paramilitary groups gave up their weapons. However, the path to lasting peace has had its challenges.
Small "dissident republican" groups who rejected the peace deal have continued to carry out some attacks, like the Omagh bombing in 1998 which killed 29 people.
The power-sharing government has been suspended several times due to disagreements between the parties, but it has always been restored. Today, Northern Ireland is much more peaceful, but some division between the two communities remains. In some towns and cities, "peace walls" still separate unionist and nationalist neighbourhoods.
Dealing with the Past
For many years, there have been discussions about how to deal with the legacy of the Troubles, including unsolved crimes. In 2023, the UK government passed the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act. This law aimed to end most prosecutions for crimes related to the conflict and set up a new body to investigate cases.
The act was very controversial. It was opposed by all major political parties in Northern Ireland, victims' groups, and the Irish government. In response, the Irish government challenged the law in the European Court of Human Rights. In September 2025, the British and Irish governments announced new joint proposals to help address legacy issues and support victims' families.
The Human Cost of the Conflict
The Troubles had a devastating impact on the people of Northern Ireland.
- Over 3,500 people were killed.
- Over 47,000 people were injured.
- About half of those killed were civilians (ordinary people not involved in the conflict).
Republican paramilitaries were responsible for about 60% of the deaths. Loyalist paramilitaries were responsible for about 30%, and British security forces were responsible for about 10%.
Images for kids
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The Battle of the Boyne in 1690 was a key event in Irish history.
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The Ulster Covenant was signed in 1912 by unionists who were against Home Rule for Ireland.
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The Proclamation of the Irish Republic from the 1916 Easter Rising.
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A 1925 map showing the religious makeup of areas near the new border.
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Sir James Craig, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
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Loyalist graffiti in Belfast, 1974.
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A meeting of the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the political wing of the INLA.
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Damage from the Docklands bombing in London, 1996.
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An Orange Order parade in Bangor, 2010.
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A heavily fortified RUC police station in Crossmaglen.
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A peace line behind houses on Bombay Street, Belfast.
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A map showing where deaths occurred during the Troubles.
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See also
In Spanish: Conflicto norirlandés para niños
