Chronicling Ireland's development from pre-Christian times to the present, with specific emphasis on the creation of the modern independent republic and the roots of the Troubles.Chronicling Ireland's development from pre-Christian times to the present, with specific emphasis on the creation of the modern independent republic and the roots of the Troubles.Chronicling Ireland's development from pre-Christian times to the present, with specific emphasis on the creation of the modern independent republic and the roots of the Troubles.
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It's old, it's dated in terms of production but hell, they interview people who were actually there! Watching the IRA soldier recalling the day his squad ambushed Collins at the actual site is amazing. Amazing footage! It's old, it's dated in terms of production but hell, they interview people who were actually there! Watching the IRA soldier recalling the day his squad ambushed Collins at the actual site is amazing. Amazing footage!It's old, it's dated in terms of production but hell, they interview people who were actually there! Watching the IRA soldier recalling the day his squad ambushed Collins at the actual site is amazing. Amazing footage!It's old, it's dated in terms of production but hell, they interview people who were actually there! Watching the IRA soldier recalling the day his squad ambushed Collins at the actual site is amazing. Amazing footage!
This was an important TV series in the middle of the 'troubles', as it was a fair and factual series explaining to the UK public the history behind the Northern Ireland situation at the time. As it was factual and balanced, it was also able to end some unchallenged myths of Irish nationalism. The key was the integrity of the presenter, who was direct and sincere.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland came about by an Act of Union in 1801 between the kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain. Britain the largest island was made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland was the second largest. Unlike Scotland which did well out of the Union with England and Wales, Ireland wasn't a good fit, was mostly agricultural and didn't enjoy the economic advantages of their counterparts on the British mainland. The northern part of Ireland centering around Belfast had a greater affinity to Britain, but the southern part was detached and didn't have the same connection and resented British landlords exploiting them with high rents. The Irish potato famine in the mid 19thC which resulted in the deaths of up to a million people still lingered as an issue where London was blamed. This was made worse that the main religion in Ireland was catholic, unlike the church of England and the church of Scotland that were protestant. They didn't have the same affection to the Royal family unlike Scotland and Wales, so this lay the foundations for resentment and discontent which eventually led to the spawning of a republican movement in Ireland.
After the "Easter Uprising in Dublin in 1916, in the aftermath, the leaders were rounded up and after a trial were sentenced to death. Despite some calls for it to be commuted to life imprisonment they were all were summarily executed by firing squad. Some historians feel that was actually a massive mistake by the British, firstly it made them martyrs and secondly it resulted in a new younger generation of determined republican leaders who realized that the armed conflict against the British had to be done in a more subtle way.
What followed was called "asymmetrical warfare" or as we call today terrorism. Senior officials in the army and police were targeted and assassinated by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) predominantly with bombs and fire arms. The British retaliation used traditional methods but also some heavy handed tactics of targeting civilians in republican areas of the south, the most notorious group being the undisciplined "Black and Tans". Britain having to cope with the aftermath of the 1914-18 world war, wanted to get the Irish problem solved and out of the way. In 1922 the British called a truce and invited a delegation of republican leaders to London for talks to negotiate a possible settlement.
The Irish were led by Michael Collins and Arthur Griffiths who from the outset presented to the British the IRA's demand or mission statement of an Irish Republic. The Republican position was unambiguous and in many respects understandable, Ireland wanted to have a clean break and become a Republic. The republican movement feared that home rule wouldn't be sufficient enough to change the status of Ireland in the British isles and London would be tempted to interfere. The geographical position of Ireland was a crucial stumbling block because unlike Australia and Canada, Ireland was part of the United Kingdom and that's what complicated things. If it was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, becoming a dominion like New Zealand would probably have satisfied most in the south of Ireland.
However, it was the status of northern part of Ireland where things really got complicated, the majority of the people not only saw themselves as British but were protestant and wanted nothing to do with a catholic Ireland in the south. There were a lot of moving parts to all of these issues, but the republican demand that all of Ireland should be a Republic from the outset was an unrealistic, this would be fiercely resisted in Belfast and in London. In addition, there would be no way that London would walk away and abandon the protestant majority in Ulster and watch them being invaded and crushed by the Irish Republics forces from the south.
The Republican movement demanded a full pint of Guinness and the British offered three-quarters of a pint of brown ale - (where the six counties in the north would remain part of the UK). There is another aspect to this, an Irish Free State in the south might have been easier to sell to the north in the hope that both sides could negotiate some union in the future as the loyalists in the north were particularly hostile to becoming a Republic. Adding to the complications is that the vast majority of the protestants and loyalists lived in the northern part of Ulster and counties such as Fermanagh and Armagh were predominantly catholic. When the six counties were nominated as the boundary between the Free State and Ulster this was a concern to the Irish delegation, but the British threw in a sweetener, proposing a border commission to revisit the boundary if the Irish accepted the offer of the Free State. This never came about and the UK government were never serious about giving up more territory. For the state of Northern Ireland to have any legitimacy within the UK it couldn't be any smaller than the six counties referred to as Ulster. For their part the republican negotiators, after decades of agitation and a particularly long slog over the previous 15 years, had nothing to show for it. To double down with the war in the hope that a better deal would be offering might not have been that appealing. Therefore going back to Dublin empty handed and returning to square one would have been a disappointment.
The Irish parliament narrowly voted in favor of home rule as a Free State rather than a Republic, with the northern part referred to as Ulster remaining in the UK. The republican opponents of this deal were led by Eamon De Valera who, with his followers walked out of the Dail' in protest. They believed that the fact that the British called a truce and were prepared to enter into talks indicated that the momentum was in their favor and the British were ready to cave in. This seems to be an overly optimistic view which Michael Collins didn't believe, and consequently compromised from the previously hard line position of an Irish Republic that included the north. It has to be added that part of De Valera's position was that in all probability they didn't regard the protestants in the north as proper Irish, they were the problem and were nothing but agents of the British government and part of the oppression. Britain took over Ireland as one Island and incorporated it into the UK, they should give it back as one Island, so to compromise to them and give in to their demands was nothing but an affront. Michael Collins was probably worried that any move to go after the north even as a Free State would result in the British siding with the north and marching down south again and would be in a much better position to really crush the IRA in a conventional warfare. Wanting to avoid this and a clash with the north, settled on what the British were offering. It was the first step in Irelands desire to rid itself of London. However, with De Valera and his supporters opposing the deal, the impasse eventually led to a civil war in the Irish Free State.
However, what unfolded in the north was that the catholic minority in Ulster became the main casualties with Ireland becoming a Republic. Now a well entrenched minority, politically isolated from the south, they were abused and humiliated in their own communities by the protestant majority. They became second and third class citizens which resulted in them being cut off from educational and employment opportunities as well as decent housing. So by 1968, twenty years after things came to a head with the civil rights marches in Ulster. Ultimately the back lash from the RUC and the protestant majority, attacked the marchers and many catholic family's were forced out of their homes. This created civil unrest in Catholic areas and the IRA reconstituted itself in the north and "the troubles" as they were known, started. Although the British army was initially well received by the Catholics, eventually they were seen as another oppressive weapon by the British state alongside the mostly protestant RUC and the UDF. Twenty years on, it all seemed like a very unsatisfactory outcome, the only winners being the Irish Republic. Its constitution claimed the counties in the north, but they just got on with its affairs and Northern Ireland became something of a tragedy that didn't directly effect them. However, the goal of a United Ireland just seem further away than ever and the hatred between the loyalists and republicans was unsurmountable.
From the late 1960's to the early 1990's the "troubles" in Northern Ireland was a headache for successive British governments. With the Provisional IRA reconstituting itself in the north, the loyalists had the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Defense Force (UDF) and alongside the Ulster Defense Regiment (UDF) part of the British army and of course the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). These names would all be synonymous with the troubles and would become very recognizable in the newspapers and the daily news broadcasts throughout the 1970's and 80's. Bombs would be part of the IRA's campaign, but after the pub bombings in Britain where many Saturday night revelers were killed and maimed, the IRA shifted their approach and went after the British army, police and security forces in Northern Ireland and on the British mainland. If anybody thought that the 1970's were bad, it was only going to get worse in the 1980's.
After the "Easter Uprising in Dublin in 1916, in the aftermath, the leaders were rounded up and after a trial were sentenced to death. Despite some calls for it to be commuted to life imprisonment they were all were summarily executed by firing squad. Some historians feel that was actually a massive mistake by the British, firstly it made them martyrs and secondly it resulted in a new younger generation of determined republican leaders who realized that the armed conflict against the British had to be done in a more subtle way.
What followed was called "asymmetrical warfare" or as we call today terrorism. Senior officials in the army and police were targeted and assassinated by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) predominantly with bombs and fire arms. The British retaliation used traditional methods but also some heavy handed tactics of targeting civilians in republican areas of the south, the most notorious group being the undisciplined "Black and Tans". Britain having to cope with the aftermath of the 1914-18 world war, wanted to get the Irish problem solved and out of the way. In 1922 the British called a truce and invited a delegation of republican leaders to London for talks to negotiate a possible settlement.
The Irish were led by Michael Collins and Arthur Griffiths who from the outset presented to the British the IRA's demand or mission statement of an Irish Republic. The Republican position was unambiguous and in many respects understandable, Ireland wanted to have a clean break and become a Republic. The republican movement feared that home rule wouldn't be sufficient enough to change the status of Ireland in the British isles and London would be tempted to interfere. The geographical position of Ireland was a crucial stumbling block because unlike Australia and Canada, Ireland was part of the United Kingdom and that's what complicated things. If it was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, becoming a dominion like New Zealand would probably have satisfied most in the south of Ireland.
However, it was the status of northern part of Ireland where things really got complicated, the majority of the people not only saw themselves as British but were protestant and wanted nothing to do with a catholic Ireland in the south. There were a lot of moving parts to all of these issues, but the republican demand that all of Ireland should be a Republic from the outset was an unrealistic, this would be fiercely resisted in Belfast and in London. In addition, there would be no way that London would walk away and abandon the protestant majority in Ulster and watch them being invaded and crushed by the Irish Republics forces from the south.
The Republican movement demanded a full pint of Guinness and the British offered three-quarters of a pint of brown ale - (where the six counties in the north would remain part of the UK). There is another aspect to this, an Irish Free State in the south might have been easier to sell to the north in the hope that both sides could negotiate some union in the future as the loyalists in the north were particularly hostile to becoming a Republic. Adding to the complications is that the vast majority of the protestants and loyalists lived in the northern part of Ulster and counties such as Fermanagh and Armagh were predominantly catholic. When the six counties were nominated as the boundary between the Free State and Ulster this was a concern to the Irish delegation, but the British threw in a sweetener, proposing a border commission to revisit the boundary if the Irish accepted the offer of the Free State. This never came about and the UK government were never serious about giving up more territory. For the state of Northern Ireland to have any legitimacy within the UK it couldn't be any smaller than the six counties referred to as Ulster. For their part the republican negotiators, after decades of agitation and a particularly long slog over the previous 15 years, had nothing to show for it. To double down with the war in the hope that a better deal would be offering might not have been that appealing. Therefore going back to Dublin empty handed and returning to square one would have been a disappointment.
The Irish parliament narrowly voted in favor of home rule as a Free State rather than a Republic, with the northern part referred to as Ulster remaining in the UK. The republican opponents of this deal were led by Eamon De Valera who, with his followers walked out of the Dail' in protest. They believed that the fact that the British called a truce and were prepared to enter into talks indicated that the momentum was in their favor and the British were ready to cave in. This seems to be an overly optimistic view which Michael Collins didn't believe, and consequently compromised from the previously hard line position of an Irish Republic that included the north. It has to be added that part of De Valera's position was that in all probability they didn't regard the protestants in the north as proper Irish, they were the problem and were nothing but agents of the British government and part of the oppression. Britain took over Ireland as one Island and incorporated it into the UK, they should give it back as one Island, so to compromise to them and give in to their demands was nothing but an affront. Michael Collins was probably worried that any move to go after the north even as a Free State would result in the British siding with the north and marching down south again and would be in a much better position to really crush the IRA in a conventional warfare. Wanting to avoid this and a clash with the north, settled on what the British were offering. It was the first step in Irelands desire to rid itself of London. However, with De Valera and his supporters opposing the deal, the impasse eventually led to a civil war in the Irish Free State.
However, what unfolded in the north was that the catholic minority in Ulster became the main casualties with Ireland becoming a Republic. Now a well entrenched minority, politically isolated from the south, they were abused and humiliated in their own communities by the protestant majority. They became second and third class citizens which resulted in them being cut off from educational and employment opportunities as well as decent housing. So by 1968, twenty years after things came to a head with the civil rights marches in Ulster. Ultimately the back lash from the RUC and the protestant majority, attacked the marchers and many catholic family's were forced out of their homes. This created civil unrest in Catholic areas and the IRA reconstituted itself in the north and "the troubles" as they were known, started. Although the British army was initially well received by the Catholics, eventually they were seen as another oppressive weapon by the British state alongside the mostly protestant RUC and the UDF. Twenty years on, it all seemed like a very unsatisfactory outcome, the only winners being the Irish Republic. Its constitution claimed the counties in the north, but they just got on with its affairs and Northern Ireland became something of a tragedy that didn't directly effect them. However, the goal of a United Ireland just seem further away than ever and the hatred between the loyalists and republicans was unsurmountable.
From the late 1960's to the early 1990's the "troubles" in Northern Ireland was a headache for successive British governments. With the Provisional IRA reconstituting itself in the north, the loyalists had the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Defense Force (UDF) and alongside the Ulster Defense Regiment (UDF) part of the British army and of course the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). These names would all be synonymous with the troubles and would become very recognizable in the newspapers and the daily news broadcasts throughout the 1970's and 80's. Bombs would be part of the IRA's campaign, but after the pub bombings in Britain where many Saturday night revelers were killed and maimed, the IRA shifted their approach and went after the British army, police and security forces in Northern Ireland and on the British mainland. If anybody thought that the 1970's were bad, it was only going to get worse in the 1980's.
Did you know
- ConnectionsReferenced in Did You See..?: Episode #1.6 (1980)
Details
- Runtime
- 1h(60 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 16 : 9
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