1. ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland

2. Learning Outcomes for the Week
All Students will be able to:
• Describe (in detail and using keywords) one
(5) religious conflict currently in our world
• Who? What? Where? When? Why?
Most Students will be able to:
• Compare two religious conflicts clearly and in
(6) detail (using keywords) and suggest a variety of
strategies and solutions that have been tried
Some Students will be able to:
• Evaluate i.e. weigh up (using keywords)
(7) whether violence is ever justified in religious
conflicts and come to a well-argued conclusion

4. Context
• From Tudor times,
England had controlled
and colonised Ireland
• After the Protestant
Reformation, this
became a religious
issue between English
/ Scottish Protestants
and native Catholics

5. Protestant Domination
• The Protestants
who came from
Britain were
granted most of
the Catholic lands
• Very soon, the
native Catholics
became second
class citizens in
their own country

6. Partition
• After many wars and
rebellions (1595, 1640’s,
1690’s, 1798, 1848,
1867, 1916, 1918-1922)
the Irish finally gained
independence from
Britain in 1922
• However part of the deal
was that the area with a
Protestant majority
stayed within the United
Kingdom
• This area became known
as Northern Ireland

7. Unionist Republican
Loyalist Nationalist
Protestant Catholic
Want to stay in the UK Want to join the Republic
of Ireland
UVF, UDR, LVF IRA, INLA

8. The Civil Rights Movement
• For many decades
Catholics in Northern
Ireland were discriminated
against by the Protestant
majority
• However, by the 1960’s
they had had enough and
began non-violent protests
based on the tactics of
Mahatma Gandhi and
Martin Luther King

9. ‘Bloody Sunday’
• Unfortunately many Unionists
did not want equality and the
peaceful protesters began to
clash with the police (who
were drawn mainly from the
Protestant / Unionist
community
• This eventually led to an event
in 1972 that is called ‘Bloody
Sunday’ where 14 Catholic
protesters were shot by the
British Army
• Bloody Sunday 2002 ENG
• http://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=pBhNUQ7sJqM
• 1 hr 4 mins – 1 hr 11 mins

10. The Troubles
• Following this event,
various armed terrorist
groups (IRA, UVF etc) began
new terror campaigns
• They argued that they had
to protect their
communities
• In all, more than 3,000
people died in the period
1969-1999, in shootings
and bombings
• This period is known as
‘The Troubles’

11. The Good Friday Agreement
• Eventually, in 1998, both
sides signed what is called
the ‘Good Friday
Agreement’ which brought
most hostilities to an end

12. Murals
• Each side still marks
their areas with
murals - some still
calling for war and
some for peace 

14. The Marching Season
• Occasionally rioting and
shootings still occur in Northern
Ireland, especially during the
so-called Marching season
when Protestants march to
commemorate the winning of
the Battle of the Boyne in 1690
• Sectarian riots in Northern
Ireland
• http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=nbZW7rXaQwM
• Riots mark culmination of
Belfast marching season
• http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=PO7p50yQi5s

15. Research Questions
1. Do you think that
religious beliefs
prolonged the conflict or
brought it to an end?
Find out and then use
PEE to explain your
answer...
2. Could religious leaders
have done more? How?
3. Is it ever right to kill for a
belief – religious or
otherwise?

16. Consider...
• Rev Ian Paisley
• Fr James Chesney
• What roles did these
two ‘men of the
cloth’ play in the
Troubles?