Northern Ireland Research Paper

In the aftermath of World War One Ireland was divided into northern and southern regions whom governed themselves. However, the southern portion wished to become a completely independent entity from the United Kingdom. The result was the Irish War of Independence which would eventually end in the northern and southern half of Ireland gaining the right to govern themselves separately in 1921, but the leaders and government officials had to swear allegiance to the crown. Nearly thirty years later in 1949 the southern Irish were made a free republic by the Ireland Act of 1949, but Northern Ireland was held onto by Britain. Following these events, are what can be interpreted as the unofficial start of The Troubles. In Northern Ireland,
When the protesters reached Bogside, a mostly Catholic neighborhood their numbers had increased to twenty thousand, but there would be no more joining their ranks. At 3:30 pm they encountered police who began to assault them with tear gas and non-lethal weapons such as rubber bullets and high powered hoses. That wasn’t all that was waiting for the protesters that Sunday. The First Battalion, Parachute Regiment was there using high powered rifles and armored vehicles which they used to kill fourteen people and maiming fifteen
These loyalist attacks led to increasing support to the nationalist in opposition to the British oppressors. The Bloody Sunday attack would be the start of the most violent year of The Troubles with a death rate sitting at four hundred and eighty, and led into the five most violent years. The Bloody Sunday massacre best defines the start to the IRA’s violent