David McKittrick - Making Sense of the Troubles: The Story of the Conflict in Northern Ireland

McKittrick, David, 1949

McVea, David

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'hether the new governmentsystem succeeds or fails, thereis a widespread sense that acorner has been decisively turned in NorthernIreland. It is too much to expect a future offriendship and harmony, for all of thoseinvolved have inflicted much damage on eachother. Yet it is not too much to hope that themajor campaigns of organized violence are intheir last days, and that the death toll willcontinue to decline

Compellingly written and evenhanded in itsjudgments. Making Sense of the Troubles is by farthe clearest account of what has happenedthrough the years in the Northern Irelandconflict, and why The authors, both longtimeobservers of the turbulent events, lay thebackground for the struggle in the period from1921 to 1963, a time of political stagnation andsocial exclusion between the Catholic andProtestant communities. They then chroniclethe descent into violence, the hunger strikes,the Anglo-Irish accord, the bombers inEngland, and the present-day shaky peaceprocess.

Behind the deluge of information and opinionabout the conflict from a myriad of sources is astraightforward and gripping story. DavidMcKittrick and David McVea tell that storyclearly, concisely, and above all fairly, avoidingintricate detail in favor of narrative pace andaccessible prose. They describe and explain alethal but fascinating time in Northern

(continued on back flap)

Boston Public Libraryboston, IVIA 02 il6

To our wivesand families

Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2018 with funding fromKahle/Austin Foundation

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ix

Introduction

The static society1921-63

The O'Neill years1963-69

Descent into violence1969-71

The end of Stormont1972-73

Sunningdale, strike & stalemate1974-76

From Castlereaqh to Warrenpoint

1977-79

The hungerstrikes1980-81

Anglo-Irish accord1982-85

Enniskillen, Libya & bombs in England1986-93

Peace process

1993- 94

Decommissioning, Docklands & Drumcree

1994- 96

Breakthrough

1997-2001 '

Perspectives

Chronology

Tables

Glossary

Bibliographical notesIndex

The observation that nothing is more remote than the recent past is particularly applicable to the Northern Ireland troubles, since the understandableinstinct of many people has been to shy away from them. For very manypeople it was a terrible period, in which a generation grew up not knowingpeace or stability.

The troubles represent a lethal but fascinating time in Irish history, bringing as they did not only death, injury and destruction but also huge political and social change. While some may argue that it may be too early for afull account of these years, there is so much material available, and so manymemories are so fresh, that we believe a proper attempt can be made tomake some sense of the troubles.

As the belief grows that the worst is past, we feel there is a need now fora review of what happened so that the mistakes of the past can be examinedand learned from. Many secrets doubtless remain to be revealed, and thereis important information which may not emerge for many years, if ever.Some events and interpretations are probably destined to be disputed for

X

Introduction

decades, yet much of the course of the troubles, if not every detail, is reasonably clear even at this early stage.

America played a major role in the Northern Ireland question over the 30years of the troubles, with many Irish-Americans lending substantial support to Irish republicans. More recently the Clinton administration in particular was highly active, Clinton himself visiting Northern Ireland nofewer than three times as president.

President Clinton took many risks in facilitating and encouraging republicans' move from violence into the political arena, at some points jeopardising America's relations with Great Britain. At his behest former USSenate majority leader George Mitchell spent many months chairing thetalks which eventually resulted in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement breakthrough. The new mood which followed terrorist attacks of September 11,2001, may have been partly instrumental in persuading the IRA to begin theactual decommissioning of weapons.

The main political events are there for all to see, as are the main characters. So too, tragically, are the more than 3,600 deaths of the troubles, deathswhose consequences are all too evident to the relatives and friends affected.Both of the authors are acutely aware of this last, since we helped write LostLives, the 1999 book which gives an account of every death. In writing thisbook it was always at the forefront of our minds that the troubles should notbe regarded simply as a period of political upheaval but also as a time whenso many lives were lost and so many people injured or bereaved. For thisreason the reader will find here a greater than usual emphasis on the deathsas well as the major political events.

The idea for a concise history of the troubles came from Blackstaff Pressof Belfast, who asked us for a clear, concise, authoritative history. We haveadhered as closely as possible to that brief. We wish to thank John Young forhis many valuable suggestions on an early draft of the text.