• Many Unionists were also members of the Orange Order. The Orange Order is an organisation dedicated to keeping Northern Ireland British. They did this by holding rallies and parades.
• A police force called the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was set up in Northern Ireland. It was made up mainly of Protestants.
• Other part-time forces, notably the B-Specials, were also mainly Protestant.
• These forces continued to be Protestant-dominated because they rapidly became associated with anti-Catholic bias and Catholics didn’t want to join them.
• A combination of all the above led to sectarianism and sectarian violence. Sectarianism is conflict and hatred based on a religious divide.
The Royal Ulster Constabulary in the 1920s Gerrymandering
When local elections were held in Northern Ireland, each part of a city or town was divided into wards. The Unionist Party made sure that the boundaries for the divisions were drawn up specially to give Unionist candidates the advantage over nationalist candidates. This rearrangement of voting districts to benefit one political party is known as gerrymandering. For example, Derry had a largely Catholic population, but the Unionist Party still held the majority of council seats. Gerrymandering meant that throughout Northern Ireland, most councillors in the wards were Unionists. This resulted in discrimination against nationalists in regard to housing, jobs, schools, local facilities and more.
CHECKPOINT!
1. How was Northern Ireland established? 2. Name the first prime minister of Northern Ireland. 3. How did Unionists maintain their control of Northern Ireland? 4. Explain the term gerrymandering.
. I can describe the establishment of Northern Ireland. TIME TO GO BACK I CAN MOVE FORWARD DID YOU KNOW?
The Orange Order holds a parade every year on 12 July to commemorate the victory of King William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
The Orange Order on parade in the 1920s
COLLABORATE: Work together to gather information about James Craig’s life and career. 273
18 Ireland 1916–1923: The Struggle for Independence
