JUNIOR CYCLE HISTORY Unionist opposition to O’Neill
By 1965, Unionist opposition to O’Neill’s policies was growing, even though no real change to Northern Irish society had been attempted. Some members of his own party, such as Brian Faulkner, were wary of his attempts to reconcile with Catholics and the Republic, believing these things would undermine the position of Unionists. Reverend Ian Paisley of the Free Presbyterian Church attacked O’Neill for betraying the Union and the Protestants of Northern Ireland. Paisley launched an ‘O’Neill Must Go’ campaign. This opposition made it difficult for O’Neill to respond positively to growing pressure from Catholics for change.
CHECKPOINT!
1. What were Terence O’Neill’s economic policies? 2. How did they worsen the divisions in Northern Ireland? 3. What steps did O’Neill take to reach out to Catholics? 4. What impact did these have on Catholics? 5. Why did Unionist opposition to O’Neill emerge?
.
I can explain the main events of O’Neill’s time as Prime Minister. I CAN MOVE FORWARD
TIME TO GO BACK The Civil Rights Movement
Catholics became increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress in Northern Ireland and decided to campaign more actively for a change in their status. In the late 1960s, a new generation of Catholic and nationalist leaders emerged. These included Gerry Fitt, John Hume, Austin Currie and Bernadette Devlin. The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) was formed in 1967. Its demands were:
• to disband the B-Specials • an end to discrimination in housing and employment • ‘one man, one vote’ in voting for local elections • an end to gerrymandering.
Ian Paisley DID YOU KNOW?
The first major event of the Northern Irish civil rights movement took place in 1968: a march protesting against the allocation of housing to a young unmarried Protestant woman over a Catholic family with four children.
