The Introduction of Direct Rule and the Sunningdale Agreement, 1972–1974
In this chapter you will learn about: • Talks between the IRA and the British government • The British government’s attempts to restore law and order and end direct rule • How the nationalist community lost faith in the British Army • The political divisions within unionism • The Sunningdale Agreement and its collapse
By the end of this chapter you will be able to: • Discuss Whitelaw’s efforts to restore order and why these failed • Appreciate why the nationalist community lost confidence in the British Army’s impartiality • Understand nationalist and unionist responses to the idea of power-sharing • Recognise the divisions that emerged within unionism • Debate the successes and failures of the Sunningdale Agreement
Britain Introduces Direct Rule
After suspending Stormont in March 1972, British Prime Minister Edward Heath appointed William Whitelaw, a senior member of the Conservative Party, as the first Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Whitelaw’s appointment showed how seriously Heath treated the situation. This new post meant that Whitelaw filled the role of Northern Ireland Prime Minister, Governor of Northern Ireland and Minister for Home Affairs (that is, Minister for Justice) through a new Northern Ireland Office. Whitelaw’s immediate goal was to restore law and order. He hoped to achieve this by winning Catholics’ trust in the army and phasing out internment. Then he would begin to seek a lasting political solution, one in which the minority nationalist community would share power in the government of Northern Ireland.
POWER-SHARING
Power-sharing means that the government contains members from both unionist and nationalist backgrounds. It prevents one group from holding too much influence on government, and instead allows both communities to have a voice in the running of the State. Power-sharing was first proposed under the terms of the
Sunningdale Agreement in 1973 and was later used as the basis of negotiations on the governance of Northern Ireland.
POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN NORTHERN IRELAND, 1949–1993
