The Troubles in Ulster (1920–1922)
Conflict in Northern Ireland / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Troubles of the 1920s was a period of conflict in what is now Northern Ireland from June 1920 until June 1922, during and after the Irish War of Independence and the partition of Ireland. It was mainly a communal conflict between Protestant unionists, who wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom, and Catholic Irish nationalists, who backed Irish independence. During this period, more than 500 people were killed in Belfast alone, 500 interned and 23,000 people were made homeless in the city, while approximately 50,000 people fled the north of Ireland due to intimidation.[1][2] Most of the victims were Nationalists (73%) with civilians being far more likely to be killed compared to the military, police or paramilitaries.[3][4]
During the Irish War of Independence the Irish Republican Army (IRA) began attacking British forces; loyalists often attacked the Catholic community in retaliation. In July 1920, they drove 8,000 mostly Catholic workers out of the Belfast shipyards sparking sectarian violence in the city. That summer, violence also erupted in Derry, leaving twenty people dead, and there were mass burnings of Catholic property and expulsions of Catholics from their homes in Dromore, Lisburn and Banbridge.[5]
Conflict continued intermittently for two years, mostly in Belfast, which saw "savage and unprecedented" communal violence between Protestants and Catholics.[6] Almost 1,000 homes and businesses were destroyed and thousands of people were forced out of mixed neighborhoods. The British Army was deployed and the Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) (or Specials) were formed to help the regular police – the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). The USC was almost wholly Protestant. Members of both police forces were involved in carrying out reprisal attacks on Catholics.[7] The Irish Republic approved the 'Belfast Boycott' of unionist-owned businesses and banks in the city. It was enforced by the IRA, who halted trains and lorries and destroyed goods.
A ceasefire/truce began on 11 July 1921, ending the fighting in most of Ireland. It was preceded by Belfast's Bloody Sunday, a day of violence in which twenty people were killed. In early 1922, there was a resurgence of sectarian violence in Belfast, including the McMahon killings and the Arnon Street killings. In May 1922 the IRA launched their Northern Offensive. There were clashes near the new Irish border, at Clones and the Pettigo/Belleek area. Also in May 1922, the new government of Northern Ireland implemented the Special Powers Act (also known as the "Flogging Act"), interning suspected IRA members, and imposing a nighttime curfew across the six Counties.[8] The outbreak of the Irish Civil War in the south on 28 June 1922 diverted the IRA from its campaign against the Northern government, and violence in Northern Ireland fell sharply.