Northern Ireland and the Troubles (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Northern Ireland and the Troubles
Context and early violence
The Northern Ireland conflict confronted the Conservative Party before Margaret Thatcher entered Downing Street in May 1979. Throughout most of the period, violence remained concentrated in Northern Ireland itself, making attacks on mainland Britain particularly shocking to the British political establishment and public.
Pre-election assassinations (1979)
March 1979: Airey Neave
Conservative MP Airey Neave was killed when a time bomb, planted in his car at Westminster by members of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), detonated. Neave had managed Thatcher's campaign for the Conservative leadership in 1975. His assassination at the political heart of Britain demonstrated the IRA's capability to strike high-profile targets.
August 1979: Lord Mountbatten
Prince Philip's uncle, Earl Mountbatten, was killed when his yacht was bombed by IRA members off the coast of Ireland. Two others on board also died, and several were injured. Mountbatten was a senior member of the royal family and distinguished wartime military figure, making his murder a direct attack on the British establishment.
These two attacks in 1979 illustrated the IRA's strategy of targeting prominent political and establishment figures to maximise publicity and political impact.
The IRA mainland campaign, 1983-1984
The IRA extended its campaign to high-profile targets on the British mainland during Thatcher's first and second terms.
Harrods bombing, December 1983
A bomb exploded outside Harrods, the famous London department store, resulting in five deaths and wounding several others. This attack on a civilian target during the Christmas shopping period was designed to generate maximum fear and publicity.
Brighton bombing, 12 October 1984
The Conservative Party held its annual conference at the Grand Hotel in Brighton. On the night of 12 October 1984, a bomb exploded while the Prime Minister and numerous government members, along with party members and journalists, were staying at the hotel. Five people were killed and 31 were injured. The casualty list included household names, underlining how close the IRA came to assassinating the entire British Cabinet.
This attack represented the nearest conspirators had come to murdering the British government leadership since the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The timing—during the party conference—and the target location showed detailed planning and intelligence gathering by the IRA.
Thatcher's response
Despite the attack occurring in the early hours of 12 October, Thatcher insisted the conference timetable proceed unchanged. Her speech writers removed attacks on the Labour Party from her planned speech and instead responded to the bombing. She declared that the attack was an attempt to "cripple Her Majesty's democratically elected government" and that "all attempts to destroy democracy by terrorism will fail."
This resolute response became emblematic of Thatcher's approach to the IRA. However, her priority remained defiance rather than seeking immediate political solutions. Following the Falklands War, defending British sovereignty and refusing to negotiate under the threat of violence became central themes of her leadership.
The Anglo-Irish Agreement, November 1985
Contact between the Irish government and British government gained urgency following the IRA's escalating campaign. An agreement was reached in November 1985 and signed by the British Prime Minister and the Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister).
Terms of the Agreement
The Anglo-Irish Agreement stated, for the first time, that no change in the constitutional status of Northern Ireland could take place without the consent of the majority of its population. This was a major political development. Since the Irish constitution had claimed from its inception that the whole of Ireland formed part of the Irish state, this represented a recognition that the British government could establish forward ideas and concerns in relation to Northern Ireland.
The agreement gave the Irish government a consultative role regarding Northern Ireland, though without direct power over policy decisions.
Political significance
This marked the first formal acknowledgement by both governments that Northern Ireland's constitutional status depended on the wishes of its majority population. It established an intergovernmental framework for discussing Northern Ireland issues, giving Dublin an official voice in matters concerning the north.
Unionist response
The Democratic Unionist Party
Unionism no longer operated through one unified party. Ian Paisley had formed the Protestant Unionist Party in 1966, which became the Democratic Unionist Party in 1971. It attracted support from working-class unionists who felt the existing Ulster Unionist Party had shown willingness to cooperate over the Sunningdale Agreement. The Ulster Unionist Party opposed the Anglo-Irish Agreement, but this split in unionist representation meant hostility to the agreement was divided between competing parties.
Ulster MPs' protest
Given unionist hostility to a foreign government (the Irish Republic) interfering in what they viewed as British affairs, the Anglo-Irish Agreement provoked strong opposition. Fifteen Ulster MPs resigned their seats, deliberately triggering by-elections in which the Anglo-Irish Agreement would be the central issue. This demonstrated the depth of unionist opposition to any arrangement that gave Dublin a consultative role in Northern Ireland.
The broadcasting ban, 1988-1994
Following the Brighton bombing, Thatcher stated that terrorists should be deprived of the "oxygen of publicity." This sentiment translated into policy. For six years (1988-1994), UK media were banned from broadcasting the voices of Sinn Féin, IRA, and certain other groups' members. Researchers later examined the effectiveness of this ban and the tactics media adopted to comply while continuing to report the news. The ban illustrated the government's broader strategy of isolating republican movements from public discourse.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
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The IRA brought the Northern Ireland conflict to the British mainland through high-profile attacks including the assassination of Conservative MP Airey Neave (March 1979) and the Brighton bombing (October 1984) which nearly killed the entire Cabinet.
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The Anglo-Irish Agreement (November 1985) marked a watershed moment by stating that Northern Ireland's constitutional status could only change with majority consent and by giving the Irish government a consultative role for the first time.
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Unionist opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement was fierce but divided between the Ulster Unionist Party and Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party. Fifteen Ulster MPs resigned their seats in protest, forcing by-elections on the issue.
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Thatcher's response to IRA terrorism emphasised defiance and refusal to negotiate under threat. Following Brighton, she insisted the conference proceed unchanged and later introduced a broadcasting ban (1988-1994) to deprive terrorists of the "oxygen of publicity."
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The period demonstrated the complexity of the Northern Ireland problem, with violence, constitutional questions, and divided political representation creating an intractable situation that would extend beyond Thatcher's premiership.