Northern Ireland's 1968

Visual

• Film footage
• Photographs
• Cartoons
• Posters
• Newspaper articles

Audio-Visual

• Film footage with commentary
• Filmed interviews with key figures and historians
• Music of this period

Physical

• Historic objects and artefacts from the period

There is a wide range of activities and diverse content that make up this learning resource. For example:

• Students will be encouraged to examine artefacts closely. Having investigated for themselves both the broad background and the story of specific objects, they will be expected to assess the historical significance of those objects.
• The roles and importance of prominent individuals (both at the time and over subsequent decades) will be evaluated carefully.
• The roles of political parties and other organisations, many of them founded during the period, will be examined, as will the emergence of armed groups.
• Students will be invited to look at the global political scene between the middle of the 1960s and the early 1970s, in order to compare and contrast events and movements in Northern Ireland with developments in other countries (such as the push for “civil rights” in the United States and the Paris protests of 1968). Some of those inspired the leaders of organisations in Northern Ireland.
• The responses of the Governments of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland (and the international relationships of the two countries) were also very important; first, at the outbreak of “the Troubles” in 1968 and 1969; and, then, in determining the course of events within Northern Ireland for many years afterwards.

1. Context

In March 1963, Terence O’Neill became Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. He had previously been Minister of Finance. O’Neill wanted to modernise Northern Ireland politically and socially. Partly to underpin the sort of change he envisaged, he continued his attempts to develop Northern Ireland’s economy, particularly;

• by helping to attract inward investment on the part of British, American and Continental-European manufacturing firms;
• through diversification, the aim of which was to reduce dependence on declining traditional industries (such as linen manufacture); and
• through inducements in the form of direct grants for new factories and the construction of associated infrastructure (such as the trunk-road network).

Reactions to O’Neill’s modest reform proposals and his efforts to reach out to the Catholic community were decidedly mixed. However, after his departure and especially after the start of Direct Rule, much more radical reform was imposed on Northern Ireland by the UK Government.

2. Background activities

i.  Young people who are studying the period should be separated into class groups, with each group looking at a different policy area and creating a PowerPoint presentation (or something similar) which lists O’Neill’s successes and failures up to December 1967. Such an exercise will encourage students to display cross-curricular skills (namely UICT) and thinking skills (namely WO).
The three areas to be examined by each group are:

• Topic A: Building bridges with Northern nationalists (improving community relations)
• Topic B: Building bridges across the border (improving relations with Dublin)
• Topic C: Economic progress and development (improving Northern Ireland’s economy)

Concentrating on their chosen topic (or policy area), students must assess

• O’Neill’s position in January 1965;
• the content or nature of his policies;
• his hopes and aims;
• the responses of unionists and nationalists;
• the successes and failures of his approach up to December 1967;
• the significance, both immediate and lasting, of measures he had introduced before that time.

ii.  The group exercises can be followed by a class discussion, in which students debate the proposition that O’Neill’s efforts to solve Northern Ireland’s political problems between January 1965 and December 1967 can be described as “too little, too late”. (COMM)

iii.  Individual students should then draw up two lists,

• the first, showing the problems which O’Neill faced early in 1965 and
• the second, showing those which he faced at the end of 1967. (SM)

iv.  Finally, students will create their own profiles of two key figures from the period.

• Key Figure 1: Terence O’Neill
• Key Figure 2: Ian Paisley

Each student will need to undertake his/ her own independent research and use pictorial sources, in order to create a fact file on each key figure. (PS and UICT)

3. Museum-related activities

Pre-visit activities

For this section, students should watch the two short films below.

• Film 1 “Introduction”
• Film 2 “Spirit of the Times”

After these have been shown, the teacher should start a discussion to ascertain what students have learned from each film. Suggestions for themes to explore include:

• the role of the media (television, radio and newspapers)
• the role of university students in the Northern Ireland after 1965
• the impact of music
• the effects of wider cultural changes, such as fashion trends.

Students should then be split into groups and asked to work more closely on the following questions:

1. How important was the role of the media, in changing opinions in Northern Ireland?
2. How were new political movements and social trends, outside Northern Ireland, affecting events within the region?
3. How great was the role of young people in challenging long-held opinions in Northern Ireland?
4. To what extent had new ideas reduced traditional divisions in Northern Ireland by the end of 1967?

Some of the points should be used for class-based discussions, in order to prepare students for visits to the Museum.

Visit activities

The first gallery which students should visit is entitled Living on a Divided Island, 1923-1968. Studentscan look for the following items, which are displayed there, and try to answer related questions. (PS)Students should keep written and visual records of their responses during visits. (WO, UICT)

Picture A: Photo of Terence O’Neill with Sean Lemass (taken on 14 January 1965)

• Why was the meeting between the then Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the thenTaoiseach of the Republic of Ireland significant?
• Who led public opposition to the meeting?
• What was O’Neill trying to achieve, by holding the meeting?

Picture B: Unionist Party poster from the Stormont general-election campaign (poll held on 25 November 1965)

• What were Unionist voters promised?
• In what ways were such promises connectedwith O’Neill’s economic objectives?
• Why had a few of O’Neill’s economicdecisions made some nationalists angry?
• Picture C: Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) poster from the same election campaign
• What was the central message of this poster?
• Why was the NILP important in 1965?
• At that time, what were the main aims of the NILP and what sort of people supported it?
• Picture D: A Patrick Pearse medal issued in 1966
• Why was Pearse an important figure to some northern nationalists?
• What was the inscription on the reverse side of the medal and why did that matter?
• Which two anniversaries were marked in 1966 (one by unionists and the other bynationalists)?
• In the opinion of some historians, what longer-term effects did the commemoration share?

• Post-visit activities

  Students have now studied the main political events in Northern Ireland between 1965 and 1967. In order to consolidate their knowledge and develop their understanding of the period, they can undertake some of the following exercises, in the classroom, after visiting the Museum.

  Exercise A – Timeline: Students to create and draw up a personal timeline of the key dates/events between 1965 and 1967 (SM)

  Exercise B – Leaflet: Students to draw up and produce their own leaflet (must include images and text) for the Ministry of Development to attract businesses and industry to invest in N. Ireland in 1965 (UICT, SM)

  Exercise C – Group research task: Students to work in class groups to draw up information on the following groups and issues in 1965: NI Labour party. Nationalist party, Ulster Unionist party, housing, jobs and gerrymandering (UICT, WO, COMM)

  Exercise D – Individual research task: Students to work on their own to research and use a small number of contemporary sources to explain how and why O’Neill attempted to improve community relations between 1965 and 1967 (SM, WO, COMM)

  Exercise E – Hot-seat task: The teacher could prepare students for a hot-seating task on the political problems facing O’Neill and his Unionist Government by December 1967. What were the different options for O’Neill to tackle the growing demands for political and social reform by 1969, the strengths and weaknesses of each option should be explored. Teachers could provide role-play characters such as; a Nationalist leader, a Unionist supporter of O’Neill, a Unionist opposed to O’Neill, a Republican leader, a member of the British Government and a member of the Dublin Government (PS, WO COMM)

  Exercise F – Government gains: Students to draw up two lists for the Dublin Government and the Stormont Government. In each list, they will explain what they gained from attempts to improve relations between both Irish states between 1965 and 1965 (PS)

1. Context

In January 1967, a new political organisation was formed called NICRA (Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association). The leaders of NICRA were influenced by the success of the non-violent methods used by Civil Rights campaigners in the USA during the mid -1960s. Other Civil Rights activists, and in particular those from the Queen’s student body, had been inspired by student protests in Europe, especially those in France in May 1968.

By the summer of 1968 support and membership of NICRA had grown rapidly under the leadership of figures such as, Ivan Cooper, John Hume and Austin Currie. NICRA had also drawn up a list of 7 main demands for political, economic and social reforms for Stormont to address, principally aimed at tackling the issue of discrimination against the Nationalist minority by Unionist governments since 1922. The movement picked up momentum and gained increasing support from the Catholic middle class social group in particular as well as some liberal Protestants.

NICRA organised a series of marches between August and November 1968, leading to increased tension with the Stormont government as well as the police. Despite preaching a policy of non-violence, these marches would witness violent clashes with the police that would be seen on television screens and the front page of newspapers across Europe and the USA.

From August 1968 onwards, support for NICRA grew steadily and their actions led to different responses from Nationalist and Unionist leaders who represented the divided communities. The heightened tension accompanying the repressive police response saw the British government forced to intervene. In November 1968, under pressure from the Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson, O’Neill announced a Five-Point reform programme. In response to these initial reforms NICRA called off future marches to ease community tensions. O’Neill’s concessions did not appease everyone and in January 1969, People’s Democracy, a more radical, student-based group, organised a protest march between Belfast and Derry/Londonderry that was attacked at Burntollet bridge by a group of loyalist counter-protestors.

This event led to more tension and violence which increased the pressure on O’Neill and his government due to their inability to balance the competing demands and face up to the opposition from both Nationalists and Unionists. In the General Election that O’Neill subsequently called in February 1969, he only narrowly defeated Paisley in his Bannside constituency. As a result of this situation, O’Neill tendered his resignation on 28 April 1969. Governments in both London and Dublin had supported most of the aims of NICRA, but now struggled to find a political solution that would arrest the slide towards further conflict.

2. Background activities

i.  Young people who are studying this period should be separated into class groups with each group looking at least one different topic or policy area. They can create a power point presentation (or something similar) on their chosen topic area, such an exercise will display cross-curricular skills (namely UICT) and thinking skills (namely WO).

• USA Civil Rights movement and its influence
• Why did NICRA emerge in January 1967
• Aims and methods of NICRA by April 1969
• Nationalist and Unionist reactions to NICRA
• Roles of Stormont, Westminster and Dublin governments
• Political impact of People’s Democracy
• Reasons for the downfall of O’Neill in April 1969

Concentrating on their chosen topic areas, students must assess some of the following points:

• The political situation in N. Ireland in January 1967
• How the political situation in N. Ireland had changed by April 1969
• The main political demands of NICRA
• The influence of events in Europe and the USA on the Civil Rights movement
• How well did O’Neill deal with NICRA and their actions between 1968 and April 1969?
• How did Nationalists respond to the demands of NICRA and why?
• How did Unionists respond to the demands of NICRA and why?
• How significant was the role played by the media in the impact of NICRA by April 1969?

ii.  These class exercises could be followed up by a class discussion, in which the students can debatethe proposition “The campaign for Civil Rights had enjoyed more successes than failures by April1969? “(COMM, WO) Students could also discuss the proposition “O’Neill was solely to blame forhis own downfall in April 1969?” (COMM, WO)

iii.  To consolidate their knowledge and understanding of this period students should complete some ofthe following tasks on an individual basis (SM, PS and UM).

1. What were the political aims of NICRA in January 1967?
2. How many of these political aims had been achieved, firstly by April 1968 and secondly by March 1972?
3. How were the aims and methods of People’s Democracy similar and/or different to those of NICRA?
4. How were NICRA and People’s Democracy viewed form within the Unionist community?
5. What measures did Stormont take to deal with the political demands of NICRA by April 1969 and why?
6. What were the membership figures of NICRA IN 1967, 1968 and 1969?
7. For the General Election of February 1969 give a breakdown of the overall election result for each political party elected.
8. Draw up a timeline of important dates/events from January 1967 to April 1969.

iv.  Finally, students will update their two existing personal profiles (fact files) up to April 1969. They will also create two new personal profiles (fact files) on the following important political figures.

• Key figure 3: Gerry Fitt
• Key figure 4: John Hume

Each student will need to undertake his/her own independent research and use some pictorial sources (PS, SM and UICT).

3. Museum-related activities

Pre-visit

For this section, students should watch the two short films below.

i.  Students should first watch films 3 and 4

• Film 3: Students
• Film 4: Posters
• The films look at the broad background to political developments in Northern Ireland between 1967 and 1969. After students have seen the films, teachers should initiate a discussion, to find out what students have learned from each one. Suggestions for themes to explore include:
• The aims, objectives and tactics of student activists
• The role of the media
• The international context
• The use of political posters
• Students should then be split into groups and asked to work more closely on the following questions:
• What were aims of the student-based activists in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s?
• Which groups in Northern Ireland opposed demands for political changes?
• How did the Parisian student protests of May 1968 affect the tactics which used by Civil Rights activists?
• How important was the new style of political poster in the Civil Rights campaign between 1967 and 1969?
• ii.  Students should then watch films 5 and 6
• Film 5: Duke Street
• Film 6: Craigavon Bridge
• After Films 5 and 6 have been shown, another discussion should be started by the teacher, with the object of discovering what students have learned. Suggestions for themes to explore include:
• The political impact of NICRA marches in 1967
• The role of the mass media (newspapers, radio and television)
• The response of the Northern Ireland Government and the RUC to the marches
• The response of the UK Government to growing tensions in Northern Ireland
• Students should then be split into groups and asked to work more closely on the following questions:
• Why did the Duke Street march acquire so much political significance?
• Why is the Duke Street march described as a “game changer” in the film?
• What point does Gregory Campbell make about NICRA in the film?
• How important was the role of Gerry Fitt in the Duke Street march?
• Why was another NICRA march held in Derry/ Londonderry in November 1968?
• Ivan Cooper is interviewed. Why did he feel that the NICRA march was important?
• What actions did Terence O’Neill take, shortly after the November march, and why did he take them?
• How did NICRA respond to the promises which O’Neill had made by December 1968?
• iii.  Students should then watch film 7
• Film 7: Burntollet
• After the film has been shown, the teacher should initiate a discussion with aim of finding out what students have learned. Here are the suggested topics.
• The role of the mass media (newspapers, radio and television)
• The role of the leaders of “People’s Democracy”
• The political impact of Burntollet
• The responses of Stormont, Westminster and Dublin politicians
• Students should then be split into groups and asked to work more closely on the following questions:
• What was ‘People’s Democracy’?
• What were the political aims of People’s Democracy?
• Why did they decide to organise a march in January 1969?
• Which groups and individuals opposed this march and why were they opposed to it?
• Why is the march described in the film as “a coat-trailing exercise”?
• Austin Currie believed that Burntollet was politically important. Why did he hold that view?
• What were the political consequences of the Burntollet march by April 1969?
• In the film, it is claimed that “there could be no turning back after Burntollet”. Explain why that view was expressed. To what extent do you agree with it?
• Why was the Burntollet march attacked? Discuss the complexities of policing this particular march.
• What were the respective responses of nationalists and unionists to news of the Burntollet march and the attack on it?
• How would you summarise the way in which those present reflected on this experience?

• In order to prepare students for visits to the Ulster Museum, some of the questions above can be used for additional classroom discussions, in conjunction with Films 3 to 7.

   

  Visit activities

  After viewing the ‘Living on a Divided Island’ section of the modern history gallery, students should move on round the corner towards the Troubles gallery and look for the following items, which are displayed there, and try to answer the related questions. (PS)Students’ responses should be in writing. They should make notes and take photographs, to help them answer questions. (WO, UICT)

  Item A: Terence O’Neill’s “Crossroads” speech
  A television broadcast which the then Prime Minister of Northern Ireland made on 9 December 1968

• What was O’Neill trying to achieve by making this speech?
• Why did he decide to address the people of Northern Ireland directly, via the medium of television?
• Why was it known as “the Crossroads speech”?
• What were the respective responses of Unionists and Nationalists to the speech?
• Item B: Gerry Fitt’s shirt from October 1968.
• In what ways had Gerry Fitt become an important figure in Northern Ireland by October 1968? 
• What role did he play in the Duke Street march?
• Why is his shirt a powerful historical artefact?

•  

  Item C: ‘The Umbrella Man’, showing some of the events of 1968

• Describe the events which are portrayed.
• How does the print reflect sectarian divisions in Belfast by 1968?
• Was this polarisation experienced in both communities?

• Item D: Poster bearing the slogan “End the Special Powers Act!”
  1969, possibly published by People’s Democracy
• What was “the Civil Authorities (Special Powers) Act (Northern Ireland) 1922”, commonly known as “the Special Powers Act”?
• In January 1969, why did many Unionists support the Act? Why did many Nationalists oppose it?
• Which groups agreed with the demands made on the poster? Why did they agree?

• Item E: Unionist Party election poster 
  General Election held on 24 February 1969
• Which prominent figure ran against Terence O’Neill in his Bannside constituency in the 1969 Northern Ireland (Stormont) general election?
• Why was the 1969 Stormont election important?
• Why did some members of O’Neill’s own party oppose him?

• Item F: NICRA handbill
  Distributed in New York City, NY, USA, 17 March 1969
• Why does the handbill refer to events in Selma, Alabama?
• Explain why NICRA wanted to put across its message in New York.
• What was the significance of the date?

Post-visit activities

Students have now studied the main political events in Northern Ireland between January 1967 and April 1969. In order to consolidate their knowledge and develop their understanding of the period, they can undertake some of the following exercises, in the classroom, after visiting the Museum.

Exercise A – Comparative table: Draw up a table comparing the aims, methods and supporters of NICRA and the USA Civil Rights movement. (SM)

Exercise B – NICRA poster and leaflet: Students should then design a poster for NICRA and a leaflet, setting out the main demands of NICRA. (UICT, PS and COMM)

Exercise C – Newspaper articles: Students should form small groups and each group should prepare a newspaper article which describes the incidents at either Duke Street, Craigavon Bridge or Burntollet. The article must contain a headline and an image (such as a photograph or a map) and must try to present a contemporary report and contemporary comment on the incident being covered. Taking account of the allegiance and tone of each of the three main regional newspapers in the late 1960s, each group must produce three short articles:

• The first article which should be suitable for inclusion in a contemporary edition of The News Letter;
• the second for inclusion in The Belfast Telegraph; and
• the third for inclusion in The Irish News.

• Articles should be about 300 to 400 words long each. (UICT, WO, SM, COMM)

  Exercise D – Flow chart: Each student should produce a flow chart, showing the reasons or events which led to the downfall of O’Neill by April 1969. (PS)

  Exercise E – Assessment of opinions and preparation of mind maps: From Films 3 to 7, each student must select (in total) two contemporary opinions and one later interpretation, of the success or failure of the NICRA campaign, up to April 1969. Students should form source-work groups and collate the evidence which (as individuals) they have gathered from different sources in the films. As an aid to evaluation and further discussion, each group should produce a “mind map” or diagram for each of issues (such as discrimination in employment, “One man, one vote” and social housing) which Northern Ireland faced in April 1969. The mind map should show how the different aspects of the issue are connected.

  Exercise F – Commissions of inquiry: During 1969, the UK Government grew concerned about events in Northern Ireland and, in particular, about increasing violence. It asked a senior Scottish judge Lord Cameron to examine the issues which were causing (or had caused) strife in the region. The Cameron Report contained a number of findings. It was critical of several policies and practices of the Unionist government at Stormont. However, the report also expressed the view that, although most members of the civil-rights movement had genuinely wanted to create a fairer society and political system in Northern Ireland, a relatively small number of people had exploited the NICRA, in order to further long-standing extremist agendas or to stir up trouble.

  Students should form three groups. Each group should pretend that it is a commission of inquiry, and that it is sitting immediately after the resignation of Terence O’Neill as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. The first “commission” will supposedly be reporting to the Northern Ireland Government in Belfast; the second to the UK Government in London; and the third to the Republic’s Government in Dublin. Therefore, each “commission” and report will have a particular slant.

  Students’ “commissions” should examine serious problems of the sort which Lord Cameron investigated. Each “commission” should outline its conclusions and (very brief) supporting evidence in a short, simple report. Remembering which government has supposedly commissioned their report, members of each “commission” should also recommend reforms which might have solved the problems described in their report.

  Each report should be roughly 300 to 400 words long. At the end of the exercise, all three reports should be compared and the differences between them highlighted. 

  Exercise G – Written assignments: Discussion of the following propositions can be used as the basis of written assignments.

  a. “Between 1965 and 1969 O’Neill’s attempts to deal with the political problems facing Northern Ireland were largely successful.”

  b. “The Civil Rights movement had failed to achieve its aims by April 1969.”

  c. “The British government be seen as accountable for the crisis which had arisen in Northern Ireland by 1969.”

  d. “The mass media and new political ideas from outside Northern Ireland, greatly contributed to the development of NICRA by 1969.”

1. Context

On 28th April 1969 Terence O’Neill resigned as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. A few days later on 1st May 1969 he was replaced as Prime Minister by James Chichester Clark (his cousin). Chichester Clark promised to continue with the reform programme that had been started by O’Neill, but, despite his promises, tensions continued to increase by July 1969. However, it would be the events in Derry/Londonderry in August 1969 when clashes between the RUC and nationalists over a loyalist march led to violence and one more step towards the violence that was the troubles.

The Battle of the Bogside forced the British Government to intervene directly for the first time in N. Ireland. As the RUC were unable to deal with the mounting violence, British troops were sent to restore law and order on the streets of Belfast and Derry/Londonderry. The Dublin Government had sent troops and even field hospitals to the border, promising to help protect nationalists from attack by loyalists. These short-term responses by the two governments in Dublin and London would have important consequences for the divided communities in N. Ireland by March 1972 in particular.

• The re-emergence of the IRA in 1969
• The IRA split and the emergence of the Provisional IRA by Easter 1970
• The re-emergence of the UVF by 1969
• The emergence of the UDA by September 1971

After August 1969, the political situation in N. Ireland steadily deteriorated and by July 1970 the Stormont Government appeared to have lost control of many areas that they claimed to govern. When the British Army imposed the Falls Road curfew in July 1970 this angered local nationalists, indeed this boosted support for the Provisional IRA in particular who started a violent campaign against the Army from 1970 onwards.

As the political crisis worsened loyalist paramilitaries launched their own campaign of violence. They were angry over what they saw as Stormont’s appeasement of the demands of NICRA, and they also promised to defend loyalists from the increased levels of republican violence. In December 1971, the UVF carried out the bombing of Mc Gurk’s Bar in Belfast. Although Stormont had banned both the Provisional IRA and the UVF, they did not ban the newly formed UDA which had over 30,000 members by 1972.

Stormont was unable to effectively deal with the deepening crisis and Chichester Clark was forced to resign as Prime Minister on 20th March 1971. He was quickly replaced by Brian Faulkner who became the new and last Prime Minister of N. Ireland. Despite having a new leader, the Stormont government could not stop republican and loyalist violence. Faulkner decided to use a policy that had worked well in previous periods of crisis which was internment. Without any warning on 9th August 1971 internment was introduced, 452 men were arrested and interned without trial, no loyalists were interned until 1973.

Opposition to internment from nationalists had important political effects by March 1972.

• Violence escalated steadily after August 1971
• Support for republican violence increased
• Loyalist violence increased
• Civil Rights marches against internment led to clashes and violence
• Unionist and Nationalist responses to Bloody Sunday

2. Background activities

i.  Young people who are studying this period should be separated into class groups, with each group looking at some of these different topic areas. They can create a power point presentation or some­thing similar on the reasons for the emergence of the troubles and their political effects by March 1972. Such an exercise will encourage students to display cross-curricular skills (namely UICT) and thinking skills (WO).

Suggested group activities include:

1. Why were sectarian tensions worsening by July 1969?
2. How did London and Dublin respond to events in Derry /Londonderry in August 1969 and why?
3. What did republican paramilitaries want to achieve by violent methods and who supported them by 1972?
4. What did loyalist paramilitaries want to achieve by violent methods and who supported them by 1972?
5. Why was internment introduced by Faulkner and what were the political effects of internment by March 1972?
6. Who organised the Bloody Sunday march and what were the aims of the leaders of this march?
7. Explain how Nationalists responded to the events of Bloody Sunday?
8. Explain the reasons for the fall of Stormont in March 1972 and how Unionists and Nationalists reacted to this event.

Concentrating on their chosen topic areas (or policy area), students must assess;

• The political situation in July 1969
• How the political situation had deteriorated by March 1972
• The role of Stormont and its political impact
• The role of British and Irish governments from August 1969 to March 1972
• The reasons for the emergence of paramilitary groups and the effects of violence by March 1972
• The role of the RUC and the army, the differing responses to their security measures by March 1972
• The role of NICRA and its leaders by March 1972

ii.  These group exercises can be followed by a class based discussion, in which groups can debate one or all of the propositions given below. (COMM, WO)

• “The outbreak of the troubles in August 1969 in N. Ireland was inevitable”
• “The events of Bloody Sunday led to the end of NICRA as an effective political group”
• “Faulkner’s poor leadership was solely to blame for the end of Stormont in March 1972”

iii.  Individual students should then draw up the following lists (SM).

• Which of NICRA’s main demands had been achieved by March 1972?
• Reasons for the outbreak of the troubles in August 1969 (long term and short term)
• Political effects of Bloody Sunday by March 1972
• Reasons why the British government suspended Stormont in March 1972

iv.  Finally, in this section students will update their personal profiles (fact files) of the four key political figures from May 1969 up to March 1972. They will then undertake their own independent research and use some pictorial sources, in order create a fact file on these two key political figures (PS and UICT).

• Key figure 5: Brian Faulkner
• Key figure 6: Bernadette Devlin

3. Museum related activities

Pre-visit

For this section, students should watch the two short films below.

• Film 8: “Missed Opportunities”
• Film 9: “Final Summary”

After these two films have been shown to the students, the teacher should start a discussion, to ascertain what students have learnt from each film. Suggestions for themes to explore include:

• The role of the media (television, radio and newspapers)
• The impact of protests in Europe and the USA
• The role of the British government in the search for a political solution by March 1972
• The intervention of the Irish government and its effects by March 1972

Students should then be split into groups and asked to work more closely on the following questions:

1. What were the missed opportunities to prevent the outbreak of the troubles in August 1969?
2. To what extent did growing divisions within the Civil Rights movement lead to increased tensions between the two communities by the summer of 1969?
3. To what extent was the Stormont government to blame for the outbreak of the troubles in August 1969?
4. What were the political failures of NICRA by March 1972?
5. What were the political successes of NICRA by March 1972?
6. According to Austin Currie what had Unionist leaders failed to achieve by the summer of 1969?
7. Why does Ivan Cooper describe as this “as the most exhilarating period ever?”
8. To what extent was the British government to blame for the deepening political crisis in N. Ireland between August 1969 and March 1972?

These key points should be used for class-based discussions, in order to prepare students for their visit to the Ulster Museum.

Visit activities

During their educational visit to the Museum students should proceed to the Troubles Gallery (1970s) where they can look for the following items and display panels. They can use the objects and displays outlined below to answer the following questions (PS). Students should keep written and visual records during the visit (WO, UICT).

Item A: Photograph of events in Belfast, August 1969

• What is happening when this photograph was taken?
• Who was carrying out these attacks and why?
• What is the man carrying and why is this significant?
• How useful is this photograph as historical evidence about the events of 1969?

Item B: Ulster (the facts), a leaflet from September 1969

• Who is the woman in the left-hand picture and why was she an important figure by the summer of 1969?
• Why was this leaflet produced in the summer of 1969?
• Does the authorship of this leaflet make it less useful as historical evidence about the events of 1969?

Item C: Anti-internment booklet (published 1971) by the North Derry CRA

• Why was this booklet produced in late 1971?
• Who supported this rent and rates strike in late 1971 and why?
• Does the authorship of this booklet make it less useful as historical evidence about the events after August 1971?

Item D: Massacre in Derry booklet (published 1972) by NICRA after Bloody Sunday

• Why was this booklet produced in 1972?
• What were the reactions of Nationalists at that time to the events of Bloody Sunday?
• What were the reactions of Unionists at that time to the events of Bloody Sunday?
• Explain why Bloody Sunday is still a controversial issue even today?

Item E: RUC riot helmet (damaged by a petrol bomb), RUC riot shield, CS gas cartridges and a rubber bullet cartridge case (these objects are all from the early 1970s)

• Which paramilitary groups were attacking the police and the army by 1972 and why?
• How did the police and the army deal with attacks by republican paramilitaries by 1972?
• How did the police and the army deal with attacks by loyalist paramilitaries by 1972?
• Why has 1972 been called the “blackest year” of the troubles in N. Ireland?