1972–1981
1972–1981
Lesson 1: 1972-1974 Direct Rule & Power Sharing Lesson 2: 1975-1981 Evolving Republican Strategy
Lesson 1: 1972-74 Direct Rule & Power-Sharing
Lesson Description This lesson looks at how Bloody Sunday and the escalation of violence that resulted on the streets led to the suspension of Stormont, the imposition of Direct Rule by the British Government and an unsuccessful attempt to develop a power-sharing devolved government between nationalists and unionists. Lesson Intentions 1. Discuss the reasons why Stormont was suspended. 2. Understand the reasons why power-sharing was seen as a desirable form of Government by the British and Irish governments. 3. Understand the reasons why many unionists and republicans opposed power-sharing and sought to destroy it. Lesson Outcomes Be able to explain how the impact of violence in 1972 shaped the British Government’s approach and how the continuing environment of civil unrest informed and influenced how the North of Ireland was ultimately to be governed.
Lesson 2: 1975-1981 Evolving Republican Strategy
Lesson Description: This lesson looks at how republican strategy developed in the wake of the collapse of power-sharing and the emergence of new British state strategies to contain rather than resolve the conflict, which created a new phase of political violence and protest – not just on the streets, but also in the North’s prisons. Lesson Intentions: 1. Understand why the British Government approach changed after the failure of power-sharing. 2. Discuss how the republican movement responded to this change of approach. 3. Understand how this period saw the dynamic of the conflict change to one of a ‘long war’ between republicans and the British state. Lesson Outcomes: Learners will develop knowledge and understanding around the relationship between British Government and republican strategies towards the conflict in this period – how each helped to shape the other and led to a commitment on all sides for a protracted conflict that would take years to resolve. Handouts and Guides: Lesson 2 Key Information
