Resource: Understanding Northern Ireland, The Troubles, and the Brexit NI Protocol.
If you live in the UK but outside of Northern Ireland, you might not have an understanding of why the Northern Ireland protocol is a point of such contention. Or what it even is all about. So let me try and give you a brief summary of a complicated history. We have to start way back in the days of The Famine.
British presence in Ireland began in 1169, and continued (on the majority of the island) until 1922. In that time they were violent, put legal bans on speaking the Irish language, forcibly took land, and oversaw numerous famines, including the great famine of 1845-1849, which cost the lives of over 1 million people, and saw a further 1 million migrate out of the country. The scale of the death was so severe that Ireland is the only European country with a lower population today than it had in 1840.
Many Irish people will tell you it wasn’t simply a famine, it was an act of genocide. This is because the British continued to export quality food from Ireland to Britain, leaving Irish people with minimal healthy crops. They actually did nothing to alleviate any of the suffering. In fact, Sir Charles Trevelyan famously said it was an “effective mechanism for reducing surplus population”, and also that it was a judgement from God, sent “to teach the Irish a lesson, and that calamity must not be too much mitigated.”
Naturally, this treatment led to a renewed spirit of nationalism in pockets of Ireland, most specifically in areas of what is now the Republic. In 1916 this was seen clearly in the event known as the Easter Rising. An attempt to end British rule, it was ended after a week of fighting, and at the time it didn’t have a huge amount of support from the Irish public. However, the horrendous treatment of the rebels in the aftermath changed things dramatically. In 1918 the republican party Sinn Féin won the election in a landslide, and in 1919 declared Irish independence having formed a breakaway government - Dáil Éireann. However in September that year the British government outlawed the Dáil and Sinn Féin and conflict intensified. By the middle of 1920, British control had collapsed in most of the south and west of Ireland. Republicans had taken control of the majority of county councils, and the British deployed “emergency powers.” The black and tans - so called because of the colour of their uniforms - set about raiding and burning the villages, homes and businesses of anyone who supported the IRA.
The second part of the powers were about “convicting murderers” and “crushing out crime.” At the time Prime Minister David Lloyd George agreed with Winston Churchill that the rebels should hang, but he “questions whether you can get convictions from Catholics.” This secular aspect is important to understanding The Troubles.
On November 21st 1920, an IRA operation, led by Michael Collins, was underway in Dublin. It’s goal was to kill a group of undercover British Intelligence Officers who were living in Dublin. It was considered a success - 15 men were killed, most were British Army Officers. Unfortunately, 2 civilians were killed. 2 of the IRA members were captured.
The attack sent panic through the British, and they ordered their military and police to raid a Gaelic football match happening at Croke Park. It was supposed to be a cordon and search operation, but instead, and with no warning, they opened fire on the stadium of civilians. 14 were killed, and at least 60 others were wounded. That night, the British authorities beat and shot dead the 2 IRA officers. This became know as the first Bloody Sunday.
Whilst the south of Ireland was largely Republican Catholics, the conflict in the North was a little more complex. In Ulster, Catholics were in the minority, and Protestant loyalists were in the majority. They supported the British, and started launching attacks against the Catholic community in response to IRA actions. The same thing was happening in Belfast. 500 people were killed, the majority of them Catholics. The loyalists had since 1912 been trying to prevent an Irish government in Ulster.
In May 1921, in an attempt to end the war of Independence, Ireland was partitioned into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. The initial idea was that both would remain part of the UK, but be self governing. However on December 6th 1922, the south left the UK, and became the Irish Free State. It took until 1949 to be officially declared the Republic of Ireland.
Since the partition, Irish republicans have continued to seek a United Ireland, whilst unionists have continued to want Northern Ireland to remain in the UK. However the Unionist government in the North was regularly accused of discrimination against the Irish nationalist and Catholic minority. A campaign to end this discrimination was opposed by unionists, and this opposition is what really sparked the troubles. The troubles were a 30 year long conflict that lasted from 1968-1998, in which over 3500 people were killed, over half of which were civilians. There was at this time a hard border dividing the North and South of Ireland, with checkpoints not just at the border, but along “peace walls” designed to limit the violence between Catholics and Protestants. The violence was extreme, military and police brutality were rife, numerous riots, mass protests and acts of civil unrest occurred and led to increased segregation and the creation of temporary no-go areas. One of the worst days came in 1972, in what would also come to be known as Bloody Sunday.
On January 30th 1972, a protest was happening in Bogside, Derry. It had been organised by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association to protest against something called Operation Demetrius. In very simple terms, the British Army were en-masse arresting and imprisoning people suspected of being involved with the IRA, and they were doing it without trial. The arrests were violent, done during raids, and those arrested faced abuse. Those arrested were also all republicans and mostly all catholics.
At the protest, the British soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment opened fire, unprovoked on unarmed civilians, shooting 26 people, killing 14. Other protesters were injured by shrapnel, rubber bullets, or batons, two were run down by British Army vehicles, and some were beaten. The soldiers had already been implicated in another massacre in Ballymurphy only 4 months earlier. The events were covered up, and it wasnt until an investigation concluded in 2010, that the British ever even apologised.
In the 1990’s peace talks began, and eventually culminated in the signing of the Good Friday Agreement on April 10th 1998. It was supported by all major political groups in Northern Ireland, apart from the DUP, and was overwhelmingly supported by the Northern Irish people, as well as the Irish Republic people. The Agreement contains a lot, but some key points are:
The "removal of security installations" and "other measures appropriate to and compatible with a normal peaceful society". (Essentially, no hard border. Satisfying both Unionists and Republicans.)
London and Ireland both revoke constitutional claim to sole sovereignity over Northern Ireland, with both sides supporting whatever choice is freely exercised by the majority of people in Northern Ireland. At the time, the majority supported British rule, but London agreed to enact legislation to allow Northern Ireland to become part of Ireland if this changed.
When the Brexit vote happened in 2016, Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU. Keeping the sort of peace they found after the Good Friday Agreement was a large part of that, which meant that when Westminster were negotiating an exit deal, the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic had to be a huge priority. No one wanted to return to life before 1998.
The protocol put in place allows for Northern Ireland to follow EU customs rules, remain part of the Single Market for goods and apply EU law on VAT in order to avoid border checks between the two sides.
The problem with it, is it has essentially moved the border into the Irish Sea. Meaning the regulations for people shipping from Great Britain to Northern Ireland have gotten far more complicated, despite Northern Ireland still being part of the UK. Brexit has created a catch 22, where they can’t follow through on both key points for peace at the same time.
Local elections in Northern Ireland show huge support for the protocol, prioritising the land border. The Republic of Ireland also support the deal in its current form, and the EU have on numerous occasions said it is the only way to avoid a hard border in Ireland, without Ireland being a United Island once more.
However, the DUP - the only party to not support the peace agreement - are hugely against the Irish Sea border. Something Prime Minister Johnson swore would never happen. They have said they will not nominate any ministers to Stormont (Northern Ireland’s parliament), unless the UK government take “decisive action” on the protocol. The other parties say the DUP are holding Northern Ireland hostage over this.
Prime Minister Johnson is threatening to unilaterally suspend multiple parts of the protocol that he signed off on, to solve the Irish Sea Border, but in doing so would seriously risk breaking both key points of the Good Friday Peace Agreement. Unionists however argue that the Irish Sea border also undermines the Good Friday Agreement. But it’s clear that when Brexit was proposed, no one outside of Ireland seemed to remember the six counties or the troubles, because all of this risks undoing 24 years of peace.