The Trouble of Northern Ireland as told by U2

Alex GnaegyENG11111/23

What are “The Troubles?”

Courtesy of http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Mural_-_Battle_of_the_bogside_2004_SMC.jpg/220px-Mural_-_Battle_of_the_bogside_2004_SMC.jpg

History of Religious Rift• King Henry created Church of England Britain waivered between Catholicism and Protestantism

before finally becoming an officially Protestant nation with King William 3rd in 1688• Most Irish Stayed Loyal to Catholicism out of protest• NI is part of UK while Ireland is independent (1924), NI is mostly Protestant, Ireland is Catholic

Catholics were Nationalists, they wanted to be a part of the independent nation of Ireland

• Religious denomination was connected to political beliefs

Protestants in Northern Ireland were Unionists• Shared religious beliefs with UK• Loyal to UK over Ireland• Majority of people in Northern Ireland• Wanted to be governed by UK along with England, Scotland and Wales

The UK and IrelandAlong with the Civil Rights movement in the US and Apartheid in South Africa, the conflict in Northern Ireland was one of the largest civil conflicts in the western world during the 20th century.

Violence?• Rather than being evenly divided throughout the country, each

individual town and village was either Protestant Unionists or Catholic Nationalists

• Towns that were miles apart hated eachother

IRA• Terrorist organization• Main extremist militant arm of Catholic Unionists• Many innocent civilian causalities from car bombs and violence in Northern

Ireland and UK dating back to the 1930’s

Main Period of Conflict• 1969 marked the beginning of a 3 decade long period of civil strife in Northern Ireland• Began with protests by Catholic Nationalistsover unfair treatment• Violence spread to rioting and attacks with counter protests and attack by Unionists on

Catholic Minority

Bloody Sunday• January 30th, 1972• 26 unarmed protesters shot by British government troops in Derry• Many shot in the back while fleeing

U2• The song Sunday Bloody Sunday is about the event• Lyrics are ambiguous to apply to many civil conflicts• Album cover reminiscent of conflict

Lyrics To End Conflict

• “Broken bottles under children’s feet”

• “Mothers, fathers, brothers sisters torn apart”

• “How long must we sing this song, tonight we can be as one”

• Call for an end to the conflict instead of picking a side

• Lyrics could apply to other conflicts like the civil rights problems in the US

Song highlights stupidity of a conflict like this in the modern world

• Calls for common sense instead of just advocating for “peace”

Relevance to America• Huge funding for IRA from America from areas with large amounts of

Irish Americans like Chicago, New York, and most notably ,Boston• Mural in South Boston is sympathetic to unionists

Bibliography• "Irish Republican Army (IRA)." Irish Republican Army (IRA). N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012.

<http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/ira.htm>. • Mandel, Kwala. "Boy from U2 Album Covers Shares Story behind Photos." Yahoo News. Yahoo,

12 Oct. 2011. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/the-difference/boy-behind-u2-album-covers-shares-story-behind-221348041.html>.

• "Northern Ireland." Insight on Conflict. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://www.insightonconflict.org/conflicts/northern-ireland/?gclid=CK-kuffK3rICFStgMgodx2QAog>.

• "Northern Ireland Overview." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/troubles/overview_ni_article_01.shtml>.

• "Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2." Bogside Derry, Northern Ireland. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://www.songplaces.com/Sunday_Bloody_Sunday/BogSide_Derry_Northern_Ireland>.

• "Timeline." U2. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://www.u2.com/timeline>. • "The Troubles Overview." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012.

<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/troubles/the_troubles_article_01.shtml>. • Woodwell, Douglass. "The Troubles of Northern Ireland." Civil Conflict in an Economically Well-

Developed State. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Pages.uindy.edu. Web. 23 Sept. 2012.