In 1963 Lord Brookeborough resigned after twenty years as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.  His replacement, Captain Terence O’Neill, sought to modernise Northern Ireland and forge better relations with the Roman Catholic population.  O’Neill’s accession to power occurred at a time of growing discontent within Northern Ireland Roman Catholic population over their inferior housing, education and employment opportunities.

In January 1964 the Campaign for Social Justice (CSJ) movement was formed in Dungannon, County Tyrone by middle class Catholics, including Dr Con and Mrs Patricia McCluskey. In a series of pamphlets, including Northern Ireland: The Plain Truth, CSJ outlined the systematic discrimination that underpinned daily life in Northern Ireland.  The election of the Wilson Labour Government in the UK election that year raised reformers’ hopes that their grievances would be addressed.  However, substantive reform proved difficult to achieve.

Influenced by broader international developments, including the American Civil Rights movement, the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) was formed in April 1967, drawing support from groups including the CSJ, some political parties, and the Belfast Trades Council.  A series of high-profile civil rights marches in 1968 drew world-wide attention to conditions in Northern Ireland, but these served to antagonise Unionist opponents including the Reverend Ian Paisley. On 5 October 1968 Civil Rights campaigners staged a protest march in Derry despite a banning order having been issued by the Home Affairs Minister, William Craig.  Television captured shocking pictures of the rioting and fierce beatings of demonstrators by the Royal Ulster Constabulary.  Pressured by London, the Northern Ireland government responded with a modest reform package.  Prime Minister O’Neill also commissioned an independent enquiry, led by Lord Cameron, into the causes of the October turbulence.  The Cameron Report examined in detail the causes of the disturbances, highlighting both specific local grievances and the volatile international setting against which these were set.  The full report also examined the backgrounds of the various protest groups involved and assessed the actions of the government and police.  As tensions mounted in late 1968 Prime Minister O’Neill appealed for calm.  In a television broadcast on 9 December he described Ulster as being ‘at the crossroads’.

O’Neill’s appeals for calm proved unsuccessful.  January 1969 witnessed an attack at Burntollet Bridge near Derry on marchers from the group People’s Democracy, a left wing organisation founded at Queen’s University Belfast.  Thirteen marchers required hospitalisation.  Serious rioting ensued in Derry and Dungannon.  As disorder spread O’Neill resigned his position on 28 April.  August 1969 witnessed further conflict.  Rioting followed the Apprentice Boys march in Derry on 12 August, and two days later the British Army was requested to restore order.  At first most Catholics welcomed the army’s presence, but in time attitudes changed dramatically.

Through 1969 and 1970 Northern Ireland witnessed continuing violence, while on both sides of the political divide the crisis caused fragmentation and renewed militancy.  The following year the level of violence increased further, and in August 1971 internment without trial was reintroduced in Northern Ireland.  On 30 January 1972 about 10,000 protestors participated in an unauthorised march in Derry demanding an end to internment.  Thirteen men were shot dead by members of the Parachute Regiment; seventeen were wounded, one fatally.  The ‘Bloody Sunday’ shootings provoked outrage.  On 24 March British Prime Minister Edward Heath suspended the Stormont Government and introduced direct rule from Westminster.

The British Government established a tribunal, chaired by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Widgery, to inquire into the events of Bloody Sunday.  The Widgery Report examined the events leading up to the shooting and, in its final section, absolved the Parachute Regiment of responsibility.  Widgery’s findings have long been contested.  The Civil Rights movement published its own account, Massacre at Derry, and in 1997 the Irish Government presented its own findings to the British Government.  It found that the Widgery Inquiry was “fundamentally flawed”.

On 29 January 1998 Prime Minister Tony Blair informed the British parliament that a new Tribunal of Inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday was to be established.  The Saville Inquiry is ongoing, and material including transcripts of evidence are available on-line.