Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

“The Troubles” is a neutral term that attempts to balance the perspective of paramilitaries, who saw themselves as soldiers engaged in a war, and the perspective of the media and government officials who observed a sectarian conflict between the Northern Irish Catholic and Protestant communities. Events associated with the Troubles that made worldwide news include the bombing of Birmingham pubs (Provisional IRA, 1974), the attack on the Miami Showband (Ulster Volunteer Force/Ulster Defence Regiment, 1975), the firebombing of the La Mon House restaurant (Provisional IRA, 1978), and the Omagh bombing (Real IRA, 1998). A demonstrator is chased by a British soldier during a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march in Derry, Northern Ireland, on January 30, 1972 (Bloody Sunday). Twenty-six unarmed protesters were shot by the British military, 14 of whom were killed while fleeing military gunfire. (© Bettmann/CORBIS) Between 1969 and 2005 more than 3,500 people died in the Troubles. The Provisional IRA, or “ Provos ,” with more than 1,750 victims, was responsible for more deaths than any other organization. More than half of the Provos' victims were members of the security forces, including 454 British army personnel. The Provos killed more than 625 civilians, including more than 300 Protestant civilians. Loyalist paramilitaries (loyal to the British crown) killed approximately ... log in or subscribe to read full text