Key events in Derry

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The deployment of British troops -  August 1969

The civil unrest in Northern Ireland that had begun in 1968 reached a peak in the summer of 1969. The 'marching season' sparked riots in Derry in July but the worst rioting occurred in August 1969 following the annual Apprentice Boys march in Derry. After three days of rioting, which became known as the 'Battle of the Bogside', the British Government agreed that British troops could be deployed on the streets of Northern Ireland. While responsibility for security was to remain with the Stormont Government, the decision to deploy British troops meant that the British Government would inevitably take a more active role in Northern Ireland affairs. Many Unionist politicians, while welcoming the British troops, resented the additional interference in their handling of Northern Ireland matters. Indeed this was the first step down a road that was to lead to the establishment of 'direct rule' from Westminster. During this confrontation the RUC wound three nationalists with live rounds. This was the first occasion that live ammunition has been used and angry nationalists in the Bogside demanded that Republicans should respond in kind. The DCDA, however, insisted that no guns were to be used at that stage, not least because there were no weapons at their disposal. Later that night Unionist rioters, frustrated by their inability to force their way into the Bogside, withdrew and attempted to burn the City Hotel on their way through the city centre.For their part the RUC, clearly exhausted and demoralised after 3 days of violence, were slowly being driven back down William Street and towards the city centre, where the B-Specials were gathered. Unknown to the people of the Bogside, however, the Unionist Government at Stormont had already requested that the British Government send in British troops 'to restore law and order'. Shortly after 4.00 p.m., the British Army marched into Waterloo Place and the Battle of the Bogside had ended.

Internment

Internment refers to the arrest and detention without trial of people suspected of being members of illegal paramilitary groups. The policy of internment had been used a number of times during Northern Ireland's history. It was reintroduced on Monday 9 August 1971 and continued in use until Friday 5 December 1975. During this period a total of 1,981 people were detained; 1,874 were Catholic / Republican, while 107 were Protestant / Loyalist. The Unionist controlled Stormont Government convinced the British Government of the need, and the advantages, of introducing internment as a means of countering rising levels of paramilitary violence. The policy proved however to be a disastrous mistake. The measure was only used against the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Catholic community. Although Loyalist paramilitaries had been responsible for some of the violence no Protestants were arrested (the first Protestant internees were detained on 2 February 1973). The crucial intelligence on which the success of the operation depended was flawed and many of those arrested had to be subsequently released because they were not involved in any paramilitary activity. In response to internment the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association began a campaign of civil disobedience which culminated in a 'rent and rates strike' by those in public sector houses. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) was forced to end co-operation with the Northern Ireland government. In addition many commentators are of the opinion that internment resulted in increased support, active and tacit, among the Catholic community for the IRA. The level of civil unrest and the level of IRA violence surged. While unionists would have initially welcomed the stronger security measures represented by internment they would perhaps have been less enthusiastic for the policy if they had foreseen the consequences for the Northern Ireland parliament.In Derry City barricades were again erected around Free Derry and for the next 11 months these areas effectively seceded from Northern Ireland. Protests, street demonstrations and riots were common as the entire community sought to demonstrate its opposition to internment. At the same time a rents and rates strike was introduced in protest against internment and within weeks was supported, according to government figures, by 26,000 households. A day of action on the 16th August saw 8,000 Derry workers on strike. The next day 30 prominent Derry Catholics withdrew from public bodies, as Jack Lynch called for the immediate end of internment and 3 days later 130 anti Unionist local councillors across the north withdrew from local councils.