The Troubles

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question: How do fear and hatred affect the oppressed and those in power?

2. List Vocabulary
Share some of the challenging vocabulary words in the article. Encourage students to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• sectarian (p. 18)
• repercussions (p. 18)
• predominantly (p. 20)
• retaliated (p. 20)
• escalated (p. 20)
• unification (p. 21)

3. Engage
Ask: Why do you think people discriminate against others because of their religion? 

4. Read and Discuss
Ask students to read the Upfront article about the period of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles. Review why the article is a secondary source. (It was written by someone who didn’t personally experience or witness the events.) Then pose these critical-thinking questions:

• Why is Northern Ireland a part of Great Britain and not the Republic of Ireland? (In 1541, Great Britain began ruling all of Ireland. In 1919, the Irish War of Independence broke out. When the Anglo-Irish Treaty—which ended the war—was negotiated, the southern part of Ireland was mostly Catholic, and Northern Ireland was mostly Protestant. The Protestant population wanted to remain tied to Britain. So the treaty split Ireland, creating the Irish Free State [later the Republic of Ireland] in the south and leaving Northern Ireland under British rule.)  

• What inspired the march in Derry on January 30, 1972? Why would this day later be known as Bloody Sunday? (Catholics were facing discrimination under Protestant rule, including lack of equal votes in local elections. In addition, Irish nationalists were often rounded up and jailed without trials. The march was a protest for civil rights, inspired by the civil rights movement in the U.S. It became known as Bloody Sunday because British forces killed 14 unarmed people and used tear gas and water cannons when policing the protest.)

• Which recent events have inspired a new push for a united Ireland? (The increasing political power of Sinn Fein, which now has a majority of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly, has given rise to new calls for independence from Britain. Brexit has also increased frustration among Northern Ireland nationalists, who were not happy with the divide it created between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.)

• Based on the article and what you know about the world, why do you think Great Britain refused to grant Northern Ireland independence during the Troubles? (Responses will vary, but students should support their ideas with text evidence and other facts, such as that Protestants in Northern Ireland feared they would face discrimination in a unified Ireland and that people in power often resist giving up power.)

5. Use the Primary Sources
Use the Primary Source: Project, distribute, or assign in Google Classroom the PDF A Teenager’s Despair, which features an excerpt from a memoir by Eimear O’Callaghan, who was a Catholic teenager in Northern Ireland during the height of the Troubles. Discuss what makes the memoir a primary source. (It provides firsthand evidence concerning the topic.) Have students read the excerpt and answer the questions below (which appear on the PDF without answers)..

• How would you describe the tone and purpose of this excerpt from O’Callaghan’s memoir? (The tone can be described as fearful and concerned in relation to the dangers the author faced and despondent about whether life would ever change. The purpose is to provide insight into what life was life for everyday people, especially Catholics, during the Troubles.)

• What was different for the author about watching this news report? How did that affect the author? (This was the first time the author had ever watched a color television. Seeing blood in color in the news report felt much more shocking and real to the author than when she had seen blood in previous news reports. This made the author feel close to the scene, almost as if she were there, causing her to imaging the terror the victims felt.)

• What job didn’t the author get? What does she think is the reason? What effect does this have on her? (The author didn’t get the job at the Bank Buildings. She thinks that she did not get the job because she was Catholic; she doesn’t directly state this but indicates it by sharing her father’s thoughts on the topic. Not getting the job makes the author feel that she will never travel outside of Belfast. She won’t get a job that takes her out of the city nor will she earn money to travel.)

• Which words in the last paragraph help reveal the author’s feelings of despair about Belfast and her life there? (The description of Belfast as “a so-called capital city where cars weren’t permitted to stop in the centre” helps reveal that she is upset about what is happening in her home city. The phrases “little expectation,” “resigned myself,” and “never believed anyway that there was a chance” help show that she feels stuck in Belfast and fears her life may never change.)

• At the end of the Upfront article, historian Robert Savage says, “Society in Northern Ireland is still deeply divided.” Based on the article and the excerpts from O’Callaghan’s memoir, why do you think divisions still exist in Northern Ireland? (Students’ responses will vary but ideas should be supported with evidence from both texts.)

6. Writing Prompt
Choose one image that accompanies the article. Based on details in the image and in the article, what do you think the people in the image were thinking and feeling as the scene in the image unfolded?

7. Quiz
Use the quiz to assess comprehension.

8. Classroom Debate
Will Northern Ireland one day be unified with the Republic of Ireland?

9. Music and History
Have students research a song about the Troubles to analyze. (Or consider providing students with three songs to choose from.) Students should identify the song’s publication date, point of view, and themes. Challenge students to write their own song about The Troubles.