Coleraine University Controversy
Discuss O’Neill’s pledge to ‘build bridges between the two communities within our community’; paying particular attention to the controversy that arose around the siting of a new university in Northern Ireland (NI)
When O’Neil assumed power of Stormont on the resignation of Brookeborough he pledged to build bridges between the two communities in NI. This was a ray of hope to the Nationalist community who had long felt discriminated against. However it was met with some derision from his fellow unionists who had no intention of building bridges. Hope was further raised that he was heralding a change of direction in NI when he proposed the Lemass-O’Neil talks. However, his rhetoric was soon seen as empty promises when he appeared to maintain Stormont’s perceived west of the Bann policy with his failure to site NI second university in the Nationalist dominated Derry.
During this time in NI, Unionists had majority rule. The Nationalist community was small and often felt mistreated by the unionist government. Since most Nationalists were Catholic and most Unionists were Protestant, religious and political divisions went concurrently. The first prime minister in NI (Sir James Craig) boasted that NI was a ‘protestant state for a Protestant people’, which just shows how biased the government often was against the Nationalists.
This political and religious discrimination started when partition was introduced in Ireland. The six counties in NI remained a part of Great Britain, and the rest of the country became independent. Nationalists longed for a united Ireland whereas Unionists were pleased to be a part of the United Kingdom. This was the main cause towards the political strife at hand.
When Lord Brookeborough was prime minister he only managed to further increase the division between the two communities. Even though the Welfare state had improved their living standards, the Nationalists still felt distant and separate from the rest of the NI community. This is why
When O’Neil assumed power of Stormont on the resignation of Brookeborough he pledged to build bridges between the two communities in NI. This was a ray of hope to the Nationalist community who had long felt discriminated against. However it was met with some derision from his fellow unionists who had no intention of building bridges. Hope was further raised that he was heralding a change of direction in NI when he proposed the Lemass-O’Neil talks. However, his rhetoric was soon seen as empty promises when he appeared to maintain Stormont’s perceived west of the Bann policy with his failure to site NI second university in the Nationalist dominated Derry.
During this time in NI, Unionists had majority rule. The Nationalist community was small and often felt mistreated by the unionist government. Since most Nationalists were Catholic and most Unionists were Protestant, religious and political divisions went concurrently. The first prime minister in NI (Sir James Craig) boasted that NI was a ‘protestant state for a Protestant people’, which just shows how biased the government often was against the Nationalists.
This political and religious discrimination started when partition was introduced in Ireland. The six counties in NI remained a part of Great Britain, and the rest of the country became independent. Nationalists longed for a united Ireland whereas Unionists were pleased to be a part of the United Kingdom. This was the main cause towards the political strife at hand.
When Lord Brookeborough was prime minister he only managed to further increase the division between the two communities. Even though the Welfare state had improved their living standards, the Nationalists still felt distant and separate from the rest of the NI community. This is why