England and Northern Ireland History

Catherine Ann Taylor
Comparative Politics
Spring 2013

The Relationship between the English and Northern Irish in the Context of
In the Name of the Father

The intertwined and complex history of England and Ireland dates back to the 12th century, when English barons seized Irish lands. This continued until the 1300s, at which point most of the land in Ireland was owned by English. Loyalty to England weakened when the Englishmen began identifying more in Ireland. In 1534, Henry VIII took control of Ireland. When he became king of Ireland in 1541, he created new laws that increased English control over Ireland (Northern Ireland Timeline).
Queen Elizabeth I attempted to assert English authority over Ireland by outlawing Catholic services, which only made Catholics protest more strongly against British rule (Northern Ireland Timeline). Conflict between England and Northern Ireland can be traced back to the 1600s, when the English squelched a number of rebellions by the Irish. (Imbornoni, Brunner, and Rowen) A large portion of Ireland, especially Northern Ireland, was then colonized by Scottish and English Protestants (Imbornoni, Brunner, and Rowen).
In 1649, Oliver Cromwell led an army to Ireland to stop Irish revolts against British rule. Cromwell, who was in favor of Protestantism, established several anti-Catholic laws that stripped them of many political rights. In 1688, the British invited William of Orange to be king of England and Scotland, causing King James II of England to flee to Ireland. William’s army defeated that of James in the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 (Northern Ireland Timeline).
During the 1800s the northern and southern Ireland grew further apart due to economic differences. The standard of living in the north elevated with the rise of industry and manufacturing .The south had unequal distribution of land and resources, as Anglican Protestants owned the majority of the land. This resulted in a lower standard of living for the large Catholic population (Imbornoni, Brunner, and Rowen).
Northern Ireland did not gain political separation from the rest of Ireland until the early portion of the 20th century, when the issue of home rule divided Protestants and Catholics into two conflicting camps. The majority of Irish Catholics wanted complete independence from Britain, but Irish Protestants did not, as they feared that their interests would be realized in a country with a Catholic majority rule (Imbornoni, Brunner, and Rowen).
In the early twentieth century there was a long period of guerilla warfare between the nationalist Irish Republican Army (IRA) and British military forces (Imbornoni, Brunner, and Rowen). In 1920, Britain passed the Government of Ireland Act, which divided Ireland into two separate political entities that each possessed some qualities of self-government. (Dorney) One entity with twenty-six counties was known as the Irish Free State, and was somewhat independent. The other entity remained part of the United Kingdom.
This split created a divide in Irish sentiment, with Unionists wishing to remain part of the United Kingdom and Republicanists, who wanted Ireland to have complete independence (Northern Ireland Timeline). There was also a divide along religious lines, with Ulster Protestants accepting the legislation, while Southern Catholics rejected it, wanting complete independence as one, unified Ireland. The Irish Free State became an independent republic in 1949 (Imbornoni, Brunner, and Rowen).
In 1921, British and Irish forces arranged a treaty that would allow a considerable amount of independence to the 26 Irish counties that were then the Irish Free State. The problem with the treaty was that dissolved the Republic declared in 1918 and pledged Irish parliament members to pledge their allegiance to Britain. In addition, it the separation of Northern and Southern Ireland, which was previously established with the 1920 Government of Ireland Act (Dorney).
Most violent clashes between Catholics and Protestants had come to a halt after the 1921 Agreement until the 1960s, when bloody riots broke out in Londonderry in 1968, and again in Londonderry and Belfast in 1969. Even with British troops brought in to restore and maintain order, the clashes worsened as the IRA and Protestant paramilitary groups carried out bombings and other acts of terrorism. This continuing conflict went on into the 1990s, and became known as "the Troubles." Even with the action taken to resolve to the conflict in the 1970s and 80s, terrorist violence was still a problem in the early 1990s, as British troops remained in full force. Over 3,000 people died as a result of the strife in Northern Ireland. (Imbornoni, Brunner, and Rowen).
These bombings occurred at the zenith of the Northern Ireland Troubles, when an average of almost one person a day was being killed. There was a disturbing implication of anti-Irish bias in the British judicial system in bringing these cases of violence to justice in British courts. This bias was felt in Irish communities and the legal system there, and it eroded British civil liberties and the concept of British fair play. The integrity of British institutions took a toll. There was a ripple effect into British life of other aspects of Irish violence (Bell, 768-769).
An enduring and unpleasant pattern began in the seventies involving IRA bombings and terrorist scares in Britain. Three different sets of suspects were arrested, tried and convicted in such a way that signified to many people that British justice was adapting to work intensely against Irish favor. (Bew and Gillespie). This makes sense, as there was extreme pressure on the police to find the IRA bombers who had brought their terrorism from Ireland to mainland Britain (Bell, 768-769).
One of the most vivid displays of violence in the Irish psyche was the bombing of a Guildford pub in 1974 by the IRA. Ptes Jean Slater, Ann Hamilton, John Hunter and William Forsyth and another civilian were killed (and many more were injured) by a bomb that exploded in the Horse and Groom pub. Later that night, a similar bomb exploded in a Woolwich pub. Two were killed there as well (Imbornoni, Brunner, and Rowen).
Weeks afterward, Gerry Conlon, Patrick Armstrong, Paul Hill and Carole Richardson, who would soon be known as the Guildford Four, were arrested and later sentenced to life in prison. Paul Hill and Patrick Armstrong were also saddled with the blame of the Woolwich bombing (Harding).
Gerry Conlon 's father, Giuseppe Conlon, and members of the their family, who became known as the “Maguire Seven,” were later brought into the situation (Harding). The Maguire family was convicted of the Guildford bombings in 1976 (Bew and Gillespie). They were accused of possessing nitroglycerine which was allegedly passed to the bombers. When Mrs. Maguire and her husband were sentenced to 14 years for handling explosives, she was carried out of court kicking and screaming: "I am innocent. My sons, my sons." The boys were also jailed. Her brother-in-law, Giuseppe Conlon, had travelled to England to assist in the legal defense of his son Gerry, but was arrested in a local pub with Mrs. Maguire 's husband Patrick, her brother and a friend (Harding). Giuseppe Conlon was given 12 years. Relatives had to look after the Maguires ' two other children until Mrs. Maguire 's release in 1985 after serving her jail time (Harding).
On October 17, 1989, it was announced that corruption proceedings would be taken against law enforcement officers who dealt with the conviction of the Guildford Four. Three of the Guildford Four- Gerard Conlon, Carole Richardson and Patrick Armstrong- were released on October 19 after fourteen years of jail time. Paul Hill was kept in custody, because he was alleged to be involved in another, unresolved case. The court of appeal decided that the 1975 convictions were based on confessions that were made up by the police (Bew and Gillespie).
The 1993 movie In the Name of the Father is based on the true story of the Guildford Four, with a focus on Jerry and Giuseppe Conlon the father and son pair for which the movie is named. The movie opens with Jerry accidentally starting a riot between British forces and Irish citizens along with the IRA. Giuseppe decides to send his son Jerry to England so that he can avoid the Troubles. Jerry meets his friend Paul Hill on the boat to London, and Hill takes them to live in a squatter’s house with several hippies. When they decide to leave several weeks later, Jerry robs a prostitute (IMDB).
The bombing of the Guildford pub goes on that same night. Jerry decides to go back to Belfast. One of the hippies tells the police that Paul and Jerry are troublemakers, and several weeks later both are arrested. The British government tortures them and two other Irish people into confessing to the bombing. When they go to court, they protest that they are innocent despite signing their confession, and the evidence against them is flimsy. They go to jail anyway, and Jerry and Giuseppe share a jail cell. When Jerry meets Joe McAndrews in jail, he has confessed to the bombings that Jerry is in jail for, but the British government still won’t release him (In the Name of the Father).
Gareth Peirce becomes the Conlons’ attorney, with the hopes of proving their innocence. Giuseppe dies in prison, and Jerry continues to campaign for their vindication. Peirce seizes a special opportunity to look at their files, and finds information labeled “not to be shown to the defense.” She builds her case with this her newfound evidence (In the Name of the Father).
When the four are brought back to court in London, the judge reviews the evidence she presents and finds every member of the Guildford Four innocent. The judge does not charge any of the guilty British law enforcement officers in the matter, and he does not declare Giuseppe innocent posthumously. The movie ends with Jerry vowing to clear his father’s name (IMDB). When the Guildford case collapsed, there was doubt by about the accusations against the Maguire family, who had been pegged as helping the wrongly accused Guildford Four construct the bombs that they, of course, had never constructed. Sir John May was appointed to inquire into the situation surrounding the Maguire family (Bew and Gillespie). The Guildford Four and the Maguire Seven along with the Birmingham Six, which was not depicted in In the Name of the Father, were lumped together in history in that all of these groups had been arrested, questioned and beaten or tortured into giving confessions, according to those involved, for acts of terrorism on England that they did not commit. All of the cases were carried out with flimsy, unsustainable evidence and circumstances. Even after the IRA indicated that the groups were innocent, not all legal parties were convinced (Bell, 768-769). When the Guildford Four case was declared unsound and the men were released, Gerry Conlon’s Proved Innocent: The Story of Gerry Conlon of the Guildford Four and Paul Hill’s Stolen Years, Before and After Guildford were published. These books put the British prison system and the West Midlands Police, who had tortured the Guildford Four, under a harsh and critical public light (Bell, 768-769). Douglas Hurd, the home secretary, said that had in the Guildford case there had been a "serious miscarriage of justice, which has resulted in wrongful imprisonment." He felt "regret and deep concern” (Harding). The Troubles in Ireland went on for another twenty years before dying down in the early 1990s, before flaring up again in 1996. When peace talks with the British government began again in 1997, a ceasefire went into place. The Good Friday Agreement was reached in 1998, which included provisions to make Ireland a country without the consent of Northern Ireland, and ensured all Irish basic civil and human rights. It also included provisions bring down the number of security forces in Northern Ireland and to begin having an unarmed police force. To date, legal situations like the Guildford Four issue have disappeared, and the Irish no longer experience such grave injustice at the hands of the British courts (Northern Ireland Timeline).

Works Cited
Bell, J. Bowyer. "The Next Decade, the Pattern Set." The Irish Troubles: A Generation of Violence, 1967-1992. New York: St. Martin 's, 1993. 768-69. Print.

Bew, Paul, and Gordon Gillespie. Northern Ireland: A Chronology of the Troubles, 1968-1999. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 1999. Print.

Dorney, John. "The Irish Civil War – A Brief Overview." The Irish Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.

Harding, Thomas. "British Justice Left Bleeding in Pub Ruins." The Telegraph. N.p., 10 Feb. 2005. Web. 18 Apr. 2013. .

Imbornoni, Annie Marie, Borgna Brunner, and Beth Rowen. "The Northern Irish Conflict: A Chronology." Infoplease. Pearson Education, 2007. Web. 17 Apr. 2013. .

In the Name of the Father. Dir. Jim Sheridan. By Terry George. Perf. Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite, and Emma Thompson. [Universal], 1993. DVD.

"The Irish Civil War – A Brief Overview." The Irish Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. .

"Northern Ireland Timeline." Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. .

"Plot Summary: In the Name of the Father." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2013.
.

Cited: Bell, J. Bowyer. "The Next Decade, the Pattern Set." The Irish Troubles: A Generation of Violence, 1967-1992. New York: St. Martin 's, 1993. 768-69. Print. Bew, Paul, and Gordon Gillespie. Northern Ireland: A Chronology of the Troubles, 1968-1999. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 1999. Print. Dorney, John. "The Irish Civil War – A Brief Overview." The Irish Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2013. Harding, Thomas. "British Justice Left Bleeding in Pub Ruins." The Telegraph. N.p., 10 Feb. 2005. Web. 18 Apr. 2013. . Imbornoni, Annie Marie, Borgna Brunner, and Beth Rowen. "The Northern Irish Conflict: A Chronology." Infoplease. Pearson Education, 2007. Web. 17 Apr. 2013. . In the Name of the Father. Dir. Jim Sheridan. By Terry George. Perf. Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite, and Emma Thompson. [Universal], 1993. DVD. "The Irish Civil War – A Brief Overview." The Irish Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. . "Northern Ireland Timeline." Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. . "Plot Summary: In the Name of the Father." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2013. .