Editing The Troubles (section)

=== Civil rights campaign and unionist backlash ===
{{main|Northern Ireland civil rights movement}}
In March and April 1966, Irish nationalists/republicans held parades throughout Ireland to mark the 50th anniversary of the [[Easter Rising]]. On 8 March, a group of Irish republicans dynamited [[Nelson's Pillar]] in Dublin. At the time, the IRA was weak and not engaged in armed action, but some unionists warned it was about to be revived to launch another campaign against Northern Ireland.<ref name="cain1800"/><ref name="ptuvf">''Loyalists'', pp. 37–40.</ref> In April 1966, loyalists led by [[Ian Paisley]], a Protestant fundamentalist preacher, founded the [[Ulster Constitution Defence Committee]] (UCDC). It set up a paramilitary-style wing called the [[Ulster Protestant Volunteers]] (UPV)<ref name="cain1800"/> to oust [[Terence O'Neill]], [[Prime Minister of Northern Ireland]]. Although O'Neill was a unionist, they viewed him as being too 'soft' on the civil rights movement and opposed his policies.<ref name=tricolour>Andrew Boyd. ''Holy War in Belfast''. [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/docs/boyd69.htm "Chapter 11: The Tricolour Riots"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827111703/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/docs/boyd69.htm |date=27 August 2011 }}. Anvil Books, 1969<!-- ISBN needed -->; reproduced [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk '''here'''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070530181849/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/ |date=30 May 2007 }}.</ref> At the same time, a loyalist group calling itself the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) emerged in the [[Shankill Road|Shankill]] area of Belfast. It was led by [[Gusty Spence]], a former British soldier. Many of its members were also members of the UCDC and UPV.<ref name="jordan">Hugh Jordan. ''Milestones in Murder: Defining moments in Ulster's terror war''. Random House, 2011. Chapter 3.<!-- ISBN needed --></ref> In April and May 1966, the UVF [[petrol bomb]]ed a number of Catholic homes, schools, and businesses. A firebomb killed an elderly Protestant widow, Matilda Gould.<ref name="cain1800"/> 

On 21 May 1966, the UVF issued a statement declaring "war" against the IRA and anyone helping it.<ref name="taylorloyalists"/> The UVF fatally shot a Catholic civilian, John Scullion, as he walked home on 27 May. A month later it shot three Catholic civilians as they left a pub, killing Peter Ward, a Catholic from the [[Falls Road, Belfast|Falls Road]].<ref name="cain1800"/><ref name="taylorloyalists"/> Shortly after, the UVF was [[proscribed]] by the Northern Ireland government.<ref name="cain1800"/> The UVF is still considered a [[terrorist organization]] by the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Proscribed terrorist groups or organisations|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proscribed-terror-groups-or-organisations--2/proscribed-terrorist-groups-or-organisations-accessible-version|access-date=2 September 2021|website=GOV.UK|language=en|archive-date=19 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719150016/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proscribed-terror-groups-or-organisations--2/proscribed-terrorist-groups-or-organisations-accessible-version|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the mid-1960s, a non-violent [[Northern Ireland civil-rights movement (1960s)|civil rights campaign]] began in Northern Ireland. It comprised groups such as the [[Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association]] (NICRA), the [[Campaign for Social Justice]], the [[Derry Citizens' Action Committee]], and [[People's Democracy (Ireland)|People's Democracy]],<ref name="NICRA">{{cite web |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/crights/nicra/nicra78.htm#contents |title=We Shall Overcome ... The History of the Struggle for Civil Rights in Northern Ireland 1968–1978 |publisher=cain.ulst.ac.uk |access-date=17 March 2015 |archive-date=31 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531024030/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/crights/nicra/nicra78.htm#contents |url-status=live }}</ref> whose stated goals were:

* an end to job discrimination – it showed evidence that Catholics/nationalists were less likely to be given certain jobs, especially government jobs
* an end to discrimination in housing allocation – it showed evidence that unionist-controlled local councils allocated housing to Protestants ahead of Catholics/nationalists
* [[one man, one vote]] – in Northern Ireland, only householders could vote in local elections, while in the rest of the United Kingdom all adults could vote
* an end to [[gerrymandering]] of [[Electoral district|electoral boundaries]] – this meant that nationalists had less voting power than unionists, even where nationalists were a majority
* reform of the police force ([[Royal Ulster Constabulary]]) – it was over 90% Protestant and criticised for [[sectarianism]] and [[police brutality]]
* repeal of the [[Civil Authorities (Special Powers) Act (Northern Ireland) 1922|Special Powers Act]] – this allowed police to search without a warrant, arrest and imprison people without charge or trial, ban any assemblies or parades, and ban any publications; the Act was used almost exclusively against nationalists<ref name="cain1800">[http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch1800-1967.htm Chronology of Key Events in Irish History: 1800 to 1967] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303105236/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch1800-1967.htm |date=3 March 2011 }}, cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2013.</ref><ref>[http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/crights/pdfs/truth.pdf Northern Ireland: The Plain Truth (second edition)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514183620/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/crights/pdfs/truth.pdf |date=14 May 2011 }}, Campaign for Social Justice in Northern Ireland, 15 June 1969. Retrieved 12 June 2013.</ref><ref name="tonge">{{cite book |author=Jonathan Tonge |title=Northern Ireland: Conflict and Change |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0-582-42400-5 |pages=37–38 |date=2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Various |title=Politics UK |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-1-4058-2411-8 |page=770 |date=2006}}</ref><ref name="joint2005p110">{{cite book |title=Counter-Terrorism Policy And Human Rights: Terrorism Bill and related matters: Oral and Written Evidence |author=[[Joint Committee on Human Rights]], [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] |volume=2 |date=2005 |publisher=[[The Stationery Office]] |page=110 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2CRQ6hNzHuAC&pg=PA114 |ref={{harvid|Joint Committee|2005}} |isbn=978-0-10-400766-2 |access-date=17 October 2015 |archive-date=20 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420031450/https://books.google.com/books?id=2CRQ6hNzHuAC&pg=PA114 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some suspected and accused NICRA of being a republican front-group whose ultimate goal was to unite Ireland. Although republicans and some members of the IRA (then led by [[Cathal Goulding]] and pursuing a non-violent agenda) helped to create and drive the movement, they did not control it and were not a dominant faction within it.<ref name="coogan">{{cite book |first=Tim Pat |last=Coogan |title=The Troubles: Ireland's Ordeal and the Search for Peace |date=2002 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan}}</ref><ref>English (2003), pp. 91, 94, 98</ref><ref name="cameron">Lord Cameron, ''Disturbances in Northern Ireland: Report of the Commission appointed by the Governor of Northern Ireland'' (Belfast, 1969). [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/hmso/cameron2.htm#chap16 Chapter 16] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180601151429/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/hmso/cameron2.htm#chap16 |date=1 June 2018 }}. Quote: "While there is evidence that members of the I.R.A. are active in the organisation, there is no sign that they are in any sense dominant or in a position to control or direct policy of the Civil Rights Association."</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=M. L. R. Smith |title=Fighting for Ireland?: The Military Strategy of the Irish Republican Movement |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |page=81 |quote=Republicans were instrumental in setting up NICRA itself, though they did not control the Association and remained a minority faction within it.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Bob Purdie|title=Politics in the Streets: The origins of the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland |publisher=Blackstaff Press |chapter=Chapter 4: The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association |quote=There is also clear evidence that the republicans were not actually in control of NICRA in the period up to and including the 5 October march.}}</ref>

On 20 June 1968, civil rights activists, including nationalist [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) [[Austin Currie]], protested against housing discrimination by [[squatting]] in a house in [[Caledon, County Tyrone]]. The local council had allocated the house to an unmarried 19-year-old Protestant (Emily Beattie, the secretary of a local UUP politician) instead of either of two large Catholic families with children.<ref name="cain1968">[http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch68.htm Chronology of the Conflict: 1968] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806142228/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch68.htm |date=6 August 2011 }}, cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2013.</ref> RUC officers – one of whom was Beattie's brother – forcibly removed the activists.<ref name="cain1968"/> Two days before the protest, the two Catholic families who had been squatting in the house next door were removed by police.<ref>{{cite interview |interviewer=Proinsias Ó Conluain |title=Sixteen of us in one small house |type=Interview |url=http://www.rte.ie/archives/exhibitions/1031-civil-rights-movement-1968-9/1032-caledon-protest/319342-interview-with-mrs-goodfellow |format=Audio |publisher=RTÉ Archives |date=27 August 1969 |access-date=22 July 2013 |archive-date=10 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410001129/http://www.rte.ie/archives/exhibitions/1031-civil-rights-movement-1968-9/1032-caledon-protest/319342-interview-with-mrs-goodfellow/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Currie had brought their grievance to the local council and to Stormont, but had been told to leave. The incident invigorated the civil rights movement.<ref>{{cite web |title=Caledon Housing Protest |url=http://campaignforcivilrights.org/eventsarticles.php?id=162 |publisher=Campaign for Civil Rights |access-date=23 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828171004/http://campaignforcivilrights.org/eventsarticles.php?id=162 |archive-date=28 August 2013 }}</ref>
[[File:Civil Rights Commemoration, Coalisland - geograph.org.uk - 1413288.jpg|thumb|A monument to Northern Ireland's first civil rights march]]

On 24 August 1968, the civil rights movement held its first civil rights march from [[Coalisland]] to [[Dungannon]]. Many more marches were held over the following year. Loyalists (especially members of the UPV) attacked some of the marches and held counter-demonstrations in a bid to get the marches banned.<ref name="cain1968"/> Because of the lack of police reaction to the attacks, nationalists saw the RUC, which was almost wholly Protestant, as backing the loyalists and allowing the attacks to occur.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.serve.com/pfc/policing/submiss1.html |title=Submission to the Independent Commission into Policing |publisher=Serve.com |access-date=2 November 2008 |archive-date=22 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122100048/http://www.serve.com/pfc/policing/submiss1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 5 October 1968, a civil rights march in Derry was banned by the Northern Ireland government.<ref name="derrymarch">{{cite web |title=The Derry March: Main events of the day |author=Martin Melaugh |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/derry/events.htm |work=[[Conflict Archive on the Internet]] (CAIN) |publisher=[[Ulster University]] |access-date=16 February 2008 |archive-date=23 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123235747/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/derry/events.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> When marchers defied the ban, RUC officers surrounded the marchers and beat them indiscriminately and without provocation. More than 100 people were injured, including a number of nationalist politicians.<ref name="derrymarch"/> The incident was filmed by television news crews and shown around the world.<ref name="cathcart">{{cite book |author=Rex Cathcart |title=The Most Contrary Region |date=1984 |publisher=The Blackstaff Press |isbn=978-0-85640-323-1 |page=208}}</ref> It caused outrage among Catholics and nationalists, sparking two days of rioting in Derry between nationalists and the RUC.<ref name="derrymarch"/>

A few days later, a student civil rights group, [[People's Democracy (Ireland)|People's Democracy]], was formed in Belfast.<ref name="cain1968"/> In late November, O'Neill promised the civil rights movement some concessions, but these were seen as too little by nationalists and too much by loyalists. On 1 January 1969, People's Democracy began a four-day march from Belfast to Derry, which was repeatedly harassed and attacked by loyalists. At [[Burntollet Bridge]], the marchers were attacked by about 200 loyalists, including some off-duty police officers, armed with iron bars, bricks, and bottles in a planned ambush. When the march reached Derry City, it was again attacked. The marchers claimed that police did nothing to protect them and that some officers helped the attackers.<ref name="burntollet">Bowes Egan and Vincent McCormack. [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/pdmarch/egan.htm ''Burntollet''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020182023/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/pdmarch/egan.htm |date=20 October 2007 }}. L.R.S. Publishers, 1969; reproduced on CAIN. Retrieved 12 June 2013.<!-- ISBN, pages needed --></ref> That night, RUC officers went on a rampage in the [[Bogside]] area of Derry, attacking Catholic homes, attacking and threatening residents, and hurling sectarian abuse.<ref name="burntollet"/> Residents then sealed off the Bogside with barricades to keep the police out, creating "[[Free Derry]]", which was briefly a [[no-go area]] for the security forces.<ref>{{cite book | last = Taylor | first = Peter | author-link = Peter Taylor (Journalist) | title = Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin | publisher = [[Bloomsbury Publishing]] | year = 1997 | page = 43 | isbn = 0-7475-3818-2 }}</ref><ref name="brits"/>

In March and April 1969, loyalists bombed [[Infrastructure|water and electricity installations]] in Northern Ireland, blaming them on the dormant IRA and elements of the civil rights movement. Some attacks left much of Belfast without power and water. Loyalists hoped the bombings would force O'Neill to resign and bring an end to any concessions to nationalists.<ref name="cain1969">{{cite web|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch69.htm|title=Chronology of the Conflict: 1969|publisher=cain.ulst.ac.uk|access-date=12 June 2013|archive-date=6 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206184139/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch69.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Jim Cusack & Henry McDonald. ''UVF''. Poolbeg, 1997. p. 28<!-- ISBN needed --></ref> There were six bombings between 30 March and 26 April.<ref name="cain1969"/><ref name="psb">{{cite book|author=Peter Taylor|title=Loyalists|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|date=1999|pages=59–60|isbn=978-0-7475-4519-4}}</ref> All were widely blamed on the IRA, and British soldiers were sent to guard installations. Unionist support for O'Neill waned, and on 28 April he resigned as prime minister.<ref name="cain1969"/>