Category Archives: Ireland’s Wars

Ireland’s Wars: 1972 Campaigns And Ceasefires

Posted on May 30, 2023 by NFB

Bloody Sunday was not the sole reason why recruitment and support for organisations like the Official Irish Republican Army or the Provisional Irish Republican Army in this period began to truly skyrocket, but it has been acknowledged by many senior … Continue reading →

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Ireland’s Wars: Bloody Sunday (1972)

Posted on May 16, 2023 by NFB

The Troubles essentially began in Derry, when the seething sectarian and political tensions of the period erupted into the Battle of the Bogside. Two-and-a-half years after that seminal event, Northern Ireland had become engulfed in a level of violence that … Continue reading →

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Ireland’s Wars: 1971 And PIRA’s First Campaign

Posted on May 9, 2023 by NFB

The deteriorating situation in Northern Ireland as 1970 ended and 1971 began was summed up nicely by two well-publicised quotes from Reginald Maulding, then Home Secretary. In a news conference Maulding used the unfortunate phrase “an acceptable level of violence” … Continue reading →

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Ireland’s Wars: The St Matthews Shoot-Out And The Falls Curfew

Posted on May 2, 2023 by NFB

The Troubles can be said to have begun in August 1969, when the simmering tension within Northern Ireland exploded. It was not the first time that this had happened, but it was the most persistent and the most deadly bout … Continue reading →

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Ireland’s Wars: The Split (1969)

Posted on Apr 18, 2023 by NFB

The Irish Republican Army emerged from the violence of August 1969 with its reputation among nationalist circles very much bruised, if not in outright tatters. Its inability to decisively intervene to protect Catholic communities in Belfast angered many, both within … Continue reading →

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Ireland’s Wars: Jack Lynch And “Exercise Armageddon”

Posted on Apr 11, 2023 by NFB

The events that sparked the beginning of the Troubles did not exist in a vacuum. While large parts of Derry, then Belfast, then other parts of the North burned in a haze of sectarian violence, the unfolding of things was … Continue reading →

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Ireland’s Wars: August 1969 Outside Of Derry

Posted on Apr 4, 2023 by NFB

The Battle of the Bogside was just the beginning. Soon after the initial clashes of the Catholic residents with the RUC and the Orange Order, things would quickly spill over into the rest of Northern Ireland. This was most especially … Continue reading →

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Ireland’s Wars: The Battle Of The Bogside

Posted on Mar 28, 2023 by NFB

In August of 1969 it can be said that the long-running conflict known as the Troubles truly began. That month events in Northern Ireland finally moved well beyond what the Belfast government and its security forces were in a position … Continue reading →

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Ireland’s Wars: The Ulster Volunteer Force

Posted on Mar 21, 2023 by NFB

For the last while, when it comes to the military history of Northern Ireland, we have been very focused on the IRA, its spin-offs and the cause of militant republicanism. It’s perhaps only natural, given that in the time period … Continue reading →

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Ireland’s Wars: The O’Neill Era And The Civil Rights Movement

Posted on Mar 14, 2023 by NFB

Having spent a number of entries talking about Ireland’s place in grander international issues like UN missions or nuclear diplomacy, we must now return to much more localised issues, namely the growing instability in the North, and how this erupted … Continue reading →

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