The Northern Ireland's Civil Rights Movement

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Beginning with partition in 1922, the political and social structures implemented in Northern Ireland were extremely oppressive toward the Catholic minority that remained in the North. As Byrne et. al (2009) point out, Unionist (Protestant) policies in place after partition led to an increase in Catholic alienation through socioeconomic inequality and political exclusion. Arguably, this contributed to the dissolution of a working class alliance between the Protestant and Catholic communities (Byrne et. al, 2009). The civil rights movement, which is often seen as the catalyst to the beginning of the Troubles, instituted policy change in terms of allocation of public housing, and reduced religion-based discrimination in the workplace. However, …show more content…

The most obvious cultural emblem of the Northern Ireland conflict is the division between the Catholic and Protestant residents. Both are represented respectively by the colours of green and orange. The Protestant loyalists hold Orange marches from April to August each year in a celebration of the protestant King William of Orange’s defeat of the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne. These marches are the cause of much of the current conflict, with restrictions being put on parade routes, and the instating of a parade commission. Further, increased protests from the Catholic community have resulted in increased levels of violence during the marching months, but particularly around the 12th of July. The flag is an area of particular contention, with the Irish Tri-Color being the chosen flag of the Catholic Nationalists. Territories, particularly in economically deprived and highly segregated areas, are marked in the colour of the community they represent. In Belfast, murals are also a mode of expression for both communities, particularly those living on public housing estates. Paramilitary propaganda is a prevalent theme, combined with effigies of symbolic martyrs (i.e. Bobby Sands) that serve as reminders of the wrong done, whilst simultaneously focusing on the “triumphs” over the other. In the same vein, though not to the same extent, the Irish language is another area where a division exists between the two communities. Relating back to the intersectionality between the three points in the violence triangle, the expressions of cultural violence are most prevalent in areas of economic deprivation which cycles back to the role of structural violence in sustaining the

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