Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Chapter 1 A personal perspective
- Chapter 2 The British dimension: union, devolution and direct rule
- Chapter 3 The British dimension: direct rule to the UWC strike
- Chapter 4 The British dimension: from the collapse of power-sharing to the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985
- Chapter 5 The British dimension: the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 to the Good Friday Agreement
- Chapter 6 The Irish dimension
- Chapter 7 The politics of Northern Ireland
- Chapter 8 End-game or limbo?
- Select bibliography
- Index
Chapter 7 - The politics of Northern Ireland
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Chapter 1 A personal perspective
- Chapter 2 The British dimension: union, devolution and direct rule
- Chapter 3 The British dimension: direct rule to the UWC strike
- Chapter 4 The British dimension: from the collapse of power-sharing to the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985
- Chapter 5 The British dimension: the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 to the Good Friday Agreement
- Chapter 6 The Irish dimension
- Chapter 7 The politics of Northern Ireland
- Chapter 8 End-game or limbo?
- Select bibliography
- Index
Summary
In this final section of analysis, I turn to the role played in events in Northern Ireland by its domestic political parties. The reservation to this stage of comment upon their actions or inactions does not imply that these were less important or significant than those of the other major players. It reflects, rather, the reality that these domestic political or other interests played their part within a framework established by the Crown in Parliament, and reflecting, on some occasions at least, agreement between the sovereign Governments in London and Dublin.
While there was, of course, political activity – centred upon elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom – in the years between the Act of Union and the Government of Ireland Act 1920, I wish to concentrate here upon the period from the establishment of the Northern Ireland Parliament up to the introduction of direct rule in 1972, throughout which the UUP was the dominant force in local politics and in continuous control of the Stormont Government; and also the period following direct rule, during which powers to govern in Northern Ireland were either shared or withdrawn.
With the establishment of the first Dail early in 1919, attended by Sinn Fein members unwilling to participate any longer in a British Parliament, it became clear that a peaceful transition to a Home Rule Parliament within the United Kingdom was no longer achievable.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- A Tragedy of ErrorsThe Government and Misgovernment of Northern Ireland, pp. 150 - 215Publisher: Liverpool University PressPrint publication year: 2007