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Partition Of Ireland
When looking into the partition of Ireland you need to date right back before the Ireland was split and Northern Ireland created. The following history of the partition of Ireland is only a quick overview of important events were that led up to the creation of Northern Irish State and how the British played their role in Irish history.
English Involvement
It was during the 12th Century when England got involved with Irelands affairs with Strongbow , Earl of Pembroke, in 1170 got caught up with a dispute in Leinster and then King Henry II coming to Ireland a year later that seen an English expansion in Ireland over the next number of years.
As discussed under the Norman Invasion page the English Knight, John de Courcy invaded Ulster and by 1177 he and his men conquered Ulster and continued to build mottess and castles across the northern areas. English expansion in Ireland declined after the Irish rebelled with the help of the Galloglachs from Scotland and English power was pushed right back to a small area around Dublin which was known as "The Pale".
Rebellious attacks increased when Henry VIII and then Elizabeth I became more interested in Ireland during the 16th Century and by the 17th Century the "Plantation of Ulster" began with settlers from England and Scotland colonising Cavan, Donegal, Derry, Tyrone and Armagh which was assisted by Oliver Cromwell who conquered the whole of Ireland later. King William of Orange, who was Protestant, defeated the Army of King James, who was Catholic, at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 which allowed him to claim the throne of England and also Ireland.
The UVF is born
The colonising of Ulster continued throughout the 17th Century with the majority of settlers being Scottish Presbyterians. By 1912 the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) was setup by Sir Edward Carson to protect six counties of Ulster, which was populated by the majority of Protestants. Home Rule was being pushed by the Irish which Carson seen as a threat against British rule in Ireland. The home rule bill, also known as Government of Ireland Act 1914, was placed on hold due to World War I in 1914-18 and then again because of the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin.
British oppression continued in Ireland against the Irish nationalists with November 1920 being an extremely bloody month with the rebellion ending after the execution of the IRA leaders such as Kevin Barry who was aged 18 at the time of his death.
Northern Ireland is created
The Government of Ireland Act 1920 was introduced which divided Ireland into two territories, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. In 1921 the first Northern Ireland Parliament opened and after a long rebellion with the British, Southern Ireland is granted a partial home rule.
Michael Collins assisted in setting up the Irish Free State, thinking it was a stepping stone for an all Ireland, which contained 26 Counties of Ireland but he was later assassinated during the Irish Civil War by opposers of the split.
During World War II Northern Ireland played an important role for sea and air bases belonging to the British Army and the US Forces in places such as Derry City but Southern Ireland remained neutral through-out the war.
Republic of Ireland is born
By 1949 Ireland ceases being part of the British Commonwealth and becomes the Republic of Ireland. In Northern Ireland the British gives constitutional guarantees to the Parliament at Stormount that they will remain part of the United Kingdom with the consent of the majority of the people in Northern Ireland, which at that time was Protestants who were desendants of Scottish and English people who were part of the Ulster Plantation. Although the Protestant people would have wished for the power of the whole of Ireland they felt they had no choice but to accept the new State of Northern Ireland.
From this date on the conflict in Northern Ireland grew stronger and was soon to be called 'The Troubles' and was classed as "The Dirty War."