Key Terms from The Troubles in Ireland

Bloody Sunday

• An incident on January 30, 1972, in Derry, Northern Ireland, where British soldiers shot 26 unarmed civilians during a protest march against internment.

• A peaceful protest held in London against the Vietnam War in 1968.

• A day of mourning for the victims of World War I in 1919.

• A significant event in the American Civil Rights Movement in 1965.

The Troubles

• A period of peace in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s to 1998.

• A period of conflict in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s to 1998, involving nationalist/republican and unionist/loyalist communities.

• A cultural movement in Northern Ireland during the 1980s.

• An economic development program in Northern Ireland initiated in the 1990s.

Nationalists (Ireland)

• People who oppose the unification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland.

• People, primarily in Northern Ireland, who support the unification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland.

• Individuals who advocate for the independence of Northern Ireland from both the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

• Citizens of the Republic of Ireland who wish to maintain the status quo in Northern Ireland.

Unionists (Ireland)

• People who support the reunification of Ireland

• People, primarily in Northern Ireland, who support the maintenance of political union with Great Britain.

• People who oppose British rule in Northern Ireland

• People who advocate for Irish independence

Irish Republican Army

• A political party advocating for union with Great Britain.

• An Irish republican paramilitary organization that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland and bring about an independent republic encompassing all of Ireland.

• A cultural organization promoting Irish language and heritage.

• A military alliance formed to support British interests in Ireland.

Good Friday Agreement

• A treaty that ended World War II

• A major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process of the 1990s, signed in 1998, which helped to bring an end to The Troubles.

• An agreement to establish the European Union

• A peace treaty between the United States and North Vietnam