The Troubles in Derry

The city of Derry, Northern Ireland, was severely affected by the Troubles. The conflict is widely considered to have begun in the city, with many regarding the Battle of the Bogside (an inner suburb of the city) as the beginning of the Troubles. The 'Bloody Sunday' incident of 1972 also occurred in Derry.

Derry has a long history of sectarian tension and violence. In particular, the city is known as the site of the Siege of Derry of 1689, in which the Protestant supporters of William III of England held out against the mostly Catholic supporters of James II of England for 105 days. The siege became an icon of Ulster Protestant culture, and since the early nineteenth century has been annually commemorated by the Apprentice Boys of Derry. Although Catholics had previously participated in ceremonies in honour of the Williamite victory, many regarded the Apprentice Boys' celebrations, particularly their parades, as triumphalist and sectarian. In the mid nineteenth century an investigation into riots in the city resulted in the recommendation that the Apprentice Boys' parades be banned. Despite the opposition of the British government, the parades continued.

When Northern Ireland became a separate state in 1922, Protestants/unionists were the majority and controlled the government of Northern Ireland. Although Catholics were a clear majority of the Derry population, severe gerrymandering meant that unionists controlled the city government. Like councils elsewhere (nationalist as well as unionist, although unionists controlled more councils), unionist local politicians used their power to disproportionately allocate jobs and houses to Protestants. Although working-class people from both communities suffered from poor housing and unemployment, Catholics were significantly more likely to live in crowded and generally inadequate housing and to lack jobs. In particular, working class Catholics were concentrated in the Bogside, an overcrowded suburb under the city walls. The housing situation was caused in part by unionist politicians wishing to keep Catholics concentrated in a small number of electoral wards, thus confining the nationalist vote to these wards. It was also felt that the Northern Irish government favoured the predominantly Protestant east of the country over the predominantly Catholic west. Both Protestant and Catholic residents of Derry were angered by issues such as the reduction of rail services and the siting of the University of Ulster in Coleraine rather than Derry - opposed by the broad-based University for Derry Committee - but Catholics also saw this as sectarian discrimination.

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