Hello and welcome to the rest of the video.
Featuring the rest of the video.
The civil rights movement disappeared, alongside any kind of moderate party
as many new volunteers flocked to join the IRA.
1972 would be the bloodiest year in the conflict,
and the worst for the British army since the Korean War.
The IRA sought reprisal, and would respond
with a series of 22 car bombings around Belfast,
killing nine people, soldiers, police, and civilians included.
The army would react with 58 arrests and raids for bomb equipment
leading to one IRA death.
Loyalist paramilitaries would begin to set up checkpoints
to overwatch their streets and look out for IRA members,
leading to more violence and deaths.
Over the course of the unrest, many similar no-go areas had cropped up.
They relied on the protection of their paramilitaries and barricades
and rejected civil authority.
The government decided those had to go,
deeming them as a catalyst of crime.
Operation Motorman would involve 27,000 soldiers
alongside armored vehicles and even a tank.
They'd storm the no-go areas and destroy barricades,
taking them by force and fear.
There were a couple of deaths, and after the operation,
three more car bombs would be detonated.
The IRA, however, did not claim them.
The mission seemed to have contained the insurgent behavior,
but it was in 1973 that those assumptions would be negated.
An IRA bombing in London killed one and injured hundreds.
The suspects would be arrested and tried.
But an attack so close to home shocked many in the government.
The conflict alongside a deteriorating domestic situation
saw Anglo-Irish relations damaged,
specifically about the British army's handling of events.
The Sunningdale Agreement in 1974 looked to permit the Irish government
an advisory role in northern Ireland.
And northern Ireland's parliament to be disbanded and reformed,
in attempts to have power shared equally between nationalists and loyalists.
Many loyalists disapproved of this,
seeing it as giving in to the IRA's terror tactics.
Political and paramilitary elements came together in the Ulster Worker's Council Strike
in May 1974.
Paramilitaries would make sure that the workers did not go to work,
whether they wanted to or not,
leading to Northern Ireland's industry being brought to a grinding halt.
34 people would be killed in the Republic of Ireland by loyalist bombings.
By the time the strike finally ended, the agreement collapsed.
The loyalist paramilitaries had achieved a victory through terror.
Somewhat later the same year, the IRA would target England again,
bombing the cities of Guildford and Birmingham
killng five and 21.
These bombings caused anti-Irish sentiment in the afflicted areas.
Irish people being ostracized and their businesses targeted.
Reprisal killings would also be suffered back in Northern Ireland,
leading to the IRA deem such attacks the "off-limits."
There would also be some serious abuses of power in England,
as police arrested several Irish people that were forced into making false confessions,
leading to 17 people being wrongly incarcerated.
Backchannel negotiations between the British government and Republican leadership
would finally be able to barter an IRA ceasefire in late 1974.
This, though, did not stop tit-for-tat sectarian killings
between nationalists and loyalists.
The division in Northern Irish society was stroner than ever,
and hatred ruled many incidents.
Through the course of the ceasefire, a few loyalists
feared that the government may lose interest, abandon them,
leading them attempting to provoke the IRA into breaking the ceasefire.
And the IRA ate it up.
The ceasefire had all but collapsed in late 1975.
In January 1976, members of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force
attacked two Catholic families, killing six,
and would have been a part of a larger series of attacks on Catholics.
The IRA would retaliate with the Kingsmill Massacre,
where they halted a van and gunned down 10 protestants,
sparing the Catholic that rode with them.
The massacre would be the climax of the tit-for-tat killings,
causing the string of murders to halt for some while.
By 1979, the British army had become quite effective in handling the IRA.
Though this only caused the IRA to become increasingly observant and inventive.
They'd execute an extensively planned-out guerrilla attack on the army
in the Warrenpoint Ambush
bombing both a British convoy and the ensuing reinforcements,
killing 18 soldiers, but not losing a single of their own.
The army was forced to rework their methods,
becoming increasingly reliant on helicopters instead.
This change offered the IRA virtual control of the south of Countyalma[?]
swiftly turning it into bandit country.
One of the more significant consequences of the struggle
between the army and paramilitaries
was the influx of many new prisoners and its taxing effects on the justice system.
Initially, paramilitary prisoners were given special category status
which treated them akin to POWs.
However after 1976, they'd been downgraded to being treated as usual criminals.
Their own clothes were taken and they would be given prison clothes.
They refused in the Blanket Protest,
wearing blankets instead of the provided garb.
Later, they'd refuse to leave their cells, reporting abuses from the guards.
And this would escalate to the Dirty Protests,
as they smeared excrement across the walls of their cells.
In 1980 a hunger strike would start
in hopes of returning their special status.
The strike was called off when it seemed the government would concede.
The following year, though, the government had not,
leading to a second hunger strike led by Bobby Sands.
The prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, was firm in her stance
that she would not offer concessions to those on strike.
She would not acknowledge them as political prisoners, but only as criminals.
While on strike and in prison, Bobby Sands was able to win the position of MP
in the British Parliament.
And this gave hope to some that a settlement would be reached.
Thatcher continued to refuse compromise.
Sands would die on the 66th day of the hunger strike in May.
In total, ten strikers would die.
It prompted riots and protests in Northern Ireland and beyond.
The political wing of the IRA, Sinn Féin, would begin to receive new gained support
and the IRA itself saw a flux of volunteers,
wishing to correct this perceived injustice.
With the Irish Republican Gerry Adams,
direction in the aftermath of the hunger strike, Sinn Féin
would enter the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time.
Though still well behind in seats of the Ulster Unionist Party
and even the staunchy loyalist Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party.
It sent a scary message to Thatcher.
It discredited the British policy that the IRA acted with no support
and had no place in politics.
On a less and legal note, the IRA had placed the blame for the striker's deaths
solely at the feet of Thatcher herself, and saw the need for revenge.
In 1984, they'd bomb the grand hotel in Brighton
in attempts to assassinate Thatcher and her parliament,
killing five people, but not Thatcher.
This attack would begin to start reflecting the IRA
as less of a simple paramilitary in Northern Ireland,
but instead as a highly dangerous terrorist organization.
Not to mention it wouldn't be too long before they began
receiving some serious armament from, oddly enough, Gadaffi's Libya.
1985 would see the highly significant signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement.
Thatcher, despite her own protest,
would agree that the Irish prime minister, Garret FitzGerald,
to see Ireland brought into an advisory role in Northern Ireland.
This agreement was to see cross-border, political, security, and legal cooperation
between the two countries promoted.
Despite how good it may sound, it was opposed by both loyalists,
seeing it as doing too much,
and nationalists, seeing it as doing too little.
These political concessions and attempts to strengthen constitutional politics
was all done in attempts to undermine the IRA.
But the Republicans' campaign of terror continued.
Attacks occurred against isolated army and police barracks,
significantly damaging morale of troops
who would only see recompense when they were able to turn the tables
and ambush the IRA members in 1987,
killing eight of the men responsible for the attacks.
Later the same year during Remembrance Day,
the IRA bombed a war memorial used for ceremony.
They killed 12 people and injured dozens,
many of them being simply old-age pensioners.
This attack would shake the IRA to its core, as the backlash was immense.
Loyalists would seek revenge and blood, of course,
but Sinn Féin's vote would utterly collapse, not recovering for 14 years.
The IRA, however, still continued its armed campaign against the British army
in 1989, overrunning a well-fortified checkpoint and killing two soldiers
that also, once again, seek to attack the prime minister, this time being John Major.
With the increasing reliance of their improvised mortars, they'd commence an attack
on 10 Downing Street in February 1991.
The rounds would miss, but the attack still startled the government.
Alongside this campaign against the Brititsh army and government,
they'd also become tougher on loyalist paramilitaries, assassinating their members.
They'd attempt a bombing on their leadership in 1993,
but only killed one loyalist alongside their own man and 8 civilians.
The failed attack only provoked more Catholic killings by loyalist paramilitary.
At this point after 25 years of constant violence and fear, it seemed endless.
But this did not stop efforts to put an end to it.
A historic ceasefire would be called in 1994 to allow for negotiations,
but by 1996, the IRA was seriously doubting any progress to be made.
The British Conservative Party was reliant on loyalist oaths
and any concessions to the IRA would be severely unpopular
The IRA would break this ceasefire in February
with the bombings of Canary Wharf, killing two people,
but more importantly to the government, causing significant financial damage.
They sought to replicate attacks from the government's wallet,
detonating 1,600 kilos of explosives in Manchester Center,
surprisingly killing no one but causing much damage
in the evacuation of 75,000 people.
The bombing had an effect on the general election in 1997,
leading to Tony Blair's Labor Party coming into power.
A new government saw new talks, though of course, not without complications.
The negotiations would be threatened by a dispute over the Loyalist Orange Order parade
seeking to move through a Nationalist area.
The government would allow the parade to go on, causing the worst rioting
since the riots caused by the hunger strike in 1981.
In spite of that incident, negotiations held, leading to the Good Friday agreement in 1998.
Northern Ireland's government was shifted to focus on power-sharing.
The Royal Ulster Constabulary would be watched by an independent commission to check for bias,
eventually leading to the RUC being rebranded to the police service of Northern Ireland and restructured.
And if the day were to come, though, the majority of people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
wish to unify, the British government would have it be done.
Alongside these important changes, paramilitary weaponry would be decommissioned
and many prisoners released.
After 30 years of torment and over 3,500 deaths,
peace was now tangible.
Of course, the Good Friday agreement didn't just come about flawlessly. It was passed by referendum.
With 94% approval in the Republic of Ireland but only 71% in Northern Ireland,
some loyalists felt cheated, and so too did some nationalists.
In August 1998, a splinter group of the IRA would bomb the town of Omagh, killing 29.
However, it did not break peace. The provisional IRA for the most part would lay down its arms and disband.
Despite on the face of it still being active, they are a shadow.
The change that had so rapidly happened was really showcased in 2007
when a radically loyalist Ian Paisley held position as first minister
with his deputy first minister, a former IRA member and the Sinn Fein leader, Martin McGuinness.
McGuinness would also be awarded an audience and even attend banquet with the queen.
To have come to that, from not being too long ago an enemy of the state,
well, it's a bit surprising.
The peace in government of Northern Ireland is, however, fragile.
Currently given dispute between the DPU and Sinn Fein, the government is vacant
and a fair share of people are frustrated.
But it couldn't even begin to touch on what the people of Northern Ireland have seen before.
Whilst there is still many people that pledge adamantly to being either loyalist or nationalist,
peace can be found, and sectarian violence is increasingly rarer as time goes on.
The deaths and destruction of the conflict can never truly be amended.
To this day, you still find the literal peace lines that separate communities from one another.
Though they are set to be taken down. And as time continues, these wounds can start to heal.
The war has ended, and no one won it. Really, no one should've won.
A political struggle does remain, however. Ireland is not united.
And was that not the IRA's goal? Is that not the point of Sinn Fein?
Have I just provoked a massive shitstorm in the comments?
You can find out the answer for all those on your own.
Though, little hint: last one's almost definitely a yes.
I'd like to give a thanks to the patrons that helped me make this show and also help a great deal
with my secret collection of body pillows, but I don't really want to talk about that.
Special mentions to David Kendle, Thomas Kerley, Your Mum,
Steve Graham, and Anal_Scrubs, and a rare mention for the Irish shit that is Rick
for bugging me for months to make this video and providing a great deal of the research.
You can blame him. For everything.