Northern Ireland in 1976: The Collapse of the Convention and the Move to Direct Rule

About this episode

The episode discusses the collapse of the 1975–1976 Constitutional Convention in Northern Ireland and its implications for the region's political landscape.

In this episode of the Irish History Boys, Tim McGarry and Dr. Cormac Moore reflect on the "obituary" of the 1975–1976 Constitutional Convention, a failed British attempt to find a political solution that instead left Northern Ireland in a "complete political vacuum". We examine how the refusal of unionists to share power led to a period of "violence and stagnation," with 1976 becoming one of the bloodiest years of the Troubles. We also dive into the financial "insolvency" of Northern Ireland, tracing it back to 1926 when the statelet first required a "free gift" from the British Treasury to avoid bankruptcy and pay unemployment benefits. We discuss the myth of the North as a self-sustaining industrial powerhouse and reveal how it has evolved into the highest per-head drain on UK resources, now costing an estimated £14 billion a year. Additionally, we explore the social and legislative landscape of the mid-70s, from the introduction of sex discrimination laws to the "watered down" Fair Employment Act of 1975. We also discuss the historical "security lapse" of 1981, where the IRA came remarkably close to assassinating the Queen during a visit to the Shetland Islands. To conclude…

People in this episode

Host: Cormac Moore

Topics covered

• Northern Ireland
• Constitutional Convention
• Troubles
• political history
• direct rule

Keywords

• 1976
• violence
• power sharing
• financial insolvency
• sex discrimination laws
• Fair Employment Act
• United Ireland

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: the Irish History Boys

Places: Northern Ireland, North, UK, the Shetland Islands, a United Ireland, the Republic of Ireland

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