Anglo-Irish Relations in the Early Troubles: 1969-1972

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In 1969 the once peaceful Catholic civil rights movement in Northern Ireland degenerated into widespread violence between the nationalist and unionist communities. The conflict, known as the Troubles, would last for thirty years. The early years of the Troubles helped to define the nature of the conflict for years to come. This was the period in which unionism divided into moderate and extreme wings; the Provisional IRA emerged amidst the resurgence of violent republicanism; and British military and governmental responsibility for Northern Ireland culminated in direct rule. Based on extensive research in British, Irish and American archives, Anglo-Irish Relations in the Early Troubles examines the diplomatic relationship between the key players in the formative years of the Northern Ireland conflict. It analyses how the Irish government attempted to influence British policy regarding Northern Ireland and how Britain sought to affect Dublins response to the crisis. It was from this strained relationship of opposition and co-operation that the long-term shape of the Troubles emerged.

Reviews

[A] valuable work of diplomatic history on British-Irish relations during the first phase (196972) of the Troubles, the three decades of violent conflict in Northern Ireland. This detailed narrative based on archival research and secondary sources traces the communications and interactionsprivate and public, high and low levelbetween the British government headed first by Harold Wilson and then by Edward Heath and the Irish government of Jack Lynch as they responded to the growing crisis in the North. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. * CHOICE *
[A] careful study [with] extensive quotation from official memoranda. * Irish Times *
Daniel C. Williamson's study offers a nuanced analysis of British-Irish relations from the outbreak of the Troubles in Northern Ireland in the summer of the 1969 to the collapse of the Ulster Unionist controlled Stormont government in March 1972. Based on an assortment of archival and secondary sources, the book provides a micro-analysis of relations between the British and Irish governments and more generally the political and paramilitary forces in operation in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 1972. This book is recommended, not merely for the academic community, but for anyone interested in modern Anglo-Irish relations and the Northern Ireland Troubles. * Stephen Kelly, Liverpool Hope University, UK *
Anglo-Irish Relations in the Early Troubles shows, clearly and compellingly, how events in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 70s shaped the often contentious diplomatic relationship between London and Dublin. Analyzing how other political considerationsboth domestic and internationalinfluenced the two governments policy decisions regarding Ulster, Williamson is particularly effective at assessing the efficacy of different strategies pursued by Irish and British officials and at demonstrating where his own work fits into the existing scholarship on Northern Ireland. The years covered here were pivotal ones, as decisions made between 1969 and 1972 set the stage for each subsequent development in the search for peace and stability in the North. * Troy D. Davis, Stephen F. Austin State University, USA *
Engaging, fast-moving and lucidly written, Dan Williamson's scholarly, accessible and authoritative account of Anglo-Irish relations in the early years of the Northern Ireland Troubles is diplomatic history at its finest. Williamson provides a fresh view, based on impeccable archival research and a masterly knowledge of the topic, of one of the most difficult and tense periods of British-Irish relations. He places the international reaction to the collapse of Northern Ireland into violence in 1969 firmly in the Dublin-London-Washington nexus. His focus internationalises the early years of the Troubles and places the descent into a generation of violence in Northern Ireland in a vital global context. The book is a 'must-read' for all interested in late-twentieth century Irish history and the outbreak of the Troubles. * Michael Kennedy, Royal Irish Academy, Ireland *

Author Bio

Daniel C. Williamson is Associate Professor of History at the University of Hartford, USA. His previous publications include Churchill, Eisenhower, and Anglo-American Relations, 1953-55 (2006).