Conflict in Northern Ireland, 1921-74

Politics in Northern Ireland, 1921-Present

In this course, Dr Catherine McGlynn (University of Huddersfield) explores the politics of Northern Ireland, from the opening of the first Northern Irish Parliament in 1921 to the present day. We begin in the first module by tracing the history of conflict in Northern Ireland up to the collapse of the Sunningdale Agreement in 1974. After that, we think about the Troubles, focusing on the key questions of why they broke out and why they came to an end. In the third module, we think about the development of devolution in Ireland, culminating in the 2006 St Andrews Agreement, before turning in the fourth and final module to think about the state of Northern Irish politics today, focusing in particular on the major political parties in Northern Ireland and prospects for the future.

Conflict in Northern Ireland, 1921-74

In this module, we think about the background to conflict in Northern Ireland, focusing in particular on the meaning of key terms (e.g. unionist, loyalist, nationalist, etc.) and looking more closely at the history of Northern Ireland between the opening of the first Northern Irish Parliament in 1921 up to the collapse of the Sunningdale Agreement in 1974.