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1980s

A decade marked by Intense conflict, politics, and efforts toward peace.

Black and white photograph of a man and young girl looking out of a caged up window

Key Events

The decade began with the Hunger Strikes of 1981 which saw 10 republican prisoners die without achieving their demand for political status. The signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985 gave the Irish government a consultative role in Northern Irish affairs but failed to bring about political stability. Despite the growing importance of electoral politics for the republican movement, IRA violence continued. However, the Remembrance Day bombing in Enniskillen in 1987 undermined support for Sinn Féin and the IRA, and encouraged some in paramilitary ranks to move further towards democratic politics.

 

Black and white photograph of police man at rear doors of landrover with rubber bullet gun, with line of policemen behind with riot shields at funeral of hungerstriker Tom McIlwee
Photograph of policeman at rear doors of a landrover with a rubber bullet gun. A line of policemen behind with riot shields at funeral of a hungerstriker. (BELUM.W2018.13.30)
Image of two firemen dousing the smoking wreckage of Printing Works in Union Street Belfast after its destruction in a bomb attack.
Image of two firemen dousing the smoking wreckage of Printing Works in Union Street Belfast after its destruction in a bomb attack. The bomb was planted by two men who held up the manager as he opened the building; the wreckage is seen behind a 'Stop' roadsign, which forms an ironic, accidental comment on the scene. (BELUM.W2013.24.125)
BELUM.W2017.18.100
Photograph taken from the roof of Robinson & Cleaver of the crowds at Belfast City Hall during an anti-Anglo-Irish Agreement rally. In the aftermath of the Anglo-Irish Agreement there were demonstrations, strikes and rioting. The DUP’s Peter Robinson was arrested in Clontibret, Co. Monaghan when he and several hundred loyalists temporarily took over the village in protest. (BELUM.W2017.18.100 )
Black and white photograph of police man at rear doors of landrover with rubber bullet gun, with line of policemen behind with riot shields at funeral of hungerstriker Tom McIlwee
Photograph of policeman at rear doors of a landrover with a rubber bullet gun. A line of policemen behind with riot shields at funeral of a hungerstriker. (BELUM.W2018.13.30)

In 1988, 11 organisations believed to support terrorism were banned from directly broadcasting on the UK airwaves. Spokespersons for particular organisations, including Sinn Féin, were banned from television and radio.

Ulster in Danger

Newspaper clipping of Iain Paisley 'Ulster in Danger'
This message from Rev. Ian Paisley was published in the wake of a meeting between Taoiseach Charles Haughey and Margaret Thatcher in Dublin on 8 December 1980 at which it was agreed to examine 'the totality of relationships within these islands'.  Believing this to pose a threat to the very existence of Northern Ireland, he promoted a province-wide campaign and a parade departing from the Shankill Road on 28 March 1981. - View Full Image
Red white and blue 'Ulster Says NO' poster
This iconic poster from 1985 featured heavily in unionist protests against the Anglo-Irish Agreement after it was signed at Hillsborough in November of that year. The ‘Ulster Says No’ campaign was led by Ulster Unionist Party leader James Molyneaux and Democratic Unionist Party leader Rev. Ian Paisley. It is associated with a rally at Belfast City Hall attended by an audience estimated at over 100,000 people. - View Full Image
Newspaper clipping of Iain Paisley 'Ulster in Danger'
This message from Rev. Ian Paisley was published in the wake of a meeting between Taoiseach Charles Haughey and Margaret Thatcher in Dublin on 8 December 1980 at which it was agreed to examine 'the totality of relationships within these islands'.  Believing this to pose a threat to the very existence of Northern Ireland, he promoted a province-wide campaign and a parade departing from the Shankill Road on 28 March 1981. - View Full Image

Traditional industries continued to decline. Male unemployment passed 20%. Government job creation led to DeLorean Motors' brief opening and collapse in 1982. Belfast's nightlife re-emerged on the ‘Golden Mile’ outside the city center's security cordon.

Black and white illustration poster 'Medicine for health - not wealth. Oppose the Belfast Private Hospital'
This poster was produced by the Workers’ Research Unit after the first private health clinic was opened in Northern Ireland. An independent group of researchers, the Workers’ Research Unit aimed to provide information on matters of interest to socialists, including the effects of the economic recession, and issued a series of ‘Belfast Bulletins’. - View Full Image
Ulster Motor Show Leaflet
Ulster Motor Show Programme. - The DeLorean DMC 12 went on show to the public at the Ulster Motor Show in Belfast in 1981, at which John DeLorean himself was present. The DeLorean Motor Company was based in Dunmurry, but was unable to make production viable and declared bankruptcy in 1982. Just three years later the car featured in the Back to the Future films and has since gained an iconic status. You can see a DeLorean DMC 12 on display at the Transport Museum in Cultra. (BELUM.W2018.19.1.)
Black and white illustration poster 'Medicine for health - not wealth. Oppose the Belfast Private Hospital'
This poster was produced by the Workers’ Research Unit after the first private health clinic was opened in Northern Ireland. An independent group of researchers, the Workers’ Research Unit aimed to provide information on matters of interest to socialists, including the effects of the economic recession, and issued a series of ‘Belfast Bulletins’. - View Full Image