voices of '74: context 1/2

Making sense of the emergence of the Sunningdale Agreement that would lead to the 1974 Ulster Workers’ Council Strike requires an understanding of the extraordinary context of the early 1970s in Northern Ireland. 

The momentous events of the Civil Rights era of 1968 and early 1969 exposed inherent tensions and brought violent sectarianism to the surface leading to Northern Ireland beginning its spiral into the conflict that would become known as the Troubles. The speed and extent of this descent that spanned seismic moments such as the arrival of British Troops, Internment, Bloody Sunday, Direct Rule, and Bloody Friday. The following testimonies give a sense of how this exceptional period was experienced and is remembered from a wide range of perspectives.