Context

Making sense 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.

What was Sunningdale?

Want to understand more about the context and Sunningdale? Visit this page to explore its history and the key events that shaped this important agreement.

Part 1

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.

You just didn't want to go outside your own area you know, you stayed in your own place.

John Rankin

1974: Factory worker, young loyalist activist

Part 2

A recurring feature of testimonies and memories from this period is how the conflict and violence became a permanent and almost normal feature of people’s daily lives. If the Civil Rights era saw Northern Ireland plug itself into some sort of international zeitgeist for change, interestingly, the early 1970s, with the onset of conflict and the creeping everydayness of violence, understandably forced somewhat of an inward turn.

More Context

Northern Ireland in the 1970s