Strike
Part 1
The election results consolidated opposition to Sunningdale and signalled the inevitability of a move to active protest. The decision was made that this action should take the form of a strike. The following testimonies begin with a consideration of why this form of action was chosen before a series of reflections on the everyday experiences of schoolchildren and workers during the stoppage.
Part 2
As the strike took hold, ordinary citizens, right across Northern Irish society had to deal with the inevitable fallout from the stoppage. The following testimonies focus on the emergence of a certain communal solidarity, the central role of women, as well as how the strike was experienced in rural communities and within the nationalist population.
Part 3
Testimonies of the UWC strike reveal difficult recollections around issues of violence and intimidation, including one of the most significant atrocities of the Troubles, the Dublin/Monaghan bombs of 17 May 1974. This section begins with a set of reflections on who was in charge of this strike before going on to open up the difficult and contested memories around violence and intimidation.
Part 4
As the strike moved into its second week, it became clear that the executive was on borrowed time. Two particular events would confirm that the Sunningdale experiment had run out of road. The first was a failed attempt to force a return to work on 21 May. There then followed Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s ill-fated and infamous ‘spongers’ speech on 25 May. The executive was eventually forced to resign on 28 May with, as our testimonies demonstrate, a mixture of reactions.