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The idea of re-introducing internment for Irish republican militants came from the Unionist government of Northern Ireland, headed by Prime Minister Brian Faulkner. It was agreed to re-introduce internment at a meeting between Faulkner and British Prime Minister Edward Heath on 5 August 1971.
Internment without trial, called Operation Demetrius, was introduced in Northern Ireland by the Stormont unionist government early on the morning of August 9th 1971. It involved mass British...
It is 50 years since internment without trial was introduced in Northern Ireland to try to deal with a worsening security situation in the early 1970s. Rather than reduce disorder, violence...
Internment was controversially imposed by the Northern Ireland government during the Troubles. It was introduced in August 1971 by Unionist prime minister Brian Faulkner, under the auspices of the Special Powers Act. It was not the first use of internment in Irish history, nor was it entirely unexpected.
To search for files on internment, narrow the date range from 1971 to 1975 and try searching ‘Internment AND Northern Ireland’, ‘special powers AND Northern Ireland’ or search for an...
Internment. By June 1971 the situation had deteriorated after the killing of three soldiers and the shooting dead of two men by the Army. In August protest and violence increased further with the introduction of internment: the arrest, interrogation and detention of Republican suspects without trial. This policy proved counter-productive.
A group of five Northern Ireland Members of Parliament (MPs) began a 48 hour hunger strike against Internment. The protest took place near to 10 Downing Street in London. Among those taking part were John Hume, Austin Currie, and Bernadette Devlin.
Between 9 August 1971 and 5 December 1975, 1,981 people were interned. 1,874 internees were from a republican background, while 107 were from a loyalist background. Many internees were held in an internment camp at Long Kesh. Women were also interned in Armagh Gaol.
Up until 9 August, 34 people had died in violence that year. Within three days of the announcement of internment, 22 more people had lost their lives. Internment stayed in place and by the eve...
Almost 2,000 people were interned up until its end in December 1975 – imprisoned without a fair trial. But did violence on the ground justify this extreme action? How many innocent people were...