MAY |
1st |
1970 James Chichester-Clark was elected as leader of the Unionist party, succeeding Terence O'Neill as the Northern Ireland Prime Minister. 1975 An election to the Constitutional Convention was held in Northern Ireland. The UUUC won 47 seats and the SDLP 17 seats.
1997 A general election took place in the UK. In Northern Ireland the biggest news was that Sinn Féin increased its share of the vote to become the third largest party in the region.
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2nd |
1984 The Report of the New Ireland Forum was published. It criticised Britain's policy of 'crisis management' since 1968, and set out three possible options for the future: a United Ireland; joint authority shared between the Republic and Britain; a federal arrangement. |
3rd |
1977 The United Unionist Action Council organised a strike. The strike was opposed by other Unionist groups, and over 1000 complaints of intimidation were received. 1979 General Election won by the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher. In Northern Ireland the turnout was 68.4% with the DUP gaining two seats from the UUP.
1997 Mo Mowlam was appointed Secretary of State. She was keen to implement a number of 'confidence building measures' such as reform of the RUC and employment equality.
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4th |
2000 Further political talks took place between Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, and Bertie Ahern, the Taoiseach. |
5th |
1981 Death of Bobby Sands on hunger strike. |
6th |
2001 The Real IRA bombed a Post Office delivery depot in north London for the second time. |
7th |
1981 Funeral of Bobby Sands. 1998 It was confirmed that a new republican paramilitary group had emerged, the 'Real' IRA or Óglaigh na hÉireann.
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8th |
1987 One civilian and eight members of the IRA were shot dead at Loughgall. The IRA members were on their way to attack a police station when the SAS ambushed them. 1997 Robert Hamill, a Catholic civilian, died as a result of injuries sustained in a sectarian attack in Portadown. It was claimed that RUC officers nearby did nothing to intervene.
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9th |
2000 The RUC disclosed that five military installations would close. |
10th |
1995 Martin McGuinness led a Sinn Féin delegation to Stormont to meet Michael Ancram, Political Development Minister at the Northern Ireland Office. 1998 Sinn Féin voted to allow candidates to take their places in the new Northern Ireland Assembly, ending their policy of abstention.
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11th |
1986 Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Tom King, recommended the release of UVF supergrass William 'Budgie' Allen. 1995 Leaders of Loyalist paramilitary organisations warned that action would be taken against members found dealing in drugs.
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12th |
1981 Francis Hughes died on hunger strike at Long Kesh. |
13th |
1977 The United Unionist Action Council ended their strike. It had not been a success in comparison to the 1974 Ulster Workers' Strike. |
14th |
1974 The Ulster Workers Strike began in opposition to the Sunningdale Agreement. |
15th |
1985 District council elections were held, with Sinn Féin had gained 11.8% of the vote. 1998 The Loyalist Volunteer Force announced an 'unequivocal ceasefire'.
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16th |
1997 British Prime Minister Tony Blair made an important speech in which he reaffirmed his government's commitment to the Framework Document, the Mitchell Report on decommissioning and the grounds rules for entry into all-party talks. |
17th |
1974 Thirty-three people died in Loyalist bombings of Dublin and Monaghan. No one would ever be arrested over the explosions. 1989 Local government elections were held across Northern Ireland, with the UUP taking a third of the votes.
1990 A summary of the Stevens report was published. It found that there was evidence of collusion between the security forces and Loyalist paramilitaries.
1994 Two Catholic civilians were killed by the UVF at a building site.
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18th |
1977 District Council Elections were held, the main Unionist parties standing against each other for the first time since 1974. |
19th |
1993 Local government elections took place. The SDLP, Sinn Féin and the Alliance Party had an increase in their vote share. |
20th |
1981 District Council Elections were held against the background of the hunger strikes. Moderate parties all suffered a decline in support.
1988 British Prime Minister Tony Blair unveiled a set of pledges in advance of the referendum. He pledged that the status of Northern Ireland would not change without the consent of the people, no prisoners would be released unless violence was given up, all those using violence would be excluded from government, and power would be returned to a Northern Ireland Assembly. |
21st |
1981 Raymond McCreesh and Patsy O'Hara died on hunger strike. Tomás Ó Fiaich, Catholic Primate of Ireland, criticised the British government's attitude to the hunger strike. 1997 Local government elections took place, with the UUP winning the highest number of first preference votes, followed by the SDLP. Sinn Féin won more votes than the DUP.
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22nd |
1976 The Ulster Volunteer Force declared a ceasefire. However, it would be broken on several occasions. 1998 A Referendum took place on the Agreement. In Northern Ireland the Yes vote was 71.12% and in the Republic of Ireland 94.39%.
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23rd |
1981 Catholic civilian Joseph Lynch was killed during a street disturbance involving members of the RUC in Belfast. |
24th |
1984 The Stalker Inquiry into shoot to kill allegations began. 1995 Secretary of State Patrick Mayhew had an 'informal' private meeting with Gerry Adams, President of Sinn Féin, in Washington.
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25th |
1988 The British government issued a White Paper on fair employment. One suggestion included compulsory monitoring of the religious composition of workforces. |
26th |
1972 An IRA bomb killed a 64-year-old woman in Belfast. On the same day, a man was injured in north Belfast, in one of nine incidents later investigated in relation to the activities of the British Army's Military Reaction Force. |
27th |
1993 Mary Robinson, President of the Republic, met Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. It was the first official contact between an Irish president and a British monarch. 2000 The Ulster Unionist Council supported the idea of David Trimble re-entering the power-sharing Executive with Sinn Féin.
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28th |
1970 Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney, former Irish government ministers, James Kelly, an Irish Army Intelligence Officer, and John Kelly, a Belfast Republican, were charged in Dublin with conspiracy to illegally import arms for use by the IRA. 1974 The Executive collapsed and direct rule resumed. Brian Faulkner resigned as Chief Executive after Merlyn Rees, Secretary of State, refused to meet with representatives from the Ulster Workers' Council.
1999 The body of Eamon Molloy, one of the 'disappeared', was recovered in County Louth.
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29th |
1972 The Official IRA announced a ceasefire. This marked the end of the military wing of OSF. |
30th |
1973 District Council elections were held across NI, based on proportional representation and a single transferable vote system for the first time since 1920. The UUP took 41.4% of the vote while the SDLP won almost all the Nationalist/Catholic vote. 1983 The New Ireland Forum met for the first time, at Dublin Castle. Sinn Féin was excluded because they had not renounced violence.
1996 Elections to the proposed Northern Ireland Forum took place. Sinn Féin attracted a record vote of 15.5%, although the UUP gained the most votes.
2000 The British government restored devolution to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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31st |
1973 Loyalist paramilitaries carried out three bomb and gun attacks on Catholic-owned pubs in Belfast. |