Local Study: Northern Ireland and its Neighbours 1920-49

How Northern Ireland began

This local study looks at how Northern Ireland was created and how it developed between 1920 and 1949. In 1920 a law divided Ireland into two parts. The six north-eastern counties became Northern Ireland, which stayed in the United Kingdom and was given its own parliament, while the rest of Ireland moved towards independence. From the start the new area held two large communities with very different hopes. Many people, mainly Protestant, wanted to remain British. Many others, mainly Catholic, wanted a united Ireland. Historians document that the nationalist minority faced disadvantages in areas such as some local-government voting arrangements, housing and jobs. This study asks you to understand the events, weigh the evidence, and explain the different viewpoints fairly.

Words for the local study

Learn these before you study the period. They name the events and the two communities at the heart of it.

Match the history term

Two views on partition

The people of the new Northern Ireland did not all want the same future. Historians describe two main viewpoints, each held sincerely by many people. A good answer explains both and takes neither side.

Which Act created it?

Which law divided Ireland and set up Northern Ireland as a separate area with its own parliament in 1920?

• The Government of Ireland Act
• The Act of Union
• The Good Friday Agreement
• The Home Rule Bill of 1886

Writing fairly about a divided past

This topic is about a society with deep divisions, so the way you write matters. Explain each viewpoint as the people who held it saw it, and attribute it clearly, for example by writing many unionists believed, or many nationalists believed. Support what you say with evidence from sources. Do not take a side, and do not judge people of the past by the standards of today. A strong answer is balanced, based on evidence, and fair to every community.

Features of the new state

Select every statement that correctly describes Northern Ireland as it was set up in 1920 and 1921.

• It remained part of the United Kingdom
• It was made up of six counties
• It had its own parliament with some powers
• It became a fully independent country
• It was governed directly from Dublin

Order the events, 1920 to 1949

Put these events of the period in the order they happened.

• The Government of Ireland Act divides Ireland in 1920
• Northern Ireland gains its own parliament in 1921
• The rest of Ireland becomes the Irish Free State in 1922
• Belfast suffers heavy bombing in the Blitz in 1941
• The Second World War ends in 1945
• The rest of Ireland is declared a republic in 1949

Complete the local-study facts

The dividing of Ireland in 1920 is called _____. A person who wanted to stay in the United Kingdom was a _____. A person who wanted a united Ireland was a _____. The Northern Ireland parliament met at _____.

Reading a source with care

Suppose you are given a newspaper article from the 1930s that praises the Northern Ireland government. Before you trust it, a historian asks three questions. Who produced it, and what was their viewpoint, because a newspaper that supported one community may not speak for another. Why was it produced, to inform or to persuade. And does other evidence agree with it. A single source shows one view from one moment. By weighing who made it, why they made it, and what other sources say, you judge how useful it is. In this source-heavy study, that careful reading earns as many marks as the facts themselves.

Fact or interpretation?

Tap the TWO statements that are FACTS, rather than interpretations a historian would have to argue for.

• Northern Ireland was created in 1920
• Belfast was bombed during the Second World War
• Partition was the best possible outcome for everyone
• The government of the time was liked by all communities

Weigh up a source

You are using sources to answer a question about this period. Make the best choice at each step.

• You find a poster made by one political side. How should you treat it?
• Two sources from different communities disagree with each other. What should you do?
• You want to judge how useful a source is. What matters most?

Build a balanced point

Choose the word for each gap to complete one balanced historical point.

Quick-fire local-study check

Answer each question. You have three lives, and losing them all restarts the run.

Explain how Northern Ireland was governed

Explain how Northern Ireland was created and governed between 1920 and 1949, and why the period was a difficult one for community relations. Present the different viewpoints fairly and use evidence.

• Explain how and when Northern Ireland was created
• Explain how it was governed and who held power
• Explain the unionist and the nationalist viewpoints fairly
• Explain, using evidence, why community relations were difficult
• Support your answer with facts from the period