Ulster: A Long Chronicle of Violence

In 1156, Adrian IV, an English Pope, granted sovereignty over Ireland and its Celtic inhabitants to England's Henry II. For the next four centuries, the English tried sporadically and without success to conquer the Emerald Isle. In 1601, however, an army of Elizabeth I defeated the last of the great Roman Catholic earls, and their lands were turned over to English and Scottish colonizers of the Protestant faith. Much of Ireland's history since then has been a record of bloodshed and trouble. Some milestones: 1690. King James II of England, a Catholic convert, was defeated at the Battle of the Boyne by his Calvinist successor, William of Orange. In succeeding years, the Penal Laws further restricted the Catholics' right to education, administrative posts and land ownership.

1800. The British government of Prime Minister William Pitt abolished the Irish Parliament and brought Ireland under direct rule.

1858. A band of romantic nationalists founded the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a predecessor of the Irish Republican Army.

1916. The I.R.A. boldly declared Ireland a republic on Easter Mon day, but the "Easter Rising" was crushed by British troops.

1921. After two years of guerrilla warfare between Ireland and Britain, the 26 predominantly Catholic southern counties of Ireland became the Irish Free State, while the six northern counties became the Protestant-dominated British province of Northern Ireland.

1937. The Irish Free State repudiated its allegiance to the Crown, and in 1949 declared itself the Republic of Ireland.

OCTOBER 1968. The first major clash between Catholic civil rights demonstrators and Ulster police took place in Londonderry.

AUGUST 1969. British troops were sent to Ulster to maintain order after an outbreak of rioting in Londonderry and Belfast.

JULY 1970. Curfews were imposed on Catholic areas of Belfast after I.R.A. attacks on British troops.

AUGUST 1971. The Ulster government ordered the internment of suspected I.R.A. activists.

JAN. 30, 1972. At a civil rights rally in Londonderry on "Bloody Sunday," 13 Catholics were killed and 17 wounded by British troops.

MARCH 24, 1972. The British government imposed direct rule.

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