1901 The census showed that the population of Ireland was 4,459,000.   1902 The UK Liberal Party abandoned its support for Home Rule.   1903 The Independent Orange Order was founded in Belfast.   1904 Robert and Jack Chambers began to manufacture Chambers automobiles in Belfast. They produced 16 different models over the next 21 years.   1905 The Ulster Unionist Council was founded. It helped to forge links between Unionists and the Orange Order. The Independent Orange Order issued the Magheramore Manifesto. Electric trams began running in Belfast.   1906 The Belfast City Hall was completed (architect: Alfred Blumwell Thomas). James Larkin organised the Belfast Docks strike which lasted from May to September. Pope Pius X issued the Ne Temere Decree which stated that mixed marriages were only valid if the wedding service was held in a Catholic church and children from the union must be raised in the Catholic faith.   1908 The Government set up a fund to help local authorities house poorer classes. The Old Age Pension was introduced.   1909 The first flight by an Irish plane was made by Harry Ferguson at Hillsborough, Co. Down.   1910 Sir Edward Carson was elected leader of the Unionist Party. The White Star liner Olympic was launched at the Harland and Wolff shipyard, Belfast.   1911 The census of Ireland revealed the population as 4,400,000 – almost halved since 1841. The Titanic, sister ship of the Olympic, was launched at Harland and Wolff.   1912 Asquith introduced the Third Home Rule Bill. A Unionist amendment tried to keep Ulster in the United Kingdom but it was defeated. On ‘Ulster Day’ almost 500,000 Ulster men and women signed the Solemn League and Covenant in protest against Home Rule. The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage – some 1490 people were drowned and 711 saved.   1913 The Third Home Rule Bill was carried in the House of Commons but twice defeated in the House of Lords. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) was formed in Belfast. The Unionist Council set up a ‘Provisional Government’ under the leadership of Edward Carson. The League for the Support of Ulster was established in Britain.   1914 The UVF landed a large shipment of weapons from the vessel Clyde Valley at Larne and Bangor. The Provisional Government of Ulster met for the first time. The Home Rule Bill was passed in the House of Commons for the third time but was stalled in the House of Lords over the Ulster question. Britain declared war on Germany. The Home Rule Bill was suspended until hostilities ceased.   1916 The Easter Rising took place with the GPO being occupied by Volunteers and Patrick Pearse reading the Proclamation of the Irish Republic from its steps. The leaders were executed or interned. Lloyd George sought to negotiate a Home Rule agreement excluding six Ulster counties. At the Battle of the Somme in France, from the 1st to the 11th July, the 36th (Ulster) Division suffered over 5000 casualties. The Twelfth of July Orange marches were cancelled and replaced with five minutes silence.   1917 The remaining Easter Rising internees were released from prison.   1918 Voting rights were extended to all men over 21 and qualified women over 30. World War I ended. There was a General Election in the UK and Countess Marcievicz of Sinn Fein was the first woman to win a seat in the House of Commons.   1919 Sinn Fein convened the first Dail Eireann (Irish Parliament) which issued a Declaration of Independence. The War of Independence began in Co. Tipperary.   1920 ‘Black and Tan’ police units arrived in Ireland to reinforce the Royal Irish Constabulary. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) was established and attacked police barracks throughout Ireland. The UK Parliament passed the so-called ‘Partition Act’ (the Act for the Better Government of Ireland). There was sectarian rioting in Derry (19 killed) and Belfast (13 killed). Hundreds of Catholic families living in Protestant areas were forced to flee. The Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Ulster Special Constabulary were formed. Percy French, composer of the song ‘The Mountains of Mourne, died.   1921 Sir James Craig replaced Edward Carson as leader of the Unionist Party. The first elections were held for the new Northern Ireland Parliament. The Northern Ireland Parliament was formally opened by George V. Custom House, Dublin, was burnt down by the IRA. Anti-Catholic riots in Belfast claimed 16 lives. The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed, excluding six Ulster counties.   1922 British rule in Southern Ireland ended. The Irish Civil War began and the Free State forces shelled the Four Courts. During sectarian riots in Ulster in June and July over 450 people were killed in Belfast alone. Thousands of Catholics fled Ulster. The UK Parliament Act established the Irish Free State.   1923 The Irish Civil War ended.   1924 The first regular air service from Ireland to Britain was inaugurated, flying between Belfast and Liverpool.   1925 In a Northern Ireland General Election, the Unionists gained almost total control of the Northern Ireland Parliament.   1926 The first Northern Ireland census revealed a population of 1,257,000.   1932 The Northern Irish Parliament moved to a new building at Stormont, which was officially opened by Edward, Prince of Wales. Unemployed Catholic and Protestant workers rioted in Belfast.   1937 The Northern Ireland census counted a population of 1,280,000.   1938 Trolley buses replaced trams in Belfast.   1939 World War II began. The UK Government decided not to extend conscription to Northern Ireland after Catholic bishops stated their opposition.   1940 John M. Andrews was appointed Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.   1941 German bombers targeted Belfast, killing almost 900 people. In the worst attack 1500 houses were destroyed and fire engines from the Irish Free State crossed the border to help.   1942 United States troops arrived in Northern Ireland.   1943 Sir Basil Brooke was elected Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.   1945 World War II ended.   1949 The Ireland Act was passed in Britain, giving Irish citizens special status and confirming that Northern Ireland would remain part of the UK.   1951 The Rev. Ian Paisley formed the Free Presbyterian Church.   1953 The Princess Victoria ferry disaster claimed 128 lives on the Larne-Stranraer route.   1956 The IRA began a new campaign of attacks in Northern Ireland.   1961 The Northern Ireland census revealed a population of 1,426,000.   1962 The IRA abandoned its six year long campaign of attacks in Northern Ireland.   1963 Terence O’Neill succeeded Lord Brookborough as Northern Ireland’s Prime Minister and leader of the Unionist Party.   1964 The Ulster Folk Museum opened at Cultra, Co. Down.   1965 Northern Ireland Prime Minister, Terence O’Neill, met Irish Taoiseach, Sean Lemass, in Dublin. The Nationalist Party entered Stormont as the official opposition. The Northern Ireland Government decided to build the new town of Craigavon.   1966 The Ulster Volunteer Force was founded in Northern Ireland.   1967 The Civil Rights Association was founded.   1968 Austin Curry occupied a council house in Caledon, Co. Tyrone, to protest against the unequal allocation of Local Government housing. The first major Civil Rights march took place from Coalisland to Dungannon. The People’s Democracy was founded by student demonstrators at Queen’s University, Belfast. There was rioting in Derry. The Government announced concessions to Catholics. Terence O’Neill’s moderate ‘Ulster at the Crossroads’ speech offended many Unionists and William Craig, Minister for Home Affairs, was dismissed. The New University of Ulster opened in Coleraine.   1969 The Belfast to Derry Civil Rights march was ambushed at Burntollet Bridge. There were riots in Derry and the first death occurs at disturbances at Dungiven. British troops moved into Derry after sectarian attacks on the Bogside. The last elections were held for the Northern Ireland Parliament. Terence O’Neill resigned as Unionist leader and was replaced by Major James Chichester-Clarke. Protestant mobs and the B Specials attacked Catholic areas in Belfast and British Forces intervened to protect Catholic communities. The Belfast ‘peace line’ was established by the British Army. The Hunt Report recommended the abolition of the B Specials and the disarming of the RUC. The Ulster Defence Force was established by militant Loyalists.   1970 Gerry Fitt formed the Social Democratic Labour Party. The Republican Movement split into the Provisional IRA and the Official IRA. The Ulster Defence Regiment replaced the B Specials. Moderate Protestants and Catholics formed the Alliance Party.   1971 The first British soldier was killed in the current troubles. Internment was introduced and by the end of the year 1500 people had been placed in custody. Brian Faulkner became Prime Minister. Rev. Ian Paisley formed the Democratic Unionist Party.   1972 ‘Bloody Sunday’ occurred in Derry – 13 demonstrators were killed by soldiers of the Parachute Regiment. The Northern Ireland Parliament was suspended in favour of direct rule by the British Parliament. William Whitelaw became the first Secretary of State. The ‘Bloody Friday’ bombings took place in Belfast – 19 people were killed and 130 injured.   1973 Northern Ireland joined the EEC as part of the United Kingdom. Elections were held for the new power sharing Assembly. The United Ulster Unionist Council (UUUC) was founded by the Orange Order, DUP and other Loyalist groups.   1974 The UUUC won 11 out of the 12 seats in the British General Election. A Loyalist general strike closed electricity services and blockaded Belfast. The power sharing Assembly was abandoned and the British Government resumed direct rule. An IRA attempt to tunnel out of the Maze prison was foiled. The Irish National Liberation Army was formed from militant dissidents in the Official IRA. In Britain, the Guildford bombing left 5 dead and the Birmingham pub bombings 21 dead.   1975 The IRA agreed to a ceasefire in February but it ended in November. Elections were held for the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention but the proposed assembly failed when the UUUC rejected power sharing. In the Miami Showband massacre 3 band members and 2 UVF men were killed. Internment ended.   1976 In the Kingsmill massacre in Co. Armagh, 10 Protestants were killed in retaliation for 5 Catholics killed the previous day. The Peace People Movement was inaugurated in Belfast after 3 children died in a terrorist incident. The ‘blanket protest’ was initiated by H Block Republican prisoners following the removal of their ‘special category’ political status.   1978 David Cook of the Alliance Party was elected as Belfast’s first non-Unionist mayor. In the La Mon bombing in Co. Down, 16 people were killed.   1979 European elections were held for the first time and Northern Ireland elected 3 members to the European Parliament. Lord Mountbatten and 3 others were killed in the Mullaghmore boat bombing. On the same day 18 British soldiers were killed in a bomb and gun attack at Warrenpoint, Co. Down. Tomas O’Fiaich, Archbishop of Armagh, was appointed a Cardinal.   1980 Irish Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, and British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, established the Anglo-Irish Committee at a summit meeting at Dublin Castle. A hunger strike was initiated by Republican prisoners and Cardinal O’Fiaich intervened to avert deaths.   1981 The IRA Hunger Strike in the Maze Prison lasted from 9th March to 3rd October and deaths began after 66 days. 10 strikers died.   1982 Three IRA men were ambushed and killed by the RUC near Lurgan, Co. Armagh and this incident was later alleged to be part of a ‘shoot to kill’ policy. At the Droppin’ Well pub bombing the INLA killed 11 off duty soldiers and 6 civilians.   1983 The ‘Supergrass’ trials began and 14 UVF members were convicted in the Joseph Bennet trial and 22 IRA members in the Christopher Black trial. Nine prisoners escaped in a mass breakout from the Maze Prison and a warder was killed.   1984 The New Ireland Forum published a report suggesting three possible solutions for breaking the Northern Ireland impasse. John Stalker began an inquiry into the RUC killings of suspected Republic terrorists. Margaret Thatcher rejected the proposals of the New Ireland Forum.   1985 The Anglo-Irish Agreement was signed between the UK and the Republic of Ireland at Hillsborough, Co. Down.   1986 John Stalker was removed from his inquiry into the RUC killings and there were allegations of a ‘cover up’ by the British Intelligence Services. The Belfast Appeals Court overturned the convictions in the Christopher Black ‘Supergrass’ trial.   1987 The British Army killed 8 IRA members and a civilian in an ambush at Loughgall, Co. Armagh. Eleven people were killed whilst attending a Remembrance Day service at the War Memorial in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh.   1988 John Hume, leader of the SDLP, held a meeting with Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein and was criticised by other political parties. A Loyalist gunman killed 3 mourners at an IRA funeral in Milltown Cemetery, Belfast. Two days later 2 British soldiers were dragged from their car and murdered by the IRA.   1989 Peter Brooke was appointed Secretary of State.   1991 UVF gunmen murdered 3 people at a mobile shop in Craigavon, Co. Armagh.   1992 The UDA were banned.   1993 The Shankill Road bombing killed 10 people in Belfast. Loyalist gunmen shot 6 Catholics in retaliation within a week.   1994 A IRA ceasefire was inaugurated in August and a Loyalist ceasefire in October.   1995 The Framework Document for Northern Ireland was launched by John Bruton and John Major. US President, Bill Clinton, visited Northern Ireland to help support the peace process. Daytime British Army patrols ceased in Belfast.   1996 The IRA ceasefire ended with the Canary Wharf bombings in London. Elections to the Northern Ireland Forum were held. Stormont multi-party talks began. Orange marchers confronted local Catholics at Drumcree over the right to march down the Garvaghy Road.   1997 Sinn Fein candidates won 2 seats in the UK House of Commons. The IRA announced a new ceasefire.   1998 The Good Friday Agreement was signed by all parties. The first all-Ireland ballot since 1918 approved the Good Friday Agreement. A new enquiry into ‘Bloody Sunday’ was announced by the UK Government. The 3 Quinn children died in a Loyalist arson attack in Ballymoney, Co. Antrim. A car bomb planted by a dissident IRA group at Omagh, Co. Tyrone killed 29 people. SDLP leader, John Hume, and Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize.   1999 There were confrontations in Portadown following an official banning of the Orange Order parade at Drumcree. The Patten Report on the future of the RUC made many recommendations including a name and badge change. It was announced that the RUC was to be awarded the George Cross. Power was devolved to the elected Northern Ireland Assembly. The British-Irish Agreement created a North-South Ministerial Council and other cross-border institutions. [Home] [What's New] [Quick Guide] [Admin Divisions] [Civil Registration] [Census] [Church Records] [Wills] [Emigrants] [Land and Property] [Other Sources] [Chronology] [Contacts] [Other Links]