The Collective European Memory of 1968: The Case of Northern Ireland

Abstract

1968 is widely recognised as a year that saw great upheaval around the world. Whether in the USA, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Germany or Japan, governments were faced with a tide of revolts and insurrections of varying degrees and forms. It is clear that the French “événements” were, to a certain degree, inspired and influenced by what was happening elsewhere, perhaps explaining why so many similarities can be found on an international scale. Amongst those nations that experienced 1968 as a turning point in their development is Northern Ireland. This paper, through a comparison with the French events of 1968, will contend that Northern Ireland should be included in the list of countries that make up this international upheaval. Drawing on archival research, existing literature and in particular interviews with some of the major protagonists in the NI movement, it will investigate to what extent the international malaise and in particular the upheaval in France influenced events in Northern Ireland. Focussing on the student-based organisation The People’s Democracy, it will be argued that the French May/June 1968 had some significant influence on an organisation whose protest over the 1968-69 period was to prove fundamental in the ensuing Northern Ireland Troubles.