Grace Thompson
The history of voting rights for Catholics in Northern Ireland has been a complex and often contentious issue. Since the creation of Northern Ireland in 1921, the Catholic minority group has faced discrimination in various aspects of life, including the right to vote. Early steps towards Catholic emancipation in the 19th century, led by Daniel O'Connell, granted Catholics the ability to hold public office. However, this progress was tempered by a reduction in the electorate to maintain Protestant voting power. The introduction of one man, one vote by organisations like the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) in the 1960s aimed to address voting inequities, gerrymandering, and discrimination in elections, housing, and employment. Despite these efforts, Catholics continued to face political discrimination, leading to a rise in militant groups and the eventual collapse of the civil rights movement. While the Catholic population in Northern Ireland has grown, it has yet to translate into a voting majority, and the community still faces challenges in fully exercising their political rights.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Voting rights for Catholics in Northern Ireland | Since 1829, Catholics have been allowed to hold public office in Ireland. However, until the 1960s, voting inequities continued in Northern Ireland, with only ratepayers and their spouses having a vote in local council elections. This disproportionately affected Catholics, who were more likely to be poor and unemployed. |
| Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) | An organisation formed in 1967 to campaign for civil rights for Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland. One of its main goals was to achieve 'one man, one vote', ending the plural voting system that gave business owners and university degree holders extra votes. |
| Catholic minority in Northern Ireland | Census 2021 figures show that 45.7% of people in Northern Ireland are Catholic or from a Catholic background, compared to 43.5% who are Protestant or from other Christian denominations. |
| Catholic voting majority | British officials predicted in 1993 that a Catholic voting majority in Northern Ireland would not happen until after 2050 due to a convergence in fertility rates between Catholics and the rest of the community. |
| Catholic voting preferences | According to polls cited by Mr Jardine, Catholics demonstrated less cohesiveness than non-Catholics in their voting preferences, particularly on the subject of a united Ireland. |
| Right to vote for Irish citizens in Northern Ireland | Over 830,000 Irish citizens and passport holders living in Northern Ireland are denied the right to vote in Irish presidential elections and European elections, despite being citizens of an EU member state. |
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What You'll Learn
The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA)
NICRA's innovation was to rely on and seek to vindicate civil rights, i.e., rights adhering to all citizens of Northern Ireland as British citizens, rather than base its demands on the nationalist goal of reunification. This approach allowed NICRA to improve the conditions of the Catholic minority without necessarily advocating for a united Ireland or promoting a Republican agenda. Indeed, NICRA's membership included liberal Protestants who sought an end to sectarianism and discrimination.
The organisation was influenced by the American civil rights movement and modelled somewhat on the National Council for Civil Liberties. NICRA held marches, pickets, sit-ins, and protests to pressure the Government of Northern Ireland to grant its demands. These included "one man, one vote", ending gerrymandering, preventing discrimination in government jobs and council housing allocation, and ending plural voting for business owners.
NICRA was accused by the Northern Ireland government of being a front for republican and communist ideologies, and there were tensions within the association between those advocating militant methods and those wedded to the pacifist American civil rights model. Despite these challenges, NICRA played a significant role in the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland, with its members taking part in protests, direct action, and marches throughout the region.
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Gerrymandering and property requirements
In the 1920s, the Northern Ireland government further entrenched unionist control by abolishing proportional representation for local government elections and introducing a first-past-the-post system. This change, combined with the property franchise, which granted votes in local elections only to those who owned property, heavily favoured the Protestant community. As a result, many towns and cities with a Catholic majority, such as Derry, Armagh, and Dungannon, were unionist-controlled.
The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) campaigned in the late 1960s and early 1970s to end gerrymandering and property requirements that discriminated against Catholics in elections. Their demands included "one man, one vote," which would grant all people over 18 the right to vote in local council elections and remove the multiple votes held by business owners.
Gerrymandering in Northern Ireland has been a contentious issue in more recent times as well. In 2014, there were accusations of gerrymandering in the postponement of elections for 11 new, larger, and strengthened councils. The controversy centred around boundary disputes, with accusations that the boundaries were drawn to favour unionist parties.
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Discrimination in employment and public housing
Since the creation of Northern Ireland in 1921, the Catholic minority has suffered from discrimination by the Protestant and Unionist majority. James Craig, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, once declared to the Stormont Parliament: "We are a Protestant Parliament and a Protestant State." This ethos has been reflected in various aspects of life, including employment and public housing.
Discrimination in Employment
Historically, employment in Northern Ireland was highly segregated in favour of Protestants, particularly in senior roles in the public sector and certain key industries such as shipbuilding and heavy engineering. The police force, a strategically important area, also showed bias in its hiring practices. This discrimination was exacerbated by an economic recession in the late 1960s, which led to high unemployment rates, with Catholics being disproportionately affected. They constituted less than 40% of the population but accounted for over 60% of the unemployed.
To address this discrimination, the British government introduced legislation in the 1970s, including the Fair Employment Act 1976, to prohibit religious discrimination in Northern Ireland. This was strengthened by a new Fair Employment Act in 1989, which mandated employers to monitor the religious makeup of their workforce. The Fair Employment Commission was established to investigate allegations of discriminatory practices. These measures have significantly reduced segregation in the workplace, although large organisations have been quicker to implement these changes.
Discrimination in Public Housing
Post-war Northern Ireland experienced a severe shortage of public housing due to ageing homes and destruction caused by World War II. Local authorities, typically dominated by Unionists, allocated housing, often favouring Protestants over Catholics regardless of family size, economic need, or waiting lists. This discrimination in housing allocation sparked protests and galvanised civil rights campaigners.
The issue of housing segregation was also influenced by inter-communal tensions, causing people to move into areas inhabited by their own religious denomination. In 1969, 69% of Protestants and 56% of Catholics lived in streets where they were the majority, but by 1972, these figures rose to 99% for Protestants and 75% for Catholics. In 2004, it was estimated that 92.5% of public housing in Northern Ireland was divided along religious lines, with the figure rising to 98% in Belfast.
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Catholics and voting majorities in Northern Ireland
Since Northern Ireland's creation in 1921, the Catholic minority has suffered from discrimination at the hands of the Protestant and Unionist majority. James Craig, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, once declared: "We are a Protestant Parliament and a Protestant State".
In the early 19th century, Catholics in Ireland could not hold public office, including the position of Member of Parliament. This changed in 1829 with Catholic Emancipation, which allowed Catholics to hold public office. However, the electorate in Ireland was simultaneously reduced to prevent the Protestant minority from being out-voted.
In the 1920s, the Northern Ireland government abolished proportional representation for local government elections, which had granted votes to those who owned property. This change favoured the Protestant community, as did the plural business votes they enjoyed for parliamentary elections. As a result, many towns and cities with a Catholic majority were Unionist-controlled, including Derry, Armagh, Dungannon, and others.
The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) was formed in 1967 to campaign for civil rights for Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland. One of its main goals was to achieve "one man, one vote", ending the plural voting system that gave business owners and university degree holders an extra vote. NICRA also sought to end gerrymandering, which had been used to produce an artificial unionist majority in some areas.
Despite these efforts, Catholics in Northern Ireland continued to face discrimination in the allocation of government jobs and council housing, and political representation. By the late 1960s, voting inequities persisted, with only ratepayers and their spouses having a vote in local council elections. This disproportionately affected Catholics, who tended to be poorer and less likely to own property.
Census figures from 2021 show that 45.7% of people in Northern Ireland are Catholic or from a Catholic background, compared to 43.5% who are Protestant or from other Christian denominations. While the Catholic population has overtaken the Protestant one, it still falls short of a voting majority. British officials predicted in 1993 that a Catholic voting majority would not occur until after 2050 due to the convergence of fertility rates between Catholics and the rest of the community.
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Catholics and the right to hold public office
Since Northern Ireland's creation in 1921, the Catholic minority has suffered from discrimination by the Protestant and Unionist majority. Until the third decade of the 19th century, Catholics could not hold public office, including the position of Member of Parliament. In 1829, Daniel O'Connell led Catholic Emancipation, which finally allowed Catholics to hold public office. However, this came at a cost: to prevent the Protestant minority from being outvoted, the property qualification for voting was raised, reducing the electorate in Ireland.
In the 1920s, the Northern Ireland government abolished proportional representation for local government elections, further limiting Catholic influence. The property franchise, which granted votes in local elections only to those who owned property, heavily favoured the Protestant community. This resulted in many towns and cities with a Catholic majority, such as Derry, Armagh, Dungannon, and Enniskillen, being under Unionist control. The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) was formed in 1967 to campaign for civil rights for Irish Catholics, demanding an end to discrimination in elections, employment, public housing, and abuses of the Special Powers Act.
The Catholic working class in Derry in the 1960s lived in terrible housing conditions, suffered high unemployment, and felt discriminated against by the government. Despite being the majority in Derry, they had no political control due to gerrymandering. This sparked the civil rights movement, which adopted non-violent tactics inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.'s campaigns in the United States. The movement's main demands included "one man, one vote," an end to gerrymandering, and prevention of discrimination in government jobs and council housing.
While the civil rights movement achieved some concessions, many Catholics became disillusioned with the slow pace of change and turned to more militant means, with the IRA gaining influence. Despite the efforts of NICRA, the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland continued to face challenges in their political representation and struggle for equal rights.
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Frequently asked questions
No, Catholics were not allowed to hold public office before the 19th century.
Yes, in 1829, Daniel O'Connell led Catholic Emancipation, which allowed Catholics to hold public office. However, the property qualification for voting was raised, which reduced the electorate in Ireland from 216,000 to 37,000.
Catholics continued to face discrimination in Northern Ireland in the 20th century. In 1923, the Free State extended the vote to all women over 21, but voting inequities remained. In the late 1960s, only ratepayers and their spouses could vote in local council elections, which disproportionately affected Catholics, who were more likely to be poor and tenants.
The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) was formed in 1967 to campaign for civil rights for Irish Catholics, with "one man, one vote" as one of its main goals. However, the collapse of the civil rights movement empowered militants on both sides, and Catholics became increasingly disillusioned with the lack of progress. By the 1990s, the Catholic population in Northern Ireland was growing, but they still did not have a voting majority.
