ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the experiences of the British Army in Northern Ireland during the years 1969–72 and argues that there were very particular reasons why the Army found Northern Ireland a problematic theatre of operations. It points out the fact that although the Army was experienced in counter-insurgency, it was during these years in Ireland limited in the application of its expertise. The British Army was deployed to Northern Ireland in 1969 as part of a two-pronged policy of political reform and military reassurance. In linking the political dimension with the military, the deployment therefore seems initially to be very much in character with traditional British approach to counter-insurgency. Alienated from the Protestant-dominated government in Stormont the Catholic community turned to the Irish Republican Army, and civil rights issues were replaced by more nationalist concerns. The Army therefore found its initial, short-term role of reassurance rapidly evolving into a longer-term security role.
