Re: Northern Ireland
@Phil you have a good understanding of the issues, I was trying to prece to just the relevant bit regarding Harold Wilson. As you say the reason many Catholics couldn't vote was down to the electoral law stipulating land ownership. As for the troops, while many Catholics did see them in a good light to start with it wasn't long before the troops were seen negatively, especially after Bloody Sunday. The issue was that the British government still saw the Unionists as the legitimate power, the troops were quickly doing the bidding of the Unionist government even as far as assisting the Unionist paramilitary groups.
As for SF, it was no surprise their stance was so hardened given an equally opposed standpoint from the UK government at the time. It's hard to see beyond the terrorism to the root causes, but it's something that became very clear during the 90s. It probably helped that Apartheid in South Africa ended when it did. Thatcher (and all her predecessors) have a lot to answer for for their undying support of a regime built on oppression. While not on quite a scale there were many parallels with Northern Ireland.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
