1968 in Northern Ireland

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Events during the year 1968 in Northern Ireland.

Incumbents

Events

=January to June=

=July to December=

  • 3 July – As part of a series of protests against housing conditions in Derry, the Derry Housing Action Committee (DHAC) holds a sit-down protest on the newly opened second deck of the Craigavon Bridge in the city.
  • 31 July – Ralph Grey is appointed as Governor of Northern Ireland.
  • 22 August – The Society of Labour Lawyers (SLL) publishes an 'interim report' about discrimination in Northern Ireland. The report is heavily criticised by unionists.
  • 24 August – First Civil Rights March: The Campaign for Social Justice (CSJ), the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) and other groups hold the first 'civil rights march' in Northern Ireland from Coalisland to Dungannon, in County Tyrone. The rally is officially banned, but takes place and passes off without incident.
  • 27 August – The Derry Housing Action Committee (DHAC) organises another protest in the Guildhall's council chamber. Afterwards it invites NICRA to organise a march in Derry.
  • 28 August – Gerry Fitt, MP, tables a House of Commons motion, signed by 60 Labour Party backbenchers, criticising RUC action in Dungannon on 24 August, demanding that "citizens of Northern Ireland should be allowed the same rights of peaceful demonstration as those in other parts of the United Kingdom".
  • 5 October – A civil rights march in Derry, which includes several Stormont and British MPs, is batoned off the streets by the Royal Ulster Constabulary, resulting in two days of serious rioting in Derry.{{cite web|title=Parades and Marches – Chronology 2: Historical Dates and Events|work=Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN)|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/parade/chpa2.htm|accessdate=28 January 2010}}
  • 9 October – Following a student demonstration in Belfast, the People's Democracy is formed.{{cite web|url=http://www.larkspirit.com/history/chronology.html|title=Larkspirit Irish History|publisher=larkspirit.com|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423022915/http://larkspirit.com/history/chronology.html|archivedate=23 April 2009}}
  • 25 October – The New University of Ulster is opened in Coleraine, County Londonderry.
  • 30 October – Taoiseach Jack Lynch calls for an end to partition to resolve the unrest.
  • 4 November – Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O'Neill says there will be no end to partition without the consent of the Northern Ireland parliament.
  • 22 November – Terence O'Neill announces five point plan to ease Catholic grievances on housing allocation and electoral law.
  • 11 December – William Craig, NI Minister of Home Affairs, is dismissed from the Northern Ireland cabinet.
  • 20 December – People's Democracy announce Belfast to Derry march.

=Undated=

Arts and literature

  • May – The Honest Ulsterman, a Northern Ireland literary magazine, is established by poet James Simmons; it continues until 2003.
  • Derek Mahon's poems Night-Crossing published.{{cite web|work=Culture Northern Ireland|title=The 1960s Revival|url=http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article/1721/the-1960s-revival|accessdate=2012-07-26}}

Sport

=Football=

::Winners: Glentoran

::Winners: Crusaders 2 – 0 Linfield

=Golf=

Births

=Full date unknown=

Deaths

=Full date unknown=

See also

References

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Northern Ireland

Category:1968 in Europe