Exploring the Disadvantages Catholics Faced in Northern Ireland in the

Exploring the Disadvantages Catholics Faced in Northern Ireland in the Mid 60’s In Northern Ireland during the 60’s Catholics faced a lot of disadvantages, in areas of Employment, Education, Housing, and Politics; there is evidence that even the Police Force was biased in favor of the Protestant community. Employment was a major area in which Catholics faced discrimination. Protestants held most of the civil service, government and local government posts in Northern Ireland and even if a catholic did get employment, many would simply feel too uncomfortable in the midst of all the Protestants. The main companies were privately owned and although anti-catholic prejudice was often suspected among foremen or personal managers, it was a hard thing to prove. One fact that can be confirmed however is that, of 10,000 workers in a Belfast shipyard (the biggest single source of employment in the city), just 400 were Catholic. A similar pattern of employment can be seen in Fermanagh County Council where 322 of 370 employees were Protestant, including most of those in the ‘top’ positions. Within the Education Authority, the most sought after jobs in Fermanagh were for school bus drivers because of the long rest and holidays; all but seven of these places out of 75 were given to Protestants. Such facts are made all the more astounding considering more than half of the population of Fermanagh County were actually Catholic. Education was another area where Catholics faced discrimination. Dr McChuckey’s description of the results in Dungannon in 1964states â€Å"there were two secondary schools: â€Å"St.Patrick’s†, the Catholic institution, and ... ...alled in by the Unionists, to act like a police force/army. Catholic marches were banned. Student demonstrations ended up in violence. They treated Catholic civilians harshly which increased hatred between the two religious groups. Only 14.5% of Catholics were in the police force but they formed 40% of Northern Ireland's population. In conclusion there were many differences between Catholics and Protestants in the 1960s. Most of these differences were in opinion and in Politics. Nationalist politicians were always out numbered by Unionist politicians in large Nationalist areas. Therefore, Catholics could not have their views expressed and always lost out if it came to a majority vote. This unfair treatment halted progress to achieve peace in Northern Ireland and they are still trying to achieve peace to this day.