Word: faulknerisms
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With the end of Brian Faulkner's five-month-old government, hopes for harmony between Catholics and Protestants were ended, and the prospect was for still more of the sectarian violence that has dominated Ulster for the last five years. Said Faulkner as he gave up his office: "It is the saddest day of my life and for the country I love. Today I fear we are the despair of our friends and the mockery of our enemies...
...Nervous Breakdown. Between the intransigence of the Protestants and the bumbling of Britain's Labor government there was, however, little chance for moderates like Faulkner. The Protestants, who make up about two-thirds of Ulster's population, were angry at having been maneuvered by London into sharing power with the Catholic minority. They also feared that cooperation in Ulster would eventually lead to union with the predominantly Catholic Republic of Ireland-a political marriage that would instantly turn their majority into a minority...
Actually, not even the leaders of the U.W.C. expected that the strike would be successful enough to bring down the Faulkner coalition. Day by day, however, more and more workers stayed away from their jobs, and both industry and domestic services slowed to a near halt. Grocery stores ran out of food, ser vice stations emptied their gasoline tanks, and electric power was cut to one-fourth of normal output. By the end of two weeks, the strikers were so fully in control that they were regulating what little rural commerce remained and had stopped the refueling of airplanes...
...Roadblocks. Ulster's Provincial Executive, the Protestant-Catholic coalition government led by Protestant Brian Faulkner, so far has taken no action against the strikers. But Len Murray, leader of Britain's Trades Union Congress, attempted to intervene. He flew to Belfast to lead a "back-to-work" march. Less than 300 workers joined him, and they were all pelted with garbage, eggs and tomatoes by angry Protestants. The British government increased its 15,500-man Ulster garrison by 1,000; in full battle gear, thousands of soldiers swept through Belfast, clearing the streets of the barricades. However...
...Faulkner then tried to defuse the strike by meeting some demands but the militants rejected his proposals, denouncing them as a "confidence trick." At week's end, with neither London nor the Executive willing to negotiate directly with the U.W.C., the impasse continued. Leaders of the Executive met secretly with Prime Minister Harold Wilson, which may be a prelude to the use of British troops to break the strike. The Rev. Ian Paisley, however, declared: "The strike must go on!" If it does, the victim will not only be Ulster's economy, but also the Sunningdale agreement, which...