The Troubles
A colloquialism, widely used in the UK and Ireland to refer to the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland which flared into serious sustained violence through the summer of 1969 following a Civil Rights March from Belfast to Derry in January of that year. The march was one of a series of protests aimed at the injustice of gross entrenched discrimination against the Catholic (largely Nationalist/Republican sympathising) population over voting rights, housing, and employment.
The march was ambushed and attacked with considerable violence by a determined, organised Protestant mob led by one Ronald Bunting at Burntollet Bridge, about 5 miles from its planned destination. The RUC were accused, with considerable justification, of doing nothing to prevent the attack and of standing by whilst it was in progress. There were also credible allegations that many of the attackers were serving members of the Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) - known colloquially as the 'B-Specials'.
The Wikipedia articles on Northern Ireland, together with their reference sources and links, are a solid and comprehensive introduction to the title of this article. There are a lot of them but the following are representative and contain links to most of the others:
