Pop Goes Northern Ireland S04E03 - 1976

This week Pop Goes Northern Ireland focuses on 1976. This is one of the worst years of violence during the Troubles, and the year starts with a litany of sectarian assassinations, most notably the Kingsmill Massacre. In a final effort to seek agreement on a government for Northern Ireland the government recalls the Constitutional Convention, but it fails to reach any agreement. The government moves toward a policy of 'Ulsterisation', putting the RUC and the UDR increasingly in the frontline and reducing the role of the army. In August, one incident involving the killing of the three Maguire children sparks mass protests against violence and the creation of the peace people. However, the initial euphoria that the movement will bring peace to Northern Ireland soon evaporates.