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Subjects · Leaving Cert History

Leaving Cert History: Northern Ireland 1949–93

How often Northern Ireland 1949–93 comes up on the History papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 10 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

OL Asked on 10 of the last 10 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

Northern Ireland 1949–93, Higher Level(6 marks)

Quick ones on Northern Ireland 1949–93.

(a)In which year did the Battle of the Bogside take place?
  1. 1968
  2. 1969
  3. 1972
(b)What did the British Army's Operation Motorman clear in July 1972?
  1. Stormont's cabinet and its offices
  2. Internment camps at Long Kesh
  3. No-go areas in Derry and Belfast
(c)In which city did the IRA's 'Bloody Friday' bombings take place in July 1972?
  1. Belfast
  2. Newry
  3. Derry
Show the answers

(a) 1969

(b) No-go areas in Derry and Belfast

(c) Belfast

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Northern Ireland 1949–93.

Higher Level

Asked on 10 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Ireland Topic 5
2025Ireland Topic 5
2024Ireland Topic 5
2023Ireland Topic 5 (DBQ)
2022Ireland Topic 5 (DBQ)
2021Ireland Topic 5
2019Ireland Topic 5
2018Ireland Topic 5
2017Ireland Topic 5
2016Ireland Topic 5

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Northern Ireland 1949–93 questions

Northern Ireland 1949–93, 2 marks

In which year did the IRA bomb the Conservative conference hotel in Brighton?

  1. 1982
  2. 1987
  3. 1984
Show the answer

1984

The bomb at the Grand Hotel killed five people and narrowly missed Margaret Thatcher. The IRA warned that it only had to be lucky once.

Northern Ireland 1949–93, 2 marks

Who led the Ulster Unionist Party from 1979 to 1995?

  1. Harry West
  2. James Molyneaux
  3. David Trimble
Show the answer

James Molyneaux

Molyneaux led the UUP through the protests against the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement. David Trimble succeeded him in 1995.

Northern Ireland 1949–93, 2 marks

In which town did Conn and Patricia McCluskey found the Campaign for Social Justice in 1964?

  1. Dungannon
  2. Derry
  3. Newry
Show the answer

Dungannon

The McCluskeys gathered evidence of discrimination against Catholics in housing and jobs. Their campaign paved the way for NICRA, founded in 1967.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 10 of the last 10 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Ireland Topic 5
2025Ireland Topic 5
2024Ireland Topic 5
2023Ireland Topic 5 (DBQ)
2022Ireland Topic 5 (DBQ)
2021Ireland Topic 5
2019Ireland Topic 5
2018Ireland Topic 5
2017Ireland Topic 5
2016Ireland Topic 5

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Northern Ireland 1949–93 questions

Northern Ireland 1949–93, 2 marks

Where did the Northern Ireland parliament sit?

  1. Belfast City Hall
  2. Hillsborough Castle
  3. Stormont
Show the answer

Stormont

The parliament buildings at Stormont, outside Belfast, opened in 1932. The Ulster Unionist Party governed Northern Ireland without a break from 1921 to 1972.

Northern Ireland 1949–93, 3 marks

Which 1949 act promised that Northern Ireland would stay in the United Kingdom unless its parliament agreed otherwise?

  1. The Republic of Ireland Act
  2. The Ireland Act
  3. The Government of Ireland Act
Show the answer

The Ireland Act

Westminster passed it after the South declared a republic. It reassured unionists that partition would not be changed over their heads.

Northern Ireland 1949–93, 3 marks

Who was Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from 1943 to 1963?

  1. Basil Brooke
  2. Terence O'Neill
  3. James Craig
Show the answer

Basil Brooke

Brooke, later Lord Brookeborough, led a strongly unionist government and showed little interest in winning over the Catholic minority.

Other History topics

All of Leaving Cert History