[Unfathomable]

Uh...hey,
I'm supposed to be doing a project on the Civil Rights campaign in Derry (1968-1969), but I'm having a bit of trouble trying to answer this last question...
We're supposed to explain why Derry became a flashpoint, but honestly, I'm not even sure what it means by flashpoint.

I was wondering if someone could possibly help me find some links or something to help me out...

Thanks

[MrJohnDClare]

For flashpoint, read 'trigger'/ 'turning point'.
The question is asking you whether Londonderry was the final-cause/start-point of the Troubles.

Your essay will have to log all the build-up of tension during the 1960s -- O'Neill, Paisley, underlying discrimination against the Catholics, NICRA etc.
Then there was the Derry March, and the police action against NICRA, and it is true that after Londonderry there was no turning back.
The you will need to talk about the slide of the troubles in outright violence after 1968-9 - the provos, free Derry, the arrival of the British troops, internment, Bloody Sunday, direct rule etc.

If you were seeking alternative turning points, try Gusty Spence, or Paisley snowballing Lemass, but the truth is that Londonderry was indubitably the time Ulster politics exploded.

Try this introduction to the Troubles: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/troubl...rticle_01.shtml