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When did the Troubles in Northern Ireland begin and end?

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Everyday life during the Troubles — the Troubles Local people walking past a British soldier on guard in Northern Ireland, August 1969.

The period of violent sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles is generally dated from approximately 1968 to 1998.1

While historians point to various instances of communal unrest as potential starting points, the conflict is widely considered to have begun in the late 1960s following the rise of the civil rights movement. A significant catalyzing event occurred on October 5, 1968, in Derry, when a protest march organized by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was violently suppressed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Escalating violence in 1969, including the Battle of the Bogside and the subsequent deployment of the British army, further solidified the onset of the conflict.123

The Troubles effectively concluded in 1998 with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, an accord that established a power-sharing government and sought to normalize relations between the involved parties.14