"More than bricks" ( 5882 KB) - Northern Ireland Housing Executive

The late 1960s was not all about the Beatles, Flower
Power and Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. It
was also a time of upheaval and protest at home
and abroad. The United States was caught up in an
unpopular war in Vietnam and students were fighting
pitched battles with police on the streets of Paris. Here
in Northern Ireland, students also took to the streets.
They demanded the reform of local government.
The Civil Rights Association, formed in 1967,
highlighted poor housing conditions and dissatisfaction
with housing administration. In 1968 one Stormont MP
occupied a council house at Caledon, County Tyrone,
to demonstrate the inconsistencies and unfairness in
the allocation of houses.
Protests and disorder led to ever increasing violence.
The summer of 1969 witnessed riots across Northern
Ireland and in August of that year, the first troops
appeared on the streets.
The civil disturbances of the late 1960s marked the
beginning of ‘The Troubles’. It was the beginning of
a long dark era, but also the beginning of reform.
Housing would be central to this.
The reform of housing administration in Northern
Ireland began in the autumn of 1969 after discussions
at government level laid the foundation for an overhaul
of public services. These changes would radically
affect the administration of housing and other key
public services.
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