James Chichester-Clark
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Sir James
Chichester-Clark. James was Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
from 1969 to 1971 and was assumed by many to be the last PM of
anywhere that Eton would ever produce.
Chichester-Clark was respectable, stolid, unimaginative, and
saturnine. He spoke in a cut glass accent and was the last Ulster
Unionist to do so.
James was born in at his family seat Moyola Park, Northern Ireland in
- James’s father was a Unionist MP. When the father died
James’ grandmother became a Unionist MP in Stormont for the same
constituency and indeed the only woman there. The family was
Church of Ireland. His ancestors had shifted from Great Britain to
Ireland in the 17 th century. He was a distant cousin of his immediate
predecessor as PM: Terence O’Neill.
James attended Eton where he was an unremarkable schoolboy.
During the Second World War he was commissioned into the Irish
Guards. This was also the regiment of O’Neill.
During the war James fought in Italy where he was badly wounded.
Most of his men were killed. He bore the scars of war for the rest of
his life
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After the war he was appointed aide-de-campe to the Governor
General of Canada. The Governor-General was Earl Alexander of
Tunis who was also an Ulsterman. James was present in Canada at
the Commonwealth meeting in 1948 when Lord Alexander allegedly
snubbed the Southern Irish Premier John A. Murphy which led to the
South of Ireland proclaiming a republic.
In 1959 James wed a young widow. He and his goodwife went on to
have two children. In 1960 James was elected to Stormont for his
grandmother’s former seat. He joined the Orange Order which was
almost sine qua non for Unionist MPs.
James’ younger brother Robin was elected to Westminster as
Unionist MP.
James served as Chief Whip of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). He
was later Agriculture Minister. James was a mediocre public speaker.
O’Neill was reforming Northern Ireland as nationalists were
protesting. The UUP was very chary about both of these things.
James resigned from the cabinet over the timing of O’Neill’s decision
to grant the vote to all adults and not just all householders.
Disquiet in UUP ranks and rising violence compelled O’Neill to stand
down as PM in 1969. James and Brian Faulkner put their names
forward for the leadership. O’Neill disliked both men but felt that
Faulkner was slipperier. Therefore, he let it be known that he backed
James. Faulkner later said he lost because he was middle class and
James was upper class. It was an epoch when most right wingers felt
an instinctive deference to the upper orders.
James took over a situation that would have taxed the wisdom of
even the ablest statesman. Terrorism was increasing. Nationalists
demanded instant and far-reaching reforms. Loyalists dug their heels
in. London was demanding change and not delivering sufficient
security support.
The army came into the streets in 1969 because the Royal Ulster
Constabulary (RUC) could not cope. The Hunt Report demanded
reform of the RUC B Specials. James consented but this irked the
UUP which was already troubled by what their perceived as a
weakening of the unionist position. They began to say that James
was not staunch. James orated for moderation and policies that were
more inclusive of the Catholic minority. However, the UUP was
increasingly defensive minded and sectarian asperities were
exacerbated by rising violence. James denounced bestial sectarian
attacks but they were on the increase anyway.
A tub-thumping Christian fundamentalist preacher Ian Paisley
founded his own party in 1970: the Democratic Unionist Party.
Reverend Paisley was elected to Stormont. He furiously denounced
James as a sell-out.
London sent over cabinet ministers to superintend the situation. The
UK Government ordered a large-scale search of homes in a working
class Catholic area of Belfast: the Falls Road. This led to a breakdown
in relations between the army and the local community.
In 1971 three off duty teenaged soldiers were lured to a ‘party’ and
shot dead by the IRA. The murder of unarmed men shocked the UK.
James warned Westminster that it had to increase troop numbers.
When the UK Prime Minister would not send sufficient soldiers
James resigned. Despite pleas for him to withdraw his letter of
resignation to the Governor of Northern Ireland, James refused. He
was succeeded by his rival Brian Faulkner.
James was raised to the peerage as Lord Moyola. He took his title from the name of his family seat. Though he became
deputy lord lieutenant of his native County Londonderry he kept a
low profile. He endorsed the Good Friday Agreement.
It was not until 2000 that a biography of James was published.