Analysis: 60 years on, the campaign's objectives still resonate in a society facing a lack of affordable housing, residential segregation and sectarianism
By Melissa Baird, Queen's University Belfast
January 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the inauguration of the Campaign for Social Justice (CSJ). Established in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone by Patricia McCluskey and her husband Conn, the CSJ was one of the earliest civil rights groups in Northern Ireland that sought to address discrimination against the minority Catholic population. The group would later form part of the more well-known umbrella civil rights organisation, the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA).
Although in existence for less than a decade, the CSJ’s role in mobilising change in Northern Ireland and contributing to a mass movement for equality cannot be understated. Their work in collecting data and lobbying British politicians was pivotal in raising awareness of discrimination and inequality in Northern Ireland. A half-century later, its legacy around social housing awareness remains timely.
The CSJ was made up of middle-class Catholics, predominantly from the west of Northern Ireland, where complaints of discrimination were most acute in the 1960s. Patricia was a social worker and Conn was a general practitioner, which gave both first-hand insights into the impact of inadequate housing in local communities.
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From RTÉ Archives, RTÉ's 'Eye Witness’ programme looks back at the Caledon protest in a 1979 studio discussion
The group’s objective was simple: document and expose the discrimination faced by the minority Catholic population in Northern Ireland, particularly in housing, employment and voting. In doing so, the organisation bypassed local politics altogether, instead seeking to gain attention from audiences outside of Northern Ireland, particularly from politicians in Britain.
They published pamphlets such as The Plain Truth, which outlined religious disparities around employment in public institutions and access to social housing. Although it is estimated that Catholics made up 35 to 40% of Northern Ireland’s overall population in the early 1970s, figures published in the 1969 edition of The Plain Truth showed that Catholics constituted less than 5% of civil service employees.
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From RTÉ Archives, Angela McCrystal gives a personal account of the housing situation in Dungannon and the formation of the Homeless Citizens League
Religious discrimination around social housing was a key concern for the CSJ. In fact, the CSJ had its roots in another organisation called the Homeless Citizens League, which was also founded by the McCluskeys in May 1963. Inspired by the African-American civil rights movement, the Homeless Citizens League held demonstrations and protests for fair housing allocation policies in Dungannon.
Until 1971, when the Northern Ireland Housing Executive was formed, local councils were mostly responsible for the allocation of social housing. Gerrymandering and disfranchisement in local elections meant that unionist politicians often dominated local councils, even in areas with a majority Catholic population. The CSJ’s publications were crucial in documenting and disseminating statistics that supported public allegations of discriminatory social housing allocation.
Read more: What are the health implications of poor social housing in Dublin?
Unfair allocation of social housing motivated the first case of non-violent direct action by the NICRA in June 1968. Between their formation in January 1967 and April 1968, the NICRA acted as a lobbying group, very much like the CSJ. However, in the spring of 1968, the NICRA executive decided to change course. NICRA had made social housing reform one of their central demands, advocating for a points-style system that would prioritise those most in need. Then in June 1968, Austin Currie, the Nationalist Stormont M.P. for East Tyrone, squatted in a new house in Caledon, Co. Tyrone, which had been given to a single, Protestant woman ahead of Catholic families.
However, CSJ members began to distance themselves from NICRA from early 1970 due to the increasing influence of the Official IRA within the umbrella group. CSJ and NICRA member John McAnerney explained to the press: ‘It seems at the time evident that there has been a takeover by people who are not really out for civil rights, but who use the movement for putting forward their extreme left wing views.’ In April, Conn McCluskey and other CSJ members resigned from NICRA’s executive.
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From RTÉ Archives, Nationalist MP, Austin Currie, locks himself into a council house in protest against the unfair allocation of houses
Both NICRA and the CSJ were soon overshadowed by the growing violence and unrest in Northern Ireland, however. A year after suspending Stormont and introducing direct rule, the British government proposed reforms to the government of Northern Ireland in March 1973. It was at this point that the CSJ decided that they "had achieved our main aims, and that our publicity work should come to an end.’ Both McCluskeys then withdrew from public life but continued to serve their local communities. In 1989, Conn McCluskey published his memoir Up Off Their Knees: A Commentary of the Civil Rights Movement in Northern Ireland.
60 years on, the CSJ’s concerns about housing still resonate in Northern Irish society. Lack of affordable private housing, social housing shortages, residential segregation and sectarianism continue to hamper fair access to homes in Northern Ireland. Indeed, the waiting list for social housing in Northern Ireland has almost doubled in 20 years, rising to over 45,000 applicants in 2023.
In 2024, housing issues have only increased in prevalence across Ireland and the United Kingdom. With elections expected across both islands this year, housing is poised yet again to be one of the top issues facing politicians and voters alike.
Dr Melissa Baird is a part-time lecturer in the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy, and Politics at Queen's University Belfast, and the Special Projects Co-Ordinator at The Linen Hall.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
