A historical question about the 1970s

sonofaBrian

Had a question for the forum: during the Troubles, let's say 1972 or any of the early 70s were there any travel bans on flying to Northern Ireland? Due to the high conflicts? I'm asking as my dear departed dad had made an extended trip to Ireland during the Summer and Fall of 72. Which obviously was not a great time to visit his cousins and family (unless maybe you were involved in the conflicts).

What do the real Irish folk and experts think? Was there a travel ban? Incidentally my father did have a US military background, but his trip was not just a 'blind' trip to IE with his 'Irish friends' people for whom my mother never had known before, but his friends that were from Ireland and his cousins.

Sincerely,

A curious guy who is trying to do a little family history project.

EchoIndia

There was never any sort of travel ban that I can recall. The fact of the Troubles was probably deterrence enough as far as tourism was concerned. That being said, NI was not as dangerous a place as might be imagined, as long as you didn't frequent the areas where much of the violence occurred.

Joe 90

I'm from Donegal and lived in London from 1971 to 1977. Traveled back and forth frequently, quite often with no identification. Often got questioned by security because of my age and accent but no restrictions on travel.

Kalimah

I grew up in the south in the 1970s - there was no travel ban but we definitely would have avoided the north. My grandmother had left Belfast in the 1920s and as far as I know never went back.
I went up to the north first in 1994.

Zaph

I was 5 when my family flew from Aldergrove in Belfast to Toronto in 1972. We got a bus from Dublin to Belfast to catch the flight. I have a vague memory of seeing what I assume were British soldiers out the bus window at some point, no idea if it was at the border or elsewhere, but there clearly wasn't any sort of ban on flights in and out of Northern Ireland at that stage.

EchoIndia

Famously, British Airways used to position a Trident and its crew from Belfast to Glasgow to overnight, rather than have them stay in Belfast.

Tenger

My family are from along the border.

My parents travelled over the border multiple times per week in the 1970s.

My memory of the 1980s was checkpoints on the main road, but nothing on the back roads. Aughnacloy was the biggest checkpoint in my memory.

Hotblack Desiato

I think some are under the impression that the entire island of Ireland in the 1970s was something akin to Vietnam

Peregrinus

Tourism to the South was hit by the troubles, and tourism to the North was very badly hit, but travel services in and out of Ireland, and in and out of NI, were never suspended.

The only thing approaching a "travel ban" were orders under the UK Prevention of Terrorism legislation under which named individuals were banned from entering Great Britain. They could enter NI and, in fact, most of the people banned in this way actually lived in NI and could come and go freely, except to Great Britain.

alentejo

I remember that due to some incident in the early 80's, all bags were scanned (well some kind of metal detector device) when entering the airport terminal.

EchoIndia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122868597#Comment_122868597

There was a bomb attack in the terminal on 29 November 1975, with one fatality and several injuries.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122868506#Comment_122868506

Proof, as if proof were needed, of NI's very much second-class status within the "United" Kingdom.

Astral Nav

The UK PT Act 1973 also introduced the requirement to pass through designated ports (larger airports with a special branch presence) or else notify them and seek clearance through small port. Effectively an internal UK travel border as it applied between NI and GB and also Channel Islands and IOM as well. It also applied between ROI and those places. Ask any GA pilot and most have had some friction with this, at least administravely, often more so.

Despite the Troubles being thankfully over for thirty years these requirements remain and have recently been made more exacting on the prior notification aspect.