“What happened to all the Prods?” is a report on the displacement and relocation of Protestant, Unionist and Loyalist (PUL) families from the West Bank of the River Foyle during the period of conflict from 1968 to 1998 and its impact on PUL mindsets, community development and good relations since.
Commonly described within the PUL community as “the Exodus”, this movement significantly changed the social, religious, educational and political character of Derry/Londonderry.
It adopts an evidence-based approach combining personal testimony, focus-group discussions, archival research, newspaper reports, demographic and electoral information and relevant academic and historical publications.
The study involved 116 participants, including 53 individual PUL interviews, 21 individual Catholic, Nationalist and Republican (CNR) interviews and eight focus groups—seven PUL and one CNR. Participants ranged in age from 25 to over 65 and included displaced residents, people who remained on the west bank, former neighbours, clergy, educators, community workers and political representatives. Interviews were conducted in accordance with agreed ethical and trauma-informed principles.
The evidence demonstrates that there was no single event or cause behind the Exodus. Rather, it was a prolonged and incremental movement shaped by interconnected “push and pull” factors. These included, during the periods when violence was at its most intense, direct threats and intimidation, sectarian physical and verbal abuse, attacks on homes, churches, schools and mainly Protestant businesses, the targeting and killing of members of the security forces and local businesspeople, the impact of bombings and shootings, deteriorating community security and a growing fear of what might happen next. Housing redevelopment, poor housing conditions, employment, education and the availability of new homes on the East Bank and in outlying areas also influenced movement. However, the report concludes that these factors cannot be wholly separated from the conflict environment, which deepened feelings of vulnerability and made many families believe that leaving was their safest or only realistic option.
The scale of the demographic change was substantial. Census figures cited in the Report show that the PUL population on the West Bank declined from 8,459 in 1971 to 2,874 in 1981. Other research referenced records an 83 per cent reduction of Protestants between 1971 and 1991. This population movement contributed to increased residential segregation and was reflected in falling church attendance, declining school enrolment, the closure or relocation of churches and schools, changing shopping and employment patterns and the weakening of long-established neighbourhood relationships
The testimonies describe the emotional consequences of communities wherein families had deep generational connections and roots. A strong identity pertained. For some, displacement followed an explicit threat or traumatic incident. For others, the decision arose from the cumulative effects of fear, uncertainty, abandonment to self-protection of homes as killings of security and non-security individuals mounted; all of this forced the gradual disappearance of neighbours and community institutions. Even among those who established successful lives elsewhere, memories of loss, dislocation and feeling “strangely homeless” remained.
The report also records important CNR perspectives. Many CNR participants remembered good local relationships with Protestant neighbours and did not welcome the intimidation or violence that contributed to their departure. Some felt powerless to intervene, while others had little awareness at the time of the scale or long-term impact of the movement because their communities were also experiencing violence, discrimination, internment, Bloody Sunday and other forms of trauma.
As is the case in other research into displacement, these accounts demonstrate that the Exodus is best understood within the origins and patterns of wider conflict which began in 1968 without diminishing the particular experience of PUL displacement or attributing collective responsibility to the CNR community, per se.
The report finds that the Exodus has not received sufficient civic or public acknowledgement. For many PUL participants, denial or minimisation of the experience has compounded feelings of trauma, marginalisation and unequal recognition when compared with other legacy experiences of the ‘troubles.’
At the same time, the research identifies a willingness within both PUL and CNR communities to acknowledge that the displacement occurred, that it was regrettable and that it resulted from complex but identifiable circumstances and factors.
Resettlement on the Waterside or East Bank created challenges. Many relocated families arrived in places with limited community infrastructure and had to rebuild social networks, services and a sense of belonging. Over time and on occasions with the assistance of CNR community organisations, sustained voluntary and professional community development, which was impeded by PUL population movement, produced creative leadership, stronger organisations, and greater confidence within PUL.
The report therefore records not only loss and displacement but also resilience, adaptation and a renewed determination to participate in the civic, cultural and economic life of the wider city; not always appreciated as Good Relations policy and others designed to promote inclusion and consensual decision making are not adhered to.
It is contended that addressing these deficits at the political level has the potential to encourage and increase greater social cohesion; less focused on identity labelling and more on issues which impact on individuals and families regardless of their allegiances. It is noted also in the report that continuing attacks on the residents of the Fountain reminds us, as one CNR former political activist states in an interview, sectarianism is alive and well.
The report concludes that acknowledgement of the Exodus should not be used to construct a competing or exclusive narrative of victimhood. Instead, it should form part of a fuller and more inclusive understanding of the city’s shared past. Recognising and ensuring publicly informed knowledge of the experiences of displaced PUL families, to sit alongside what was experienced within CNR communities, would eliminate perceptions of a selective hierarchy of remembrance and support parity of esteem, mutual respect and reconciliation.
It is recommended within the report that civic leaders, community organisations and other relevant bodies endorse the need for formal and meaningful acknowledgement. A number of strategies are cited. But above all, political acknowledgement is paramount.
Acknowledgement cannot change the past, but it can challenge denial, validate lived experience and help create a more inclusive account of the last 60 years of Derry/Londonderry’s history. The report presents this as an important and necessary contribution to the unfinished work of reconciliation and healing.
We may have stopped ourselves from falling, but the report contends Derry/Londonderry still has a greater height to climb.
Terry Wright is a former member of the UUP who, in addition to inter- and intra-community activities works independently to promote Civic Unionism.
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