The Ulster Workers' Council (UWC) strike was a general strike that took place in Northern Ireland between 15 May and 28 May 1974, during "the Troubles". The strike was called by unionists who were against the Sunningdale Agreement, which had been signed in December 1973. Specifically, the strikers opposed the sharing of political power with Irish nationalists, and the proposed role for the Republic of Ireland's government in running Northern Ireland. The strike was organised and overseen by the Ulster Workers' Council and Ulster Army Council, which were formed shortly after the Agreement's signing. Both of these groups included Ulster loyalist paramilitaries such as the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). These groups helped to enforce the strike by blocking roads and intimidating workers. During the two-week strike, loyalist paramilitaries killed 39 civilians, of whom 33 died in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. The strike succeeded in bringing down the power-sharing Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive. Responsibility for the government of Northern Ireland then reverted to the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster under the arrangements for 'Direct Rule'. The successful strike was later described by the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Merlyn Rees, as an "outbreak of Ulster nationalism". Timeline 14 May A debate was held in the Northern Ireland Assembly on a motion condemning power-sharing and the Council of Ireland, a group established under the terms of the Sunningdale Agreement to facilitate co-ordination between the governments of Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The motion was defeated by 44 votes to 28. Following the Assembly debate, Harland and Wolff shop steward and Ulster Workers Council (UWC) central organiser Harry Murray told a group of journalists that a general strike would begin the following day in response. The date had been agreed by the UWC some time in advance as they wanted it to coincide with the vote, which they had expected to end in defeat for the hard-line unionist motion. 15 May: Day one of the strike The strike had a slow start with many workers simply going to work anyway, but after a number of workplace meetings, workers began leaving their workplaces after lunchtime. Murray would later admit that the start of the strike had been poorly organised to the extent that on the first day even his own wife asked him why he was not at