Fifteen unprecedented, historic days in 1974 when a million British citizens, the Protestants of Northern Ireland, staged what amounted to a rebellion against the Crown and won.

The Ulster Workers' Council (UWC) strike took place between Wednesday 15 May 1974 to Tuesday 28 May 1974. The strike was called in protest at the political and security situation in Northern Ireland and more particular at the proposals in the Sunningdale Agreement which would have given the government of the Republic of Ireland a direct say in the running of the region. The strike lasted two weeks and succeeded in bringing down the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive. Responsibility for the government of Northern Ireland then reverted to the British Parliament at Westminster under the arrangements for 'Direct Rule'.

There was a debate in the Northern Ireland Assembly on a motion condemning power-sharing and the Council of Ireland on Tuesday 14 May 1974. The motion was defeated by 44 votes to 28.

By the end of day one the port of Larne, County Antrim, was sealed off. Roads had been blocked and buses were hijacked in Belfast. Electricity supplies were also disrupted. The power cuts forced some factories to close and send workers home. The Ulster Workers' Council issued a statement that it would ensure that essential services would continue. Members of the UWC had talks with Stanley Ormee and the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office. The strike was the main subject of Northern Ireland 'question time' in the House of Commons at Westminster. Paddy Devlin a member of the Executive, threatened to resign on the issue of interment. Merlyn Rees, the then Secretary of State, met with Loyalist leaders in Stormont and said that he would not negotiate with the UWC. Postal delivery services came to a halt following intimidation of Royal Mail employees. There were continuing problems in farming and in the distribution of food supplies. William Craig, the then leader of Ulster Vanguard, criticised Merlyn Rees for not negotiating with the Ulster Workers' Council . Car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, killed 33 people raising the tension in Northern Ireland. The bombs were later attributed to Loyalist paramilitaries. The death toll in the bombs remains the highest to occur during any single day of 'the Troubles'. In an attempt to resolve the strike the Northern Ireland Executive agreed to postpone certain sections of the Sunningdale Agreement until 1977 and to reduce the size of the 'Council of Ireland'. These proposals were rejected by leaders of the Ulster Workers' Council. The British government repeated their stance on not negotiating with the UWC. Harold Wilson, the then British Prime Minister, made a broadcast on the British Broadcasting Corporation. Wilson referred to 'spongers' - meaning the Ulster Workers' Council (UWC) and its supporters. However most Protestants took the reference as a slight on them. The crisis came to a head. Brian Faulkner resigned as Chief Executive following a refusal by Merlyn Rees, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to meet with representatives from the Ulster Workers' Council (UWC). Faulkner's Unionist colleagues also resigned. This effectively marked the end of the Northern Ireland Executive. Farmers in tractors blocked the entrance to the Stormont parliament buildings and also much of the Upper Newtownards Road. The collapse of the Northern Ireland Executive spread to the protestors and celebrations took place in Protestant areas across the region. The successful Ulster Workers Strike in 1974, (which was directed by Glenn Barr, a Vanguard Assemblyman and UDA member), was later described by the British minister Merlyn Rees as an "outbreak of Ulster nationalism". Vanguard can mean: A vanguard is the forward division in an army. ... Uda can refer to: Emperor Uda, the 58th imperial ruler of Japan. ...