29 February 2012: Divisions in Ireland

Signatures on the Anglo-Irish Treaty

The root of why the Irish Civil War happened can be traced back to the Anglo-Irish Treaty. This treaty was signed to give the Irish Free State the power to govern itself as a dominion in the British Empire. This treaty came to fruition after the Irish War of Independence, which I discussed in my last post. Throughout the course of the Irish War of Independence, the faction named the Irish Republican Brotherhood grew quite a bit. After the Anglo-Irish Treaty was agreed to and signed, the Irish Republican Brotherhood became the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Northern Ireland chose to opt out of what the treaty agreed on. This action planted the idea of not tagging along with the Irish Free State and the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

Two of the major players in the IRA were Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera. Both of these men wanted independence for Ireland but they each had different ideas of how to acquire this independence. Collins supported the treaty while de Valera was opposed of the treaty. This disagreement between these two leaders led to the resignation of de Valera as President of the Republic. After resigning, de Valera went on to form the Republic Association. While the IRA were unified as one throughout the course of the Irish War of Independence, they were now beginning to experience tensions because of the treaty. Most of the members of the IRA disagreed with the treaty but there were a few who supported Collins. The members of the IRA who opposed the treaty formed their own faction which was a sort of Army Executive. They called this faction the real government of Ireland, despite the results of the elections that were held in 1921. The forming of this faction brought about the disintegration of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). The RIC were a group of Irish nationalists who played a major part in setting in motion events that would eventually lead to the Irish Civil War. As is fairly obvious, the two opposing factions within the once unified IRA is not good for a country that just gained its independence.

The secession of Northern Ireland was also not a good thing to happen because of the conflicts it stirred up within the Irish people. The Northern Irish leaders and de Valera thought Collins acted without first consulting them and as a result, refused to agree to the terms set forth by the Anglo-Irish Treaty. After Northern Ireland decided to opt out of the treaty, a new boundary was drawn up to replace the original boundary that was established in 1920. Almost immediately after gaining independence, Ireland was falling apart because of Michael Collins acting on his own accord because he thought he knew what was best for the country. This action had greater repercussions than he could imagine and would ultimately lead to divisions great enough for the Irish people to fight each other. I will discuss the land of Ireland and how land played a role in the Irish Civil War next time.

Michael Collins

22 February 2012: Irish War of Independence and Secession from Britain

When discussing the Irish War of Independence, it is important to remember the conditions that the people were living under. The people were not happy because of being under British rule. They demanded home rule but the British were loathe to give up the power and control they had in Ireland. These circumstances led to certain events that took place because of the Irish people wanting to do something about the British refusing to allow them to control their own country. The first notable event was the Home Rule Crisis. This was characterized by the British Government granting home rule in 1912 but then suspending it because of the First World War. Ireland was split as to whether or not they should be involved in the war. As a result, some of who were called the Irish Volunteers supported the British while others supported the idea of Home Rule in Ireland. The Irish Republican Brotherhood, a faction in the volunteer movement, prepared to conduct a revolt against British rule in Ireland. The plan for revolt was realized in the next significant event, the Easter Rising of 1916. This is generally considered the start of the Irish Republic. This revolt was staged mainly in Dublin where over 400 people died. The whole rising lasted about one week, but some of the events that occurred after the rising was quelled caused widespread disdain for the British. Irish leaders of the Easter Rising were executed. News of this action spread across Ireland and the Irish people almost unanimously desired alienation from Britain.

The next significant event that occurred was The First Dáil. In the 1918 general election, Irish voters showed their disapproval of British rule and policy by taking 70% of the seats. It was determined that an Irish Parliament (known as The First Dáil) would be set up. The Dáil reaffirmed the 1916 declaration and established a Declaration of Independence. The also issued a message to the free nations of the world that stated that there was an "existing state of war, between Ireland and England." The Irish Volunteers were reconstituted as the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Between the Easter Rising of 1916 and the start of the Irish War of Independence in 1919, there were several instances where fighting broke out and Irish civilians were wounded, killed or arrested and British troops were arrested. One event that is widely considered the beginning of the War of Independence was when two IRA members, who were acting totally independently from any governing body, shot and killed two Royal Irish Constabulary officers, who were escorting explosives. These men acted on their own accord to essentially start a war. This is just a very basic overview of some of the events that took place leading up to the Irish War of Independence. Next week, I will discuss the divisions within Ireland and the problems these divisions caused. 

"Birth of the Irish Republic"

13 February 2012: Introduction

The Irish Civil War is a very hard event to describe because of the ambiguous nature of the events that took place over the course of the early 1920's. There was not a single event that set off the war, but rather a series of events that essentially led to what happened. In order to gain a basic understanding of why the Irish Civil War started, it is important to understand a little about the Irish War for Independence. This war began in 1919 and was between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the British forces stationed in Ireland at the time. This war lasted until July 1921 when both sides agreed to a ceasefire. Ultimately, talks led to something called the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which basically ended British rule in Ireland under the condition that there be a provisional government overseeing the transitional period for ten months. After this ten month period, the Irish Free State was established however, more troubling times were coming.

While most of the nationalists of Ireland were in favor of establishing an independent republic, there were secret negotiations that led to Ireland being a dominion of the British Empire, which meant that the British monarch was the head of state. Irish people who fought together in the War of Independence now found themselves at odds with each other because of the differing opinions about the current state of affairs after the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Not long after the treaty was ratified, Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith set up a Provisional Government to transfer power from the British administration to the Irish Free State. In the build up to war, there were several armed conflicts between opposing forces of the IRA, those in favor of the treaty and those who opposed it. One notable clash was in Limerick. There were military barracks here that would soon be vacant because the British troops would be leaving. The conflict was over who would occupy the barracks once they were empty. This situation was temporarily solved when they compromised and decided that each side would occupy two barracks. There was an even bigger conflict in Kilkenny when anti-treaty forces occupied the center of the town pro-treaty troops were sent from Dublin to disperse them. These are just a few of the conflicts that eventually led to the descent into civil war in Ireland. Next week will cover in more detail the Irish War of Independence and Irish secession from Britain.

The purpose of the blog is to research the Irish Civil War and inform readers of the events that have transpired in the early 20th Century. I was inspired to write a blog and learn about Irish history because I will be taking a tour of the county gardens and landscapes as well as other Irish historical sights and attractions in May 2012.