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