23 April 2012: Lasting Impact

As with almost all other wars, there was a legacy that has been left behind because of all of the fighting. Unfortunately, the view that people have of Ireland and the Irish people today can be somewhat negative. Some of the negative stereotypes that exist about the Irish people come from the war and the actions taken by some of the people during the war. While some may be true about a small percentage of Irish people, it is unfair to judge an entire nation on a small section of their history. This is a discussion for another time though, as I want to focus on the political ramifications from the war.

Fianna Fáil poster from 1959
(Taken from http://www.theeasterrising.eu)

Even though the fighting was finished and the war may have been over, any form of fabricated peace did no translate very well on the political front. The two main political parties in Ireland continued to opposed each other even after the war. These parties were Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Fianna Fáil were descendents of anti-treaty forces and Fine Gael were of the pro-treaty forces. Despite the fact that the violent fighting was completed, the battle resumed in the form of politics. One of the main reasons both sides were so poisoned against each other was because the leading members of each party were veterans of the war. They had a very real understanding of what they stood for and what their opponents stood against. The personal wounds from the war played a significant role in the way most of the political decisions were handled. Many of the politics children also became politics so the personal wounds felt by many of the leading members were felt by both sides for a number of years in Irish politics.

Fine Gael Logo
(Taken from http://www.spiralli.ie)

Fianna Fáil took control of Irish politics in the 1930's. It looked as if another civil war might break out between the IRA and the Free State. Fighting was averted though and violence in politics seemed to have died out by the 1950's. The IRA however still caused some trouble in Ireland. It wasn't until 1948 that the IRA finally renounced and discouraged military attacks on the southern portion of Ireland when it became the Republic of Ireland. After renouncing these attacks, the IRA devoted itself to ending British rule in Northern Ireland. They wanted to govern themselves and were willing to fight to achieve their goals, as we have seen time and time again throughout Irish history. Finally, the Irish Civil War was over and the political parties were no longer fighting against each other with violence, only in the way that politicians typically battle. This concludes my blog on the Irish Civil War. I hope you found it is intriguing as I have and hope I was able to shed a little light on the subject with the limited knowledge I have on the subject through my research.

Dolan, Anne. "Review of The Politics of the Irish Civil War". (review no. 502). 23 April, 2012. <http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/502>