IRISH HISTORY SINCE 1850
2. An Gorta Mór
3. The Land League
4. Parnell and Home Rule
5. Unionism
6. The Cultural Revival
7. Home Rule
8. The Easter Rebellion
9. The War of Independence
10. The Free State: '20s
11. The Free State: '30s
12. The Troubles: '60s & '70s
13. The Troubles: '80s & '90s
14. The Celtic Tiger
15. Death of the Tiger
16. Sources
The War of Independence
With Sinn Fein in power and the Home Rule Bill dead, what would happen next? The unionists were still opposed to any agreement that took them away from Britain, and the British government was just as vehemently opposed to the demands of Sinn Fein for an Irish Republic that had been proclaimed during the Easter Rebellion. For its part, Sinn Fein refused to attend Westminster, as it did not recognize British rule, and it established its own parliament, Dail Eireann, in Dublin. It organized ministries and courts, raised funds, and declared the Irish Republican Army (IRA) as the defenders of the self-proclaimed state.
Sinn Fein wanted to create the Republic that had been proclaimed in 1916. Clearly neither the British nor the unionists would accept this. A war seemed inevitable. The Irish wanted their freedom, but the arguments of unionists to remain British were equally powerful. Also Britain had to think about its authority across the Empire: If it was seen to be weak in Ireland would it risk rebellion in India or South Africa?
In January 1919 two members of the Royal Irish Constabulary (the Irish police force) were shot dead by members of the IRA. The War of Independence had begun. The struggle between Britain and Ireland would last until the summer of 1921. It was a brutal war between the forces of the British Army and some 3,000 young men and women of the IRA who used guerrilla tactics and were organized as highly mobile flying columns. The catalogue of the war is full of tales of daring and heroic operations, but also willful murder and terrible cruelty on both sides.
The War of Independence was mainly concentrated in the southern half of Ireland. The War had little impact in Ulster, although unionists were deeply suspicious of the nationalist communities and several attacks took place. The War was effectively a struggle between the British and the forces of Irish Republicanism with the unionists remaining on the sidelines. The British government constantly argued that it was fighting a rebellious mob and that there was no popular support for the IRA or the War. While not a mass popular movement, it is clear that Sinn Fein, and by proxy the policy of fighting the British, did have popular support. Without the assistance of the Irish public, the Irish Republican forces could not have been as effective as they were.
While the IRA fought the War across Ireland, the IRB, which had been rebuilt and reorganized by Michael Collins after 1916, was instrumental in undermining the British security and intelligence system in Ireland. Collins was a brilliant strategist and effectively made Ireland ungovernable. It was a War that the British could never win, but then neither could the Irish Republican forces.
set fire to retail stores in Cork in retribution
for an ambush. Later that evening
English forces set fire to the
City Hall and the Carnegie Library.
The most controversial aspect of the War of Independence was the decision to introduce an additional force to Ireland to supplement the Royal Irish Constabulary. Known as the Black and Tans because of the color of their uniforms, the force of 8,000 men was recruited mainly from ex-servicemen. They were a ruthless force who sought to defeat the Irish Republican forces and also terrorize the Irish population. The arrival of the Black and Tans in Ireland brought a sickening new dimension to the War. Each attack or killing by Irish forces was met by a Black and Tan assault on people and property. House burnings, murder, rape, and assault became the weapons of the Black and Tans, and they sought to convince the Irish public that support for the Irish cause was untenable.
The Black and Tans were responsible for some of the most notorious killings of the War. In March 1920 they murdered the Lord Mayor of Cork in front of his family, and in November that year they killed a young Catholic priest, Michael Griffin, in Galway after luring him from his home on a bogus sick call. In December 1920 they also played a part in the wholesale burning of large parts of Cork city center in response to the killing of eighteen members of British forces by the IRA at Kilmichael.
In 1920 the British sought to end the conflict by offering Home Rule parliaments to both Dublin and Belfast. Belfast accepted. The 1920 Government of Ireland Act created a separate parliament in Belfast that would govern over the six counties of Northern Ireland. For unionists this allowed them to remain part of the United Kingdom and the Empire, while also having control of its own affairs. Dublin, however, in the form of Dail Eireann, refused.
With these events, the British granted the unionists their own parliament in Belfast and created a six county Northern Ireland. Although the Irish aspiration was a 32 county Republic, the Government of Ireland Act had already created a divided Ireland. In any negotiations, a united Ireland was unlikely to return to the agenda because of unionist opposition to the idea. In all probability the Irish would have to settle for less than they had fought for.
By the spring of 1921 the War of Independence was getting ever more bitter, with more death and destruction. By July 1921, 1,400 people had been killed (624 British military personnel, 552 IRA members, and 200 civilians) and much of the Irish infrastructure was damaged (key buildings such as the Custom House, which was attacked in 1921, took a decade to be rebuilt). Yet neither side was making any headway.
The Irish had to make a decision: continue fighting the war with little chance of outright victory and ever depleting resources, or enter negotiations with the British and try to secure the Republic through negotiation. They chose the latter. When the British Prime Minister offered the Irish another truce in July 1921, work began on finding a permanent solution for Ireland. Preliminary discussions took place during the summer, and the official peace conference began in October. The Irish were represented at the peace negotiations by five men who carried the authority to act on behalf of Dail Eireann. Although key figures such as Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith were included, de Valera chose to stay in Dublin. The negotiations lasted until December, and the Irish delegation kept Dublin constantly informed on their progress. The main themes of discussion were:
- What the future relationship of an independent Ireland would be to the British Crown and Commonwealth.
- The question of partition and the future of Northern Ireland.
- The right of Britain to retain certain navy ports in Ireland to protect its security needs.
David Lloyd George, Prime Minister, and the British negotiators refused to move on the issue of partition, and Northern Ireland was left out of the agreement. The Treaty that was signed on 6 December 1921 created a new nation, the Irish Free State, which comprised the 26 southern and western counties of Ireland. The new state remained a member of the Commonwealth in line with the Canadian model of dominion status. All members of the new state's parliament would also have to swear an oath of allegiance to the British Crown. To seal the agreement it had to be ratified by the British and Irish parliaments. In Britain that posed no problems, but in Ireland, war clouds gathered. Again.
Dail Eireann debated the Treaty during December 1921 and early January 1922. It was a rancorous and bitter debate. While Collins argued that the Treaty was the best deal possible, giving Ireland the freedom to achieve freedom and all that it had wished for over seven hundred years, De Valera argued that Ireland had fought the war to create a republic, and anything less was untenable. And so the Dail split, as did the country and even many families. De Valera led the anti-Treaty side with Collins and Griffith leading the pro-Treaty side. The Dail voted on 7 January, 64 in favor of ratifying the Treaty, 57 against.
On 28 June, 1922 the Irish Civil War began. Collins now led the forces of the Irish Free State and had all the machinery of government at his command. The anti-Treaty forces fought the War in the same way the Irish had fought against the British. Fighting was largely restricted to the south-west of the country.
The losses during the War were highly damaging to the future of Ireland:
- In August 1922 Arthur Griffith died of a heart attack, and days later Michael Collins was killed in an ambush. Ireland was left without the future leadership skills of two of the political heavyweights who had signed the Treaty and argued in favor of accepting it.
- To ensure order in the country the state forces introduced military courts with wide powers. Between September 1922 and April 1923, 77 anti-Treaty personnel were executed. These executions left a bitter legacy and opened the pro-Treaty forces to accusations of cruelty.
- By the end of the War 12,000 anti-Treatyites were in prison, 800 Free State troops had been killed, and possibly as many as 5,000 of their opponents. The cost of the war was terrible and demonstrated starkly how bitter the divisions of Civil War were. All these wounds would have to be healed in future decades.
The War ended in April 1923 when de Valera ordered his forces to end the fighting. The Free State forces had won the day, and an independent Ireland had come into being. Freedom had been won at a terrible price, and many believed that a partitioned Ireland that belonged to the Commonwealth wasn't even free.