So carrying on from my studies of the Progressive Era I now shift my focus to the same time period yet in a different region, across the pond to Ireland. The Irish War of Independence is a historical topic I have always been fascinated with just was waiting for the right time to dive in. Now seems ideal after my past couple months of studying the 1900-1920s. Also with it being the month of March now seems like the perfect time to enter a new phase of Irish culture appreciation. After all I am a quarter Irish on my dad's side, and my late grandma was very proud of her Irish heritage.
The historical event of an uprising, rebellion, or revolution is one that has always best captured my interest. I suppose I just find the whole idea to be quite romantic of the people uniting and rising together against their unjust rulers. We have seen this event many times throughout history, such as the American Revolution, French Revolution, Russian Revolution, and so forth. It is an instance in which the people have reached a boiling point, organized, and fought for their independence and political change. Sometimes these uprisings are driving by a desire for independence while other times they are driving by political reform.
The Irish War of Independence could be considered a much smaller version of the American Revolution. While it took place almost 140 years later and hardly involved into real military engagement, it was ultimately a declaration of independence from the mighty British Empire. This movement was not driven by any radical political motives such as the communist sentiment that was overthrowing the empire in Russia. Instead it was driven by a growing patriotic sentiment throughout Ireland to regain it's identity and establish it's own Irish Free State. The Irish people had suffered for some time now and their frustrations had finally reached the tipping point with the onset of World War I.
The Easter Rising
The desire for action finally came in 1916 when the Irish were conflicted in their involvement in WWI and no longer wanted to fight for Britain. An insurrection was thus organized by the Irish Republican Brotherhood on the Easter Week of April 24th, 1916. The rebellion consisted of the Irish Volunteers lead by Patrick Pearse who read and shared the new Proclamation of the Republic outside the General Post Office. He was joined by the Irish Citizen Army of James Connolly and the women council of Cumann na mBan. Throughout Easter Week the rebellion seized key locations throughout Dublin however was crushed by British military after a week.
The Irish resistance had support from the German Army and fought fiercely in the streets of Dublin. However they were no match for the artillery, gunboats, and greater numbers of the British army. The rebellion was finally put down by April 29th and Patrick Pearse signed an unconditional surrender. Pearse, Connolly, and other insurrection leaders were executed by British firing squad. Approximately 480 Irish and British were killed in the fighting and resulted in heavier British occupation. This heightened martial law over Irish territory only spurred the desire for independence. The Easter Uprising became the spark for the independence movement.
The War of Independence
Towards the end of World War 1 in 1918 the Germans lead their final offensive which caused the British to call for new Irish reinforcements. This Irish Conscription Act was the final straw in an already tense relationship and brought about mass demonstrations for nationalism. The election of 1918 was the political turning point for the independence movement, as the Sinn Fein leftist party took 70% of the Irish seats. In January of 1919 the Irish parliament controlled by leftist leaders decided to no longer attend UK Parliament meetings yet rather establish their own parliament which became known as the First Dali. This new First Dali government declared itself a product of the Easter Rising and a free nation that was at war with Britain.
The Irish Volunteer militiamen were re-organized into the Irish Republican Army, also known as the IRA. Their first initiative was to take control of the British Dublin castle administration, which was the headquarters of British influence. Their IRAs tactics were thru guerrilla warfare as they attacked British military posts and freed Irish prisoners. The British responded by strengthening their police force thru new forces such as the Black and Tans and the Auxiliary Division. These British counter-insurgent groups were notorious for their vicious threats and attacks on Irish civilians.
The majority of the early fighting was between the IRA and the RIC (the Royal Irish Constabulary) which was British police force aided by the Black and Tans. However also during this time labor unions began to organize general strikes against railways that were bringing in British soldiers. Dock workers also went on strike against transporting any British war materials into Ireland. By the spring of 1920 the IRA had control of much of the rural side of Ireland, while the British police forces were forced into the cities and began to demoralize.
One of the key leaders of the Independence Movement was Michael Collins. He was the Irish Republic's minister of finance and he also headed up the IRA's intelligence. Collins was a very charismatic leader and established "the Squad" to drive out British spies and Black and Tan police forces. Collins worked jointly with Richard Mulachy who was the IRA's chief of staff and oversaw much of the guerrilla activity in cities such as Munster and Dublin.
The conflict escalated even further on Nov 21st of 1920 when Collin's squad killed 14 members of the British Intelligence "Cairo Gang". In response the RIC officers drove into Croke Park, during a soccer match and opened fire on the crowd killing 14 civilians. This day of bloodshed infamously became known as Bloody Sunday. Violence continued to spread and intensify throughout the province of Munster and in December of 1920 the center of Cork City was burnt by the British forces.
The winter of 1920 to 1921 was the most violent period of the war, and saw significant death tolls on both sides. The British police force began publicly executing IRA leaders yet this only strengthened the Irish cause and in March of 1921 the Gali government formally declared war on Britain. By the spring of 1921 the conflict had gotten out of hand and the British government began receiving heavy criticism for their handling of the crisis. King George V was especially upset at the actions of the Black and Tans and called for swift resolution. Prime Minister David Lloyd George thus instituted a truce and a treaty.
The Irish Civil War
The first act towards resolution was the Partition of Ireland in May 3rd of 1921. This essentially split Ireland into two territories, North and South. The intention was for both territories to be self-governed provinces of the United Kingdom, however the Southern territory of Ireland had different ideas. In June of 1921 the British and Irish agreed to a ceasefire to discuss a new treaty. In December of 1921 Irish leaders, Michael Collins and Arthur Griffin met with British prime minister David Lloyd George to sign the Anglo-Irish treaty. This recognized the southern territory of Ireland as a free nation, under the "dominion" of the British Empire.
However there were many within the newly established Free State of Ireland who felt dissatisfied with the Ango-Irish Treaty, specifically because they were still under the dominion of the British Empire. This eventually led to the Irish Civil War in June of 1922 with brought on infighting between those who supported an Irish Free State against those who preferred an Irish Republic. This 10 month conflict pinned former IRA members against one another.
Michael Collins lead the National Army of the Irish Free State against Eamon de Valera and the Republic Army who was against the treaty. Collins felt that this treaty was a necessary stepping stone to achieving ultimate independence, or as he put it, "it was a freedom to achieve freedom". However he was ambushed and assassinated by Irish Republic forces in August of 1922. Despite this loss the National Army was able to subdue the Republic Army thanks to provisional support from the British government. The Civil War ended in May of 1923 with the Irish Free State retaining control.
Nonetheless Ireland remained in political dispute years after this civil war concerning how they were to be recognized. In 1937 a second Constitution was adapted by the Irish Parliament which recognized Ireland not under the dominion of Britain yet rather as it's own sovereign state.It thenceforth became known as the Republic of Ireland. While Britain disapproved of this claim, they did not take any major action, perhaps due to the oncoming storm of World War II and their control of Northern Ireland. Nonetheless from then on the Ireland had finally achieved it's independence.
The historical event of an uprising, rebellion, or revolution is one that has always best captured my interest. I suppose I just find the whole idea to be quite romantic of the people uniting and rising together against their unjust rulers. We have seen this event many times throughout history, such as the American Revolution, French Revolution, Russian Revolution, and so forth. It is an instance in which the people have reached a boiling point, organized, and fought for their independence and political change. Sometimes these uprisings are driving by a desire for independence while other times they are driving by political reform.The Irish War of Independence could be considered a much smaller version of the American Revolution. While it took place almost 140 years later and hardly involved into real military engagement, it was ultimately a declaration of independence from the mighty British Empire. This movement was not driven by any radical political motives such as the communist sentiment that was overthrowing the empire in Russia. Instead it was driven by a growing patriotic sentiment throughout Ireland to regain it's identity and establish it's own Irish Free State. The Irish people had suffered for some time now and their frustrations had finally reached the tipping point with the onset of World War I.
The Easter Rising
The desire for action finally came in 1916 when the Irish were conflicted in their involvement in WWI and no longer wanted to fight for Britain. An insurrection was thus organized by the Irish Republican Brotherhood on the Easter Week of April 24th, 1916. The rebellion consisted of the Irish Volunteers lead by Patrick Pearse who read and shared the new Proclamation of the Republic outside the General Post Office. He was joined by the Irish Citizen Army of James Connolly and the women council of Cumann na mBan. Throughout Easter Week the rebellion seized key locations throughout Dublin however was crushed by British military after a week.The Irish resistance had support from the German Army and fought fiercely in the streets of Dublin. However they were no match for the artillery, gunboats, and greater numbers of the British army. The rebellion was finally put down by April 29th and Patrick Pearse signed an unconditional surrender. Pearse, Connolly, and other insurrection leaders were executed by British firing squad. Approximately 480 Irish and British were killed in the fighting and resulted in heavier British occupation. This heightened martial law over Irish territory only spurred the desire for independence. The Easter Uprising became the spark for the independence movement.
The War of Independence
Towards the end of World War 1 in 1918 the Germans lead their final offensive which caused the British to call for new Irish reinforcements. This Irish Conscription Act was the final straw in an already tense relationship and brought about mass demonstrations for nationalism. The election of 1918 was the political turning point for the independence movement, as the Sinn Fein leftist party took 70% of the Irish seats. In January of 1919 the Irish parliament controlled by leftist leaders decided to no longer attend UK Parliament meetings yet rather establish their own parliament which became known as the First Dali. This new First Dali government declared itself a product of the Easter Rising and a free nation that was at war with Britain.
The majority of the early fighting was between the IRA and the RIC (the Royal Irish Constabulary) which was British police force aided by the Black and Tans. However also during this time labor unions began to organize general strikes against railways that were bringing in British soldiers. Dock workers also went on strike against transporting any British war materials into Ireland. By the spring of 1920 the IRA had control of much of the rural side of Ireland, while the British police forces were forced into the cities and began to demoralize.
One of the key leaders of the Independence Movement was Michael Collins. He was the Irish Republic's minister of finance and he also headed up the IRA's intelligence. Collins was a very charismatic leader and established "the Squad" to drive out British spies and Black and Tan police forces. Collins worked jointly with Richard Mulachy who was the IRA's chief of staff and oversaw much of the guerrilla activity in cities such as Munster and Dublin.
The conflict escalated even further on Nov 21st of 1920 when Collin's squad killed 14 members of the British Intelligence "Cairo Gang". In response the RIC officers drove into Croke Park, during a soccer match and opened fire on the crowd killing 14 civilians. This day of bloodshed infamously became known as Bloody Sunday. Violence continued to spread and intensify throughout the province of Munster and in December of 1920 the center of Cork City was burnt by the British forces.The winter of 1920 to 1921 was the most violent period of the war, and saw significant death tolls on both sides. The British police force began publicly executing IRA leaders yet this only strengthened the Irish cause and in March of 1921 the Gali government formally declared war on Britain. By the spring of 1921 the conflict had gotten out of hand and the British government began receiving heavy criticism for their handling of the crisis. King George V was especially upset at the actions of the Black and Tans and called for swift resolution. Prime Minister David Lloyd George thus instituted a truce and a treaty.
The Irish Civil War
The first act towards resolution was the Partition of Ireland in May 3rd of 1921. This essentially split Ireland into two territories, North and South. The intention was for both territories to be self-governed provinces of the United Kingdom, however the Southern territory of Ireland had different ideas. In June of 1921 the British and Irish agreed to a ceasefire to discuss a new treaty. In December of 1921 Irish leaders, Michael Collins and Arthur Griffin met with British prime minister David Lloyd George to sign the Anglo-Irish treaty. This recognized the southern territory of Ireland as a free nation, under the "dominion" of the British Empire.
However there were many within the newly established Free State of Ireland who felt dissatisfied with the Ango-Irish Treaty, specifically because they were still under the dominion of the British Empire. This eventually led to the Irish Civil War in June of 1922 with brought on infighting between those who supported an Irish Free State against those who preferred an Irish Republic. This 10 month conflict pinned former IRA members against one another.Michael Collins lead the National Army of the Irish Free State against Eamon de Valera and the Republic Army who was against the treaty. Collins felt that this treaty was a necessary stepping stone to achieving ultimate independence, or as he put it, "it was a freedom to achieve freedom". However he was ambushed and assassinated by Irish Republic forces in August of 1922. Despite this loss the National Army was able to subdue the Republic Army thanks to provisional support from the British government. The Civil War ended in May of 1923 with the Irish Free State retaining control.
Nonetheless Ireland remained in political dispute years after this civil war concerning how they were to be recognized. In 1937 a second Constitution was adapted by the Irish Parliament which recognized Ireland not under the dominion of Britain yet rather as it's own sovereign state.It thenceforth became known as the Republic of Ireland. While Britain disapproved of this claim, they did not take any major action, perhaps due to the oncoming storm of World War II and their control of Northern Ireland. Nonetheless from then on the Ireland had finally achieved it's independence.
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