Unionism and Nationalism

in 20 Century Ireland
th

Parliamentary Politics
Paramilitarism
Partition
 Identify the origins of
Unionism in Ireland
LEARNING
INTENTIONS
Outline and explain
Unionist opposition to
Home Rule
The Roots of Unionism; Ulster, Ireland & Britain

Unionism dates from the period of the Act of Union

(1801) and the abolition of the Dublin Parliament,
but its roots go much deeper.
The Plantations of Munster and Ulster in the 16th
and early 17th centuries brought large Protestant
populations, especially to Ulster.
The 1641 massacres of Protestants, the Cromwellian
Conquest of Ireland and the Jacobite wars with the
Siege of Derry, the Battle of the Boyne and memories
of 1798 all shaped Protestant identity as fearful of
Catholic violence.
British enmity with Catholic powers, anti-Catholic
laws (Penal laws) and increasing rights for Catholics
all shaped Unionism.
Unionism; Paranoia and Power
Unionists in Ireland and Britain feared future
Liberal-Home Rule electoral success
They knew that the propaganda image of Ulster as
‘Loyal and Protestant’ was inaccurate
Parnell’s success in Ulster (16/31 seats) and the
support for Home Rule from Congress in the
USA, further worried them for the future
In Belfast vicious anti-Catholic rioting had broken
out and lasted from June to September 1886 with
some 50 deaths and 100s injured
The birth of political unionism was a response to
the 1886 Home Rule Bill but reflected power and
privilege, and the fear of losing them
Who were the Unionists?
Unionism united an uneasy coalition in
Ireland and Britain, including:
■ The landed aristocracy
■ Belfast factory and shipyard owners
■ Working class Protestants
■ Presbyterian tenant farmers
■ Members of the Orange Order
■ Soldiers, academics and traders
This diverse group was unstable with
The image above depicts the rioting in Belfast in
conflicting economic interests.
June-September 1886
It was united by support for the legacy Protestant shipwrights turned on Catholic navvies
of the Plantations, fears of loss of 400 police were brought in to restore order
livelihood and of Catholic dominance Protestant clergy like Roaring Red Hugh Hanna
and vengeance. urged on the crowds
The violence was the worst in Ireland in the 19th C
 Identify and outline
Carson and Craig’s role
in the Ulster Crisis
LEARNING
INTENTIONS
Explain the importance
of the 1911 Parliament
Act
 Identify and outline
Carson and Craig’s role
in the Ulster Crisis
LEARNING
INTENTIONS
Explain the scale of
Unionist opposition to
Home Rule
UNIONIST FEAR
OF DECLINE
Ulster Unionists strongly believed
that Home Rule would lead to
“Rome Rule” and that Ulster’s
wealth and prosperity would end if a
parliament returned to Dublin.
JAMES CRAIG & EDWARD
CARSON
 UNIONISM AND ITS LEADERS

The Unionist movement was born in response to

Gladstone’s 1st Home Rule Bill and was nurtured by the
fear of Parnell and the electoral power of Irish nationalism
Unionist mobilisation came through the Protestant
churches, the Orange Order, workplaces and communities
The movement was led in the late 19th and early 20th
century by two men, Edward Carson and James Craig.
Carson was a southern Anglican, a talented barrister and
Trinity graduate, he was MP for Trinity College from
1892.
Craig was a Belfast businessman and soldier. He was
extremely wealthy, vehemently Protestant and had been
promoted to Captain in the Second Boer War
These men together led Ulster unionists in alliance with
Andrew Bonar Law’s Conservatives, who became the
Conservative and Unionist Party in 1912
 THE LI BERALS AND HO ME RULE

David Lloyd George and Herbert Asquith won the 1906

election and brought the Liberal party back to power.
John Redmond’s IPP won 82 seats but were not needed for
a Liberal government – (397/670)
A constitutional crisis began over the House of Lords’ veto
of the 1909 “Peoples’ Budget” which imposed new taxes on
land and wealth to pay for welfare for the poor and building
warships – dreadnoughts.
The Liberals fought two elections to reform the House of
Lords and won, with IPP support they introduced the
Parliament Act of 1911: a bill passed by the Commons
three years in a row would automatically become law
The 1912 Home Rule Bill passed by just 10 votes in 1912,
and by 77 in 1914, Home Rule was almost a reality and
Unionists became determined to prevent it.
 Outline and explain the role
played by Edward Carson and
James Craig in Irish history
LEARNING
INTENTIONS
Describe and analyse the
growth of paramilitarism in
Ireland 1913-14
 U N I O N I S M B E C O M E S M I L I TA N T

The Conservative/Liberal-Unionist alliance and the anti-

Home Rule majority in the House of Lords meant
unionists had felt secure from 1886 to 1906.
This changed when the Liberals regained power in
1906, they supported Home Rule and in 1910 they won
two very tight elections but needed Irish MPs for a
majority: Redmond held the balance of power.
The real shift began with the Parliament Act of 1911
which removed the House of Lords’ veto, Carson, Craig
and Bonar Law led a series of rallies to organise
resistance to the threat of Home Rule
This radicalised organised unionism and led to the
Solemn League and Covenant (28 September 1912)
237,368 men signed the Covenant, and 234,046 women
signed the supporting Declaration.
On 13 January 1913, the Ulster Volunteer Force was
formed, to oppose Home Rule with violence if
 U L S T E R S AY S N O

The Parliament Act (1911) and the 1912 Government of

Ireland Act (Home Rule) saw Ulster say NO.
The 1912 Home Rule Bill passed the House of
Commons by 77 votes in 1914, Home Rule was almost
about to become a reality.
In the Curragh, 61 British officers mutinied in March
1914, refusing to be sent to Ulster to act against
unionists, who they saw as British patriots.
Using James Craig’s money and business connection, the
UVF imported large quantities of modern guns and
ammunition in April 1914
The UVF grew rapidly to 110,000 members, this
inspired Eoin MacNeill’s phrase: “The North Began”.
‘A wonderful state of things has come to pass in Ulster…
there is nothing to prevent the other 28 counties from
calling into existence citizen forces’, Eoin Mac Neill;
The North Began, in An Claidheamh Soluis, 1 Nov 1913
The need to counter the threat of the UVF meant that
nationalists felt the need for a nationalist paramilitary
organisation.
 THE IRISH VOLUNTEERS
The Irish Volunteers were founded in Dublin in by Eoin
MacNeill and Bulmer Hobson on 25 November 1913, they
too grew rapidly and spread across Ireland
The Irish Volunteers were led by the very respectable Eoin
MacNeill but they were dominated initially by the IRB who
wished to use the organisation to launch a revolution.
Their rapid growth saw the Irish Volunteers reach between
130,000 - 200,000 members by summer 1914, this new
group had become hugely influential.
By June 1914 John Redmond and the IPP moved to take
control of the volunteers to prevent them being used by the
IRB to begin an armed revolution against British rule.
Redmond had been hostile to the volunteers but came to
understand that their popularity, power and the potential
threat they posed required him to act.
He insisted on adding 25 new board members whom he
controlled and used his influence to reduce IRB control, this
would be crucial in the coming months.
CONTRADICTORY
MOTIVATIONS
 Describe the British
government response
to the Ulster Crisis
LEARNING
INTENTIONS
Consider and explain
Irish responses to war
in Europe
 GUN-RUNNING AND INSTABILITY
The UVF landed 25,000 rifles and five million rounds
of ammunition, in Larne and Bangor on 24-25 April
1914, the Ulster Volunteers were now heavily armed.
The Irish Volunteers saw a huge increase in
membership in response to this threat and the sense
that the UVF were being favoured by the police.
The IV organised their own much smaller arms
shipment (1,500 rifles) from the same sources in
Germany, these arrived in Howth on 26 July 1914.
Both events were as much political as military, both
groups’ leaders wanted to show that they were
prepared for civil war and hoped to intimidate the
government into granting or preventing Home Rule.
Large quantities of weapons increased instability in
Ireland, as did the killing of 4 civilians on Bachelors’
Walk by soldiers, the day of the Howth gun-running.
 THE EMERGENCE OF
PARTITION
Unionists voted to form an Ulster
provisional government (Sept 1913)
The danger of civil war in Ireland
forced Liberals to consider the
partition of Ireland
This was first suggested in October
1913 by Winston Churchill
John Dillon (IPP) rejected it
completely, but it won support from
unionists in Ireland and Britain
The Buckingham Palace Conference Proposed partition published in Punch magazine October 1913
(21-24 July 1914) attempted to ‘If England allows the army and the navy to be used, we may be coerced
into submission, but if we are, we will be governed as a conquered
negotiate a compromise community and nothing else.’ Edward Carson, Ulster Hall, Belfast, 27
 WAR IN EUROPE

Since 28 June the risk of a European

war had escalated, Austria declared
war on Serbia on 28 July and
Germany upon France and Russia on
1-3 August
German invasion of Belgium brought
Britain into the war (4 Aug)
Carson and Redmond urged their
volunteers to join the British army
and go to war against Germany
Recruitment poster from 1914
Both wished to prove their loyalty to
Britain, so that their goals would be What does this poster try to appeal to and what issues does it avoid?
supported
What did they hope to achieve by Why might recruitment be presented in this manner?
Carson, Craig and Ulster Unionists had
no hesitation about joining the war ULSTER’S CALL
effort – loyalty to Britain
Their strong links with the British army
meant Ulster Volunteers were welcomed
and treated well
The 36th Division was solely members
of the Ulster volunteers and played an
important role in the Battle of the
Somme on 1 July 1916
Of the roughly 12,000 men who
charged the German trenches, 5,500
were killed or maimed
They were the only division to make
significant gains, successfully storming
German entrenchments
Another 14,000 members of the Ulster
 REDMOND AND RECRUITMENT

For Irish nationalists joining the British army was

more complicated than it was for unionists
Redmond saw it as an opportunity to prove that
Ireland could be trusted with Home Rule, to
defend small Catholic Belgium from German
aggression and to harden the Irish Volunteers
His speech at Woodenbridge, Wicklow on 20
Sept 1914 followed mass UVF enlistment and the
passing of the Home Rule Bill on 15 Sept
A drive to recruit the Irish Volunteers saw 24,000
join up (10th and 16th Divisions).
The 10th fought at Gallipoli and Salonika, 80,000
non-volunteers and 58,000 already in the army
completed the Irish in the Great War.
The Irish Volunteers split, the majority followed
Redmond (Irish National Volunteers) while a
 Understand the
rebellion in Ireland
during Easter 1916
LEARNING
INTENTIONS
Explain the reasons
for the failure of the
Easter Rising
 PEARSE AND THE RISING

The Supreme Council of the IRB planned

an uprising during the war, they wanted to
use the Irish Volunteers who refused to
fight for Britain and had been reorganized
in 1915-16.
Roger Casement organised a shipment of
20,000 rifles to land in Kerry on 21 April
1916 but these were intercepted, the ship
was sunk, and Casement was arrested on
Banna Strand.
MacNeill realised he had been deceived by
the IRB and published an order
countermanding the series of drills and
parades planned for Sunday, 23 April Padraig Pearse was chosen to deliver the graveside oration
The Military Council, Pearse, Connolly,
(speech) for the funeral of Jeremiah O Donovan Rossa on 1 Aug
Ceannt and Clarke decided to go ahead 1915 – 200,000 people lined the streets of Dublin.
with an uprising, hoping that their ‘Blood The occasion was used as IRB propaganda and Pearse made clear
Sacrifice’ would inspire future rebellions that the Irish Volunteers were to be seen as a potential
against British rule. revolutionary force.
 EASTER 1916 – DRAMA AND DEATH
The rebel leadership worked through the night to print
copies of the proclamation of independence.
The morning of Easter Monday confusion reigned,
Volunteers, IRB men, boys from na Fianna and women
from Cumann na mBan crisscrossed the city by bike, bus
and tram to raise companies and confirm plans with those
who were uncertain of what was happening
1,200 Volunteers and ICA began to seize strategic buildings
across the city centre at midday, Monday 24 April
Led by Connolly and Pearse 400 Volunteers and ICA
marched from Liberty Hall to the GPO where Pearse read
out the Proclamation of the Irish Republic
The first death of the rising occurred at the gate of Dublin
Eoin MacNeill’s Countermanding Order 22
Castle, volunteers killed James O’Brien, the only guard! April.
 Understand the
rebellion in Ireland
during Easter 1916
LEARNING
INTENTIONS
Explain the reasons
for the failure of the
Easter Rising
THE CITY WHICH FOUGHT AN EMPIRE
 A N U N E V E N B AT T L E

By Wednesday rebel positions were under pressure,

civilian casualties were mounting and a huge fire from
shelling by the gunboat Helga spread across the city.
On Thursday the GPO was targeted and reduced to a
shell, forcing the rebels to seek an escape (Moore St)
As the week went on rebels’ hopes faded, Stephen’s
Green, South Dublin Union and Mendicity Institute
were all crushed by the better organised army.
Mount St bridge saw the heaviest British losses when
the ICA snipers gunned down Sherwood Foresters
advancing into the city from Dun Laoghaire.
The centre of Dublin had caught fire and shops were
being looted, the Rising looked like a lost cause
By Friday vicious street-fighting at barricades and in
ruined buildings had demoralised the rebels, they
surrendered on Saturday morning.
Of the 485 deaths during the Rising, 260 were
civilians, 126 British soldiers, 82 rebels and 17 police
 THE IMPACT OF 1916
The destruction of much of Dublin’s city centre was
initially blamed on the rebels but people began to
question the severity of British tactics (artillery in city
centre, murders of Francis Sheehy-Skeffington in
Rathmines and of 16 civilians on North King Street).
The hasty courts-martial execution of 15 leaders of the
Rising horrified many in Ireland and abroad, seemed
more German than British.
The thousands arrested in the aftermath were often
treated terribly, 2,000 were interned in the Frongoch
prison camp in Wales: ‘The University of Revolution’.
Sinn Féin gained huge credibility due to its
(inaccurate) association with the Rising in newspapers
(the Sinn Féin Rising dominated headlines).
The IPP and John Redmond lost much credibility and
support in the coming months, and the moderate
constitutional Home Rule movement was all but dead,
killed in the fires of war and rebellion.
 THE EXECUTIONS IN SONG

3 May – Pearse, Tom Clarke, Thomas MacDonagh, 4 May – Ned Daly, Willie Pearse, Joseph Plunkett,
Michael O’Hanrahan, 5 May – John MacBride, 8 May – Con Colbert, Eamonn Ceannt, Michael Mallin,
Sean Heuston, 9 May – Thomas Kent, 12 May – Connolly, Sean MacDiarmada, 3 Aug – Roger Casement
 Outline and explain the
impact of the Easter Rising
on Irish history
LEARNING
INTENTIONS
Describe the consequences
of the growth of Sinn Féin
for Irish independence

IRISH POLITICS TRANSFORMED
A mass meeting to oppose conscription in Roscommon,
Eamon DeValera and John Dillon shared the stage.
The final two years of the war transformed Irish
politics, military rule, executions and arrests turned
people against Britain.
A conscription law was passed for Ireland on 16 April
1918 in response to fears of German advances, it was
met with massive opposition.
The conscription crisis radicalised Irish politics, even
the Irish Parliamentary Party (Parnell’s old party)
withdrew from Parliament – abstention, which until
then had been a Sinn Féin policy.
The released rebels invigorated advanced
nationalism, reorganising Sinn Féin into a party
which maintained that Ireland was now legally an
independent Republic.
Lessons learned in Frongoch were applied, Richard
Mulcahy and Michael Collins transformed the
Volunteers into the Irish Republican Army.
Collins, de Valera, Cosgrave and Griffith became
huge national figures, overshadowing the IPP
leadership, it’s preference for Home Rule and its pro-
war stance.
Sinn Féin won six by-elections on a policy of
Sinn Féin aims at securing the international recognition of Ireland as an
independent Irish republic.
Having achieved that status the Irish people may by referendum freely
choose their own form of Government
THE RISE OF SINN FÉIN
 Evaluate Sinn Féin’s
strategy to achieve
independence for Ireland
LEARNING
INTENTIONS
Explain how the Irish
Revolution began
 THE FIRST DÁIL
The 73 Sinn Féin MPs refused to take
their seats in Westminster, instead they
met in in the Round Room at the
Mansion House in Dublin.
They declared themselves to be Dáil
Éireann, the true parliament of Ireland.
Their next step was to declare an Irish
Republic on 21 Jan 1919. Just 27
members were present as others were in
prison or in hiding.
Collins and Boland were marked present
to conceal their mission to rescue De
Valera from prison.
The importance of the Gaelic League and
the idea of Irish difference meant that
most proceedings were in Irish
The 1st Dáil passed the constitution, the
declaration of independence, the address
to the free nations of the world, and the
democratic programme, each in Irish,
English and French
 THE 1 S T DÁIL AT WAR
The TDs (Teachta Dálái) sent a deputation to the Paris Peace
Conference to argue for Irish independence but they were
ignored by US president Wilson who thought Britain was
democratic and that Ireland did not need self-determination.
In Soloheadbeg in Tipperary, on 21 January 1919, a group of
Irish Volunteers, led by Dan Breen, attacked an RIC escort for a
convoy of explosives, killing two police
The Soloheadbeg ambush accidentally began the War of
Independence on the same day the Dáil first met, this forced
Sinn Féin to support a war it had not planned.
The Dáil took control of the IRA from April 1919 onwards but
was divided about the war and its conduct
Cathal Brugha the defence minister and De Valera both resented
Collins’ power and wanted a ‘straight fight’, imitating
conventional warfare, Collins and Mulcahy ignored them and
continued the guerrilla struggle, Griffith opposed violence
 Explain Michael
Collins’ role in the
War of Independence
LEARNING
INTENTIONS
Understand the
different phases of the
War of Independence
 COLLINS IN COMMAND
Collins was born in Clonakilty, Cork in 1890 and
worked in London for nine years where he joined the
IRB.
He took part in the Easter Rising and after spending time
in Frongoch he rose to prominence, re-organising the
IRB and Volunteers and developing a large spy network
As Minister for Finance he raised money and used it to
fund political projects, the Dáil courts and the IRA
which he, Cathal Brugha and Richard Mulcahy ran
Collins’ spies and his ‘squad’ were crucial in levelling
the playing field against British forces and he did not
hesitate to order assassinations.
His accumulation of power and energetic work rate
alienated many other senior figures who resented his
control over so many aspects of the revolutionary
government – finance, war and intelligence.
 Explain how the IRA
tried to defeat British
forces in Ireland
LEARNING
INTENTIONS
Understand the
events of Bloody
Sunday
 UNDERSTANDING THE
WAR
The war can be divided into three main phases:
• 1919, when violence was largely limited to
individual killings, small ambushes and raids
• 1920, with larger attacks on RIC barracks and
more killings
• 1921, when the worst violence was
perpetrated, large ambushes, multiple
assassinations, revenge attacks and
destruction
These divisions are not concrete, there were 19
assassinations in 1919 and Bloody Sunday took
place in November 1920, but provide a rough
sense of escalation
 TACTICS, STRATEGY AND ACTION
The strategy employed by the IRA was to put huge
pressure on the RIC and government’s ability to
maintain control of Ireland.
The tactics they used to do so included attacks on
isolated RIC barracks, assassinations of local
establishment figures (judges etc), attacks on the
homes and families of RIC men, and prison breaks.
The most spectacular tactics however were ambushes,
which became more frequent in 1920-21.
Ambushes require careful planning, quality training,
sufficient transport and communications, and most
importantly, reliable information about the enemy.
By April 1920, 500 RIC barracks and outposts had
been abandoned due to constant attacks
 BLOODY SUNDAY
The most shockingly violent day of the revolution,
Bloody Sunday, 21 November 1920
Collins’ Squad (the 12 Apostles) had orders to take out
a number of suspected British agents (the Cairo Gang)
– 14 men were gunned down in their lodgings and on
the steps of the Gresham Hotel, at least 6 were highly
unlikely to have been spies.
In what looks like a reprisal, the Black and Tans sent
troops to Croke Park where Dublin were playing
Tipperary, they opened fire on the crowd, killing 12 (2
more died of their injuries later).
That night, McKee and Clancy, two senior IRA figures
in Dublin, were ‘shot while trying to escape’ from
Dublin Castle, in a further British revenge killing.
This bloody day was the worst violence of the war and
did little credit to either side, shocked international
(left) headlines note the British reprisal against civilians
 Explain how the Irish
Revolution came to
an end
LEARNING
INTENTIONS
Understand the
reasons why both
sides sought peace
 ESCALATION AND RESOLUTION
The ongoing violence, the increasing use of the army
to maintain order and the ever more daring attacks by
the IRA meant that 1921 looked like becoming the
bloodiest year of the war so far.
Elections on 24 May saw SF dominate the 2nd Dáil The 1921 election (not contested in the south) and
the burning of the Customs House in Dublin took
The Dublin IRA attacked and burnt the Customs place over 2 days in May 1921
House on 25 May 1921 in a daring attack.
This was a propaganda victory, destroying the local
government HQ but was disastrous as the Dublin IRA
had 80 men arrested.
De Valera had hoped to demonstrate that the IRA were
a ‘real army’ but it badly weakened the IRA.
Such a major attack in the capital however did help
push the British to negotiate a cease-fire in July which
in turn led to peace negotiations in London.
 THE TREATY – 6 DECEMBER 1921

Atrocities, burnt towns and villages, an out-of-control

police force, increasingly critical newspapers, a huge
wave of strikes and serious financial problems led
London to seek a way out of the conflict
The pressure the IRA was under and the impossibility
of military victory led Sinn Féin to seek peace
A ceasefire from 11 July 1921 meant that many did not
want to go back to violence and insecurity
De Valera did not attend the negotiations, instead he
foolishly or cynically sent Collins and Griffith (polar
opposites) to take on Lloyd George, the master
negotiator of British politics.
Partition of Ireland into North and South was not a
major issue, the extent of self-government, the oath to
the crown and the Treaty Ports were more divisive.
 Explain how Sinn Féin
and the IRA divided
and fought a Civil War
LEARNING
INTENTIONS
Understand the reasons
why the Treaty divided
Republicans
 FROM UNITY TO DIVISION
The terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty proved divisive.
For many, a Free State (not fully independent) with an oath
of loyalty to the British monarch and British control of the
Treaty Ports was not worth their sacrifices.
For others the partition of Ireland was unacceptable and
was a betrayal of their comrades in the North and those who
had died for Irish independence.
Collins argued that the Treaty was the best deal they could
get, Lloyd George had threatened ‘bloody war in Ireland’,
and Collins insisted that it would be a stepping-stone to an
independent united Ireland.
The Dáil was divided down the middle and in fiery series of
debates voted 64 to 57 in favour of accepting the Treaty but
those who rejected it refused to accept the results.
The vote on 7 Jan 1922 set the scene for civil war.
 The refusal of the minority in the Dáil
was reflected by rejection of the Treaty
among many in the IRA. De Valera,
Markiewicz, Cathal Brugha and Harry
Boland all left the Dáil in protest.
IRA leaders such as Rory O’Connor,
Ernie O’Malley and Liam Lynch began to
organise their ‘irregulars’.
Rory O’Connor seized the four courts in
central Dublin (April 1922) while anti-
treaty IRA units controlled most of
Munster and the west.
Michael Collins desperately wished to
avoid civil war, but the anti-treaty
assassination of the British Field Marshal
Henry Wilson meant that he had to act to
prevent the British taking matters into
their own hands..
CIVIL WAR The Irish Civil War began with a Free
State assault on the Four Courts on 28
 CIVIL WAR IRELAND
The attack on the four Courts by Free State forces
used artillery loaned by the British army and quickly
led to the surrender of those inside.
Fierce fighting continued around Dublin city for a
week before the anti-treaty forces were defeated.
The Free State began to target the anti-treaty
stronghold, the Munster Republic, rapidly taking
Limerick and Waterford on 20 July.
They made use of their control of the railways and
ships lent to them by Britain to move troops to
surround rebel territory, taking Cork city on 10 Aug
They had roughly even numbers of troops (12-
14,000 each) in August 1922, but the Free State
forces were far better armed, and the ruthless Dublin
Guard were prepared to commit atrocities against
their former comrades.
 The war was going badly for the anti-treaty
ENDING THE CIVIL WAR IRA and on 22 Aug Collins was killed in an
ambush in Beal na mBlath in Cork.
This outraged many around the country who
became less forgiving of the anti-treaty IRA.
With their main strongholds taken and
increasingly outnumbered and outgunned by
the Free State forces, the IRA took to guerrilla
warfare, ambushing convoys, sabotaging
railways and raiding for arms.
These tactics did not work as well against the
Free State who had popular support and knew
the countryside.
The Free State also resorted to killing captured
IRA men and executing their leaders, 34
Members of the Free State elite force, the Dublin Guard, composed of prisoners shot in just January 1923.
members of Collins’ squad and other hardened fighters from the War
of Independence. Eventually the anti-treaty IRA were forced to
The ruthlessness of these men was crucial in the eventual success of ceasefire and dump their weapons on 30 April
Free State forces over their former comrades. 1923.
 PREP

On page 252 of your textbook, please read the

document and answer questions 1-9.
 Analyse the meaning of the
different names given to the
Irish Revolutionary War
LEARNING
INTENTIONS
Understand the legacy and
consequences of the Irish
Revolution and War of
Independence
 R EVOLUTION OR WAR OF INDEPENDENC E?

The conflict which led to the 26 counties becoming

the Irish Free State has a variety of names
Hardline Republicans tend to call it the ‘Tan War’ a
reference to brutal British tactics and the refusal to
recognise a partitioned Ireland as a free Ireland
(cannot be a war of independence)
British media and politicians called it a rebellion and
then later as the Anglo-Irish War, first denying it was a
war at all, then later removing any hint of British
oppression by calling it a war between two countries.
Most historians and more leftwing Irish call it the
Irish Revolution, to encompass the variety of conflicts
and the wholesale change of political regime – the
most accurate definition.
More mainstream Irish conservatives call it the War of
Independence, which removes dangerous
Revolutionary imagery.
 THE LEGACY OF THE CIVIL WAR
The end of the Civil War did not heal the deep divisions opened up by
the brutality and bitterness on both sides.
The Free State government, led by William T Cosgrave and Cumann
na Gaedhael (pro-treaty) saw the Republican anti-treaty side as
revolutionaries and radicals who could not be trusted.
The Republicans believed that the Free State was a betrayal of the
sacrifices of those who had fought, suffered and died.
Violence continued to plague Irish politics for a decade and deep
mistrust between supporters of both sides has still not entirely
dissipated although one hundred years on, it is less bitter.
Irish political life while poisoned by the violence and hatred of the
war, did successfully remain democratic in a period in which many
European countries became authoritarian dictatorships.
The political party created by the pro-treaty side merged with Eoin O’
Duffy’s Army Comrade Association (the Blueshirts) and became Fine
Gael, ran Ireland until 1932.
Eamon de Valera’s anti-treaty Fianna Fáil gained power in the 1932
 INDEPENDENT IRELAND?
The country which was born of revolution and civil war
saw many unionist fears realised.
Home rule, or Free State, in many ways did equate to
Rome rule, both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were very
conservative Catholic political parties and deferred to
the church unquestioningly.
Archbishop John Charles McQuaid (left) was arguably
more powerful than any politician and the constitutions
of the Free State, of Ireland (1937) and the Republic
(1949) all reflected Catholic moral teaching – Mother &
Baby homes, contraception etc
This was mirrored by involvement of Eoin O’Duffy the
Blueshirts in the Spanish Civil War, fighting for the
fascist dictator Francisco Franco.
The new state struggled economically, mass emigration
continued, poverty was widespread, and development
was slow, again proving unionist fears to have been
 CLASS DISCUSSION

Take five minutes to consider the consequences of

the Irish Revolution and Civil War.
Decide whether you believe that the outcomes were
largely positive or negative.
Identify the outcome you think is the most important
and prepare a short explanation of why you believe
this to be the case.