Revolution and Partition

The Struggle for Independence

The struggle for Irish independence was a long and complex process, resulting in the division of the island into two separate states. This overview traces the key developments that led to the creation of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland.

The Home Rule Crisis and World War I

At the beginning of the 20th century, the dominant political goal for most Irish nationalists was Home Rule, a form of limited self-government within the United Kingdom. The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), led by figures like John Redmond, had successfully maneuvered for the passage of the Third Home Rule Bill in 1914. However, the legislation was suspended due to the outbreak of World War I.

This push for Home Rule was met with fierce opposition from Unionists, particularly in the northern province of Ulster. They were overwhelmingly Protestant, economically tied to Britain's industrial heartland and feared being a minority in a Catholic-majority, self-governing Ireland. To resist Home Rule, Unionists formed the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a paramilitary group that famously smuggled arms in the Larne gun-running. This armed resistance from Unionists essentially created a political stalemate and brought the island to the brink of civil war.

The Easter Rising (1916) and the Rise of Republicanism

While the Home Rule movement pursued constitutional change, a more radical nationalist faction was preparing for armed rebellion. The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), a secret society dedicated to achieving a full Irish Republic, planned an uprising. On Easter Monday, 1916, a small number of rebels, including leaders like Pádraig Pearse and James Connolly, launched the Easter Rising in Dublin. They seized key buildings and proclaimed an independent Irish Republic.

The Rising was quickly suppressed by British forces, and its leaders were executed. This harsh response, however, backfired spectacularly. The executed leaders were transformed into martyrs and public opinion began to shift dramatically. The Rising is often seen as a pivotal moment, marking the beginning of the end for the constitutional Home Rule movement and the rise of a more militant Sinn Féin and the republican cause.

The War of Independence (1919-1921) and the Treaty

Following Sinn Féin's overwhelming victory in the 1918 general election, its elected members refused to take their seats in the British Parliament. Instead, they formed their own revolutionary parliament, Dáil Éireann, in Dublin in January 1919 and reaffirmed the declaration of independence. The Irish Volunteers (which had evolved into the Irish Republican Army, IRA) launched a guerrilla campaign against British forces, initiating the Irish War of Independence.

The war was a brutal and often savage conflict, characterised by ambushes, assassinations and reprisals. After two years of fighting, both sides were exhausted, leading to a truce in July 1921. Negotiations began, culminating in the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1921. The Treaty established the Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion within the British Empire.

The Civil War (1922-1923) and the Partition of Ireland

The Anglo-Irish Treaty was a deeply divisive document. Pro-treaty nationalists, led by figures like Michael Collins, saw it as a stepping stone to full independence, arguing that it gave Ireland "the freedom to achieve freedom". Anti-treaty republicans saw the Treaty as a betrayal of the Irish Republic declared in 1916. They objected to the oath of allegiance to the British monarch and the retention of British naval bases on the island.

This disagreement plunged Ireland into a bitter Civil War in 1922. The pro-treaty side, which controlled the newly formed Free State army, ultimately defeated the anti-treaty forces.

Simultaneously, the Treaty also addressed the "Ulster Question" by giving the six northeastern counties the right to opt out of the Free State. This was done via the Government of Ireland Act of 1920, which had already created a separate parliament for these counties. The new Northern Ireland parliament, dominated by Unionists, promptly exercised this right. The Boundary Commission, established to potentially redraw the border, ultimately failed to make any significant changes, cementing the division of the island. The Irish Free State was now a reality, but so was a separate, Unionist-controlled Northern Ireland.

Sinn Féin and the 1918 Election

The 1918 general election was a watershed moment in Irish history, delivering an overwhelming mandate for independence to the republican party, Sinn Féin. This election marked a huge change in Irish politics, ending the era of constitutional nationalism and setting up for the Irish War of Independence.

The Decline of the Irish Parliamentary Party

For decades, the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), led by figures such as John Redmond, had been the voice of Irish nationalism, pursuing the goal of Home Rule through parliamentary means in Westminster. However, the IPP's fortunes had been in sharp decline since the Easter Rising of 1916. The British government's response to the rebellion, including the execution of its leaders, turned public opinion against the moderate IPP, which was seen as too compliant with British rule. The IPP was further damaged by its support for the British war effort and the subsequent conscription crisis in 1918, which saw a widespread rejection of British military authority in Ireland.

Sinn Féin, previously a marginal party, capitalised on this discontent. It rebranded itself as the political wing of the republican movement, fully embracing the goal of an independent Irish Republic, as proclaimed during the Rising. The party's platform was clear: it would abstain from taking any seats it won in the British Parliament and instead establish an Irish national assembly in Dublin.

A Staggering Victory

The general election in December 1918 was the first held under the Representation of the People Act 1918, which had significantly expanded to include all men over 21 and most women over 30. This tripled the Irish electorate, though research suggests this expansion of the vote was not the primary reason for Sinn Féin's victory. The party's success was more due to a fundamental change of heart among the Irish voters.

The results were a stunning landslide victory for Sinn Féin. Of the 105 parliamentary seats in Ireland, Sinn Féin won 73. In contrast, the Irish Parliamentary Party, which had dominated Irish politics for decades, was all but wiped out, winning just six seats. The Unionist parties retained a majority in the six counties that would later form Northern Ireland, but in the rest of the island, the message from the electorate was clear.

This victory gave Sinn Féin a powerful democratic mandate to pursue its separatist goals. The party's TD’s (Teachta Dála - Member of Parliament), under the leadership of Éamon de Valera, followed through on their promise. In January 1919, they met in Dublin to establish Dáil Éireann, the first parliament of the Irish Republic. This act was a direct rejection of British authority and marked the beginning of the Irish War of Independence, as the new Dáil began to govern in parallel with the existing British administration. The 1918 election, therefore, was not just a political event; it was the catalyst for a revolution.

The Government of Ireland Act: The Partition of the Island

The Government of Ireland Act of 1920 was a landmark piece of British legislation that led to the formal partition of Ireland. Though it was intended to create two self-governing entities under the umbrella of the United Kingdom, its actual outcome was the creation of a separate Northern Ireland and the path to a fully independent Irish Free State.

The Context of the Act

By 1920, the British government faced a multifaceted crisis in Ireland. The constitutional Home Rule movement was in decline, replaced by the revolutionary republicanism of Sinn Féin. The Irish War of Independence was raging and the British administration in Ireland was collapsing under the weight of guerrilla warfare. Simultaneously, Unionists in Ulster had solidified their armed resistance to being included in a Home Rule Ireland. To solve this deadlock, the British government sought a compromise that would satisfy the competing demands of Irish nationalists and Ulster Unionists.

Key Provisions and the Partition

The Act's central provision was the division of Ireland into two separate territories:

• Northern Ireland: This was defined as the six northeastern counties of Ulster - Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down, Fermanagh and Tyrone - where Unionists held a strong majority.
• Southern Ireland: This consisted of the remaining 26 counties of Ireland.

Both entities were to have their own bicameral parliaments (a House of Commons and a Senate) with powers to legislate on local matters. Key areas like defence, foreign policy and most taxes were "reserved" to the British Parliament at Westminster. The Act also created a Council of Ireland, with representatives from both parliaments, to facilitate cooperation and eventually provide a mechanism for reunification.

Divergent Outcomes

While the Act was designed to create two Home Rule parliaments within the UK, its implementation had drastically different outcomes in the North and South:

• Northern Ireland: Unionists accepted the Act, as it gave them the self-governing entity they had long sought to protect their interests. In the election of May 1921, they won a large majority in the new Northern Ireland Parliament and formed a government, solidifying their place in the United Kingdom.
• Southern Ireland: The Act was rejected outright by the vast majority of the population. Sinn Féin won an overwhelming number of seats in the election but treated it as an election for their revolutionary parliament, Dáil Éireann. The proposed Parliament of Southern Ireland never effectively functioned, with only a few Unionist members attending its single meeting.

The War of Independence continued until a truce was called in July 1921. The subsequent Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921 established the Irish Free State as an independent dominion, but it also gave Northern Ireland the right to opt out of the new Free State. The Northern Ireland Parliament promptly exercised this right in 1922, cementing the partition of the island. The Boundary Commission, established to potentially redraw the border, failed to make significant changes, making the 1920 Act's partition a permanent reality.

The significance of the Government of Ireland Act, therefore, lies not in its original intention but in its lasting consequence: the creation of a separate Northern Ireland and the division of the island, a political reality that continues to impact Irish and British politics to this day.

This video provides a concise explanation of the Government of Ireland Act of 1920 and its legacy.

The Irish Civil War (1922-1923)

The Irish Civil War was a devastating conflict that began in the wake of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. It pitted former comrades-in-arms against one another over the future of the new Irish state, leaving a legacy of deep-seated animosity that influenced Irish politics for decades.

Pro-Treaty vs. Anti-Treaty Factions

The conflict was a clash between two factions with opposing views on the Anglo-Irish Treaty:

• The Pro-Treaty Faction supported the agreement and was led by Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith. They argued that the treaty was a pragmatic and necessary step toward greater autonomy, Collins famously calling it "the freedom to achieve freedom". They believed that Ireland lacked the resources to continue fighting Britain and that the treaty provided a secure foundation from which a fully independent republic could eventually be achieved. This group formed the core of the Provisional Government and its military wing, the National Army, which was supplied with weapons and artillery by the British.
• The Anti-Treaty Faction rejected the treaty, viewing it as a betrayal of the Irish Republic that had been proclaimed in 1916. Led by Éamon de Valera and other republican leaders, this group opposed the oath of allegiance to the British Crown, the continued British control of strategic naval ports and the partition of Ireland. They saw the establishment of the Irish Free State as a compromise that fell short for the many that had fought and died. This faction's forces, often referred to as the "Irregulars" were a significant portion of the Irish Republican Army.

Tragic Consequences and Lasting Bitterness

The war, which lasted from June 1922 to May 1923, was a period of intense and often brutal fighting. After initial conventional battles, the conflict devolved into a guerrilla campaign waged by the anti-treaty forces against the newly formed National Army. The fighting took a heavy human toll, claiming more lives than the preceding War of Independence.

The conflict was particularly tragic due to its dividing nature, with many former friends and families torn by the treaty. The Pro-Treaty government, seeking to establish its authority, implemented a policy of executions without trial, which further deepened the scars of the conflict. One of the most significant casualties was Michael Collins himself, who was ambushed and killed by anti-treaty forces in August 1922. The loss of key leaders on both sides, combined with the extreme measures taken, cemented a lasting bitterness. This bitterness endured for generations, shaping the political landscape and creating a social divide that would define Irish society for much of the 20th century.

The Establishment of the Irish Free State

The military phase of the civil war effectively ended in May 1923, when the anti-treaty forces, realising that victory was not possible, called a ceasefire and "dumped their arms". With the National Army victorious, the Provisional Government was able to fully establish the Irish Free State as a dominion within the British Commonwealth on 6th December, 1922. The pro-treaty side, led by W. T. Cosgrave formed the first official government, known as the Executive Council. The new state's constitution and political institutions were a direct result of the treaty's terms. Although the civil war had been won by the pro-treaty forces, the anti-treaty side, led by Éamon de Valera, would eventually re-enter politics, establishing the Fianna Fáil party and ultimately using constitutional means to dismantle many of the treaty's most contentious provisions, leading to the establishment of the Republic of Ireland in 1949.