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Nationalism - The Irish War of Independence - Coggle Diagram
Nationalism - The Irish War of Independence
Sinn Fein and the Dail Eireann
1918 general election they won a decisive victory with 73/105 Irish seats
21st January 1919 first Dail Eirean (Irish assembly) met declaring an Irish Republic with Eamon De Valera as president
British government did not recognise Dail's legitimacy
The war began the next day on the 22nd of January when IRA volunteers ambushed and killed 2 policemen in Soloheadbeg, County Tipperary
Escalation and British response
1919 British gov declared Dail illegal and by 1920 blacks and tans and auxiliaries known for brutality
IRA expanded operations targeting police barracks and British officials while establishing a shadow state with out court and tax system
Terence MacSwiney (Lord Mayor Cork) went on hunger strike lasting 25 days
August 1920 there was a Restoration of order in Ireland Act which increased the police's power
Bloody Sunday (November 1920)
Micheal Collins 'squad' assassinated 14 British intelligence officers in Dublin
In retaliation British forces killed 12 civilians at a football match in Croke Park marking a dramatic escalation in violence
Burning of Cork and reprisals
Blacks and Tans and Auxiliaries carried out extensive reprisals
The reprisals involved burning of Cork city in December 1920 destroying 300 buildings
British forces engaged in widespread violence including arson, looting and extra judicial killings
Growing pressure on Britain
By mid 1921 British public opinion has turned against harsh reprisals in Ireland
for example didn't approve of the IRA burning the Custom House in Dublin in May 1921
Archbishop of Canterbury and international critics (especially in the USA) condemned British tactics
IRA faced logistical challenges and British military leaders doubted whether they could with adding pressure onto seek negotiation
Civil war
pro treaty forces led by Collins saw it as a stepping stone
anti treaty forces led by Eamon rejected it due to oath and partition
22nd of August Collins was assassinated in Beal na Blath
April 1923 afters a year of conflicts anti-treaty forces were weakened due to lack of leadership
ceasefire and the war formally ended in May 1923
left deep political and social divisions in Ireland shaping the political landscape for decades
the 2 main political parties Fianna Fall (pro treaty) and Fine Gael (anti treaty) with legacy of bitterness and division lingering still today
4000 to 5000 lost their lives in the war
led to nationalist split into pro and anti treaty forces
Truce and Anglo-Irish Treaty
Truce declared July 1921 so negotiations between British government and Sinn Fein (represented by Collins and Giffith)
Anglo Irish treaty declared 6th December 1921 granting Ireland dominion status and Ireland was a free state in the Commonwealth
Did require Irish leaders to swear allegiance to the crown and Northern Ireland remained seperate