Irish Revolution


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    In 1912 the Westminster Parliament in London passed the Home Rule Bill for Ireland, meaning that Ireland would have its own parliament and could make its own political decisions, to a certain extent of course. Unionists, usually Protestants and many descendants of those settled in the country under Cromwell, who desired continued rule of the country from Westminster, strongly opposed Home Rule, as they were loyal to Britain and saw the bill as a threat that could lead to a nationalist and Catholic-dominated country. However, the Bill ended up being suspended from being put into action by the start of WW 1 anyway.

    The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) was formed by Unionist leaders Edward Carson and James Craig, with the goal of defending British dominance in Ireland, by the use of force if necessary. Within a year it was estimated the UVF had a force of over 100,000 men, half of whom were armed with rifles. The Irish National Volunteers formed in response, arming themselves.

    As Ireland was heading fast towards civil war, the First World War helped lead Ireland more towards independence from Britain. Unionists answered Britain’s call for the fight against Germany and the UVF merged into the 36th Ulster division of the British Army. (The original UVF were largely killed fighting in the trenches. A revived loyalist terrorist organization named this formed in Northern Ireland later during The Troubles.)

    As Britain concentrated all its efforts in the fight against Germany in WWI, Irish Nationalists saw a window of opportunity and by 1915 the Irish Republican Brotherhood, Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizens' Army started to plan a rebellion.

    On Easter Sunday of 1916 the Easter Rising (as it came to be known) began with Patrick Pearse reading the Irish Proclamation of Independence.

    The 1916 Rising lasted only a week, with Britain successfully regaining control of Dublin, after destroying much of the city. The 14 leaders of the uprising were captured, given quick show trials by military tribunals, and executed for high treason, an event that helped shaped Irish political opinions for years to follow.

    The only surviving leader of the Rising was Sinn Fein Party leader Eamon De Valera–whom the British did not want to execute since he was a US citizen and pissing off the US could have jeopardized the chances the United States would come into World War I on the side of the Allies. He went on to become president of the Irish Republic. Support for Sein Fein dramatically increased due to the execution of the rebel leaders who fought for Ireland’s independence.

    De Valera and other captured Irish rebels were released in 1918 after an amnesty. Immediately they threw themselves into fighting against conscription into the British Army (which had just been introduced to Ireland) and for the fall general election. Due to wide-spread popular support, Sinn Fein won in a landslide, winning 72 seats among 105. With this mandate, on 21 January 1919 the Sinn Fein delegates formed their own parliament, the Dail Eireann (Irish Chamber), which elected a government including Eamonn De Valera as President of the Irish Republic and reaffirmed their demand for independence.

    They were immediately forced underground, and the Irish Republican Army was formed by Michael Collins to fight British forces by guerrilla methods, with great success. Collins pioneered urban guerrilla tactics which later movements used. In 1920, British WW 1 veterans were sent in as auxiliary troops and police reservists. Becoming known as "Black and Tans" due to the color of their uniforms, they were notorious for brutality, and were disliked for it even by many British officers. Irish hatred for British forces on their soil was fuelled even more when 18-year old Kevin Barry, a member of the IRA, was captured and executed, even though he had not actually killed anyone. This served only to harden resistance, and the underground Irish government gained control of most rural areas, even setting up its own "Republican courts," that handled both civil and criminal cases. Although these were not empowered to pass death sentences on prisoners, IRA military tribunals that convicted people of collaborating with British forces could and did, along with with its mainly extrajudicial killings, especially of police officers, informants or intelligence agents. For its part, the British administration put to death 24 IRA members (including Kevin Berry) convicted of various offenses, and Munster was under martial law. As Irish coroner's juries repeatedly found that British forces had committed crimes against civilians, inquests were transferred to the military courts of inquiry, which whitewashed atrocities. Such abuses merely served to increase support for the Republicans.

    In June 1921, Britain declared a truce, and peace talks began. British and Irish representatives in London met to discuss a treaty. After much wrangling in which full independence was rejected from Britain's side, a compromise was agreed-Ireland would become a self-governing dominion like Canada or Australia, called the Irish Free State, with a British Governor-General and requiring oaths of loyalty by all government officials (later to become a major issue). However, the 6 Protestant-majority counties in the north were allowed to opt out if they wished and remain part of Britain, which they immediately did. Previously the Government of Ireland Act 1920 had been passed to divided Ireland into two territories, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. In 1921 the first Northern Ireland Parliament was opened at Stormont, along with the Southern one in Dublin. Northern Ireland was thus also born. This has often been referred to, somewhat inaccurately, as "Ulster", though the historic province contained more than the 6 counties, but 3 Catholic-majority ones became part of the Irish Free State).

    The Treaty of Independence divided Irish Nationalists, including members of the IRA, with one half (led by Eamonn de Valera) viewing it as a betrayal, leaving part of Ireland in British hands, with Catholics persecuted by loyalist violence. Michael Collins, on the other hand, led the Treaty delegation and viewed it merely as a stepping stone for an independent, united Ireland (he also smuggled arms to Northern Ireland so the people there could defend themselves). He became the commander-in-chief of the Irish Free State Army, formed of IRA troops who supported him. A tragic, bloody civil war broke out, with former comrades fighting on both sides against each other. During an ambush in his native County Cork, Michael Collins was (intentionally or not, it is not clear) killed by anti-Treaty forces. Early the next year, the anti-Treaty forces surrendered, although the IRA remained. After WW 2, in 1949 the Republic of Ireland was declared, fully independent from the British Commonwealth. Northern Ireland remained a source of The Troubles, with cross-border involvement, until 1998.

    Irish Revolution in fiction

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