background
With the clear result of the 1918 General election in Ireland, Sinn Fein could now claim to represent the will of the Irish majority. The election had given it legitimacy.
- Its MPs decided not to take their seats in the House of Commons, thus implicitly refusing to recognise the authority of the United Kingdom Parliament over Ireland.
- Instead, Sinn Fein summoned all MPs to Dublin on 21 January 1919 and constituted itself as the Parliament of the Irish Republic (Dail Eireann) (pictured). Only 27 arrived. The rest (34) were either in prison or involved elsewhere. The 26 Unionist MPs for Ireland and the 6 IPP MPs refused to attend
- The Dail issued a Declaration of Independence, demanded English withdrawal from Ireland, and set up a Provisional Government, with de Valera as President.
- In March the British Government released all Irish political prisoners, thus strengthening Sinn Fein’s hand.
- The Irish Provisional Government was soon able to make its authority effective over much of Ireland, where it established its own courts of law (Dail Courts), collected taxes and even replaced the Royal Mail.
failure of the paris peace conference @ versailles
Sinn Fein naively thought that the American president, Woodrow Wilson, would support its claim for Irish independence. He had made a speech in favour of ‘national self-determination’. Sinn Fein representatives attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 in the hope of gaining support. However, their claims were ignored. Woodrow Wilson saw the British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, as an ally in the post-war world.
The failure of Sinn Fein to gain the support of Woodrow Wilson and other world leaders strengthened the hand of extremists in the party.
The failure of Sinn Fein to gain the support of Woodrow Wilson and other world leaders strengthened the hand of extremists in the party.
the ira
- The new government was backed up by the power of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), as the Irish Volunteers were now coming to be called.
- The IRA was led by Cathal Brugha. However, he found it difficult to control IRA units spread around the country.
- Some within the IRA looked instead to Michael Collins, president of the IRB and a director of operations in the IRA.
- Brugha resented Collins’ influence over the IRA. This resentment had major consequences in the civil war that was to follow.
By 1919, the two authorities confronted one another in Ireland, both demanding the allegiance of the Irish people:
- The British Government, which rested its authority upon law and established treaty rights.
- The Irish Provisional Government, which claimed to represent the will of the Irish people.
the war begins
The start of the War of Independence is usually taken as the Soloheadbeg ambush in County Tipperary. Two RIC officers were transporting
explosives to a quarry when they were ambushed and killed by a Volunteer unit led by Dan Breen and Sean Treacy.
explosives to a quarry when they were ambushed and killed by a Volunteer unit led by Dan Breen and Sean Treacy.
- The Volunteer (IRA) GHQ was alarmed by this unsanctioned attack and it was also condemned by the local clergy - the murder of 2 popular Catholic constables could have conceivably turn public opinion against the separatist movement.
- Russell Rees says that for Sinn Fein and the IRA this marked the opening shots in what they regarded as a war for Irish independence.
- The British response to IRA violence was initially slow. Jackson states that the British government was distracted from Irish affairs by having to deal with the aftermath of the Great War, and the problems caused by demobilisation and economic reconstruction at home. Lloyd George and Bonar law were frequently in Paris attending the Peace Conference. There were also rumblings in other parts of the British Empire, notably India and Egypt, which demanded government time and pushed Ireland down the list of priorities.
- There was also. a growing desire among the British public for a withdrawal from Irish affairs. Russell Rees argues that divisions within the coalition government also led to a drift in policy, with no clear objectives or direction.
- The British government initially saw the violence as the work of ‘murder gangs’. However, the IRA campaign and the boycott of RIC officers was having an effect on morale among the police in Ireland, who were mainly Catholic and mildly sympathetic to nationalist ideas. The number of recruits fell sharply and many officers resigned.