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Ireland and the Empire-Commonwealth, 1900–1948

DEIRDRE MCMAHON

in The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume IV: The Twentieth Century

This chapter describes the significance of Ireland in the unfolding history of the British Empire and Commonwealth. The new, more self-assertive generation of nationalists was watched with some ... More

This chapter describes the significance of Ireland in the unfolding history of the British Empire and Commonwealth. The new, more self-assertive generation of nationalists was watched with some apprehension by the Roman Catholic Church. The Church supported the demand for Home Rule but opposed more revolutionary forms of nationalism, fearing not just the disorder and chaos of revolution but also the rise of the anticlericalism it had so successfully avoided. The final contours of Home Rule were still unclear by the time it was finally enacted on 18 September 1914. The conflicting ideas in the evolution of an Irish settlement were symbolized by two remarkable men, Erskine Childers and Lionel Curtis. The signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty had profound repercussions in the wider Imperial sphere.Less

The coming man

FEARGHAL McGARRY

in Eoin O’Duffy: A Self-Made Hero

This chapter examines the rise of Eoin O'Duffy as a national figure and as a revolutionary in Ireland. It explains that the bitterness and disillusionment provoked by the Anglo-Irish Treaty split and ... More

This chapter examines the rise of Eoin O'Duffy as a national figure and as a revolutionary in Ireland. It explains that the bitterness and disillusionment provoked by the Anglo-Irish Treaty split and Irish Civil War exerted a greater influence on O'Duffy's subsequent career than the preceding years of unity. This can be seen in his membership of the inner circle of the revolutionary élite and his multiple roles as chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), treasurer of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), and Dáil Éireann politician.Less

The Doctrine of Self-determination and the Treaty Split

Bill Kissane

in The Politics of the Irish Civil War

This chapter outlines the role that the concept of self-determination played in the Sinn Fein movement up to 1921, and assesses the extent to which it conditioned responses to the Treaty settlement. ... More

This chapter outlines the role that the concept of self-determination played in the Sinn Fein movement up to 1921, and assesses the extent to which it conditioned responses to the Treaty settlement. It suggests that Sinn Fein was in many ways an anti-colonial movement, and that dominion status was seen by many as incompatible with the case Sinn Fein had made for independence between 1917 and 1921. Nevertheless, geo-political pressures, notably the weak support for Irish republicanism in the English-speaking world, meant that independence outside the Empire was perceived by many as impossible. To outsiders it was undesirable. Once attitudes to the compromise became bound up with questions of democratic legitimacy, long standing constitutional ambiguities within Irish nationalism resurfaced during the Treaty debate.Less

Causes and Consequences of the Unionist Coup d'État

Iain Mclean

in What's Wrong with the British Constitution?

Temporary increase in number of veto players. Revolt of the landed class. Marxist explanation. Unionism and the British Empire. Primordial unionism. Bonar Law: the first non‐Anglican to lead the ... More

Temporary increase in number of veto players. Revolt of the landed class. Marxist explanation. Unionism and the British Empire. Primordial unionism. Bonar Law: the first non‐Anglican to lead the Conservative Party. Ireland: in the Union, but its opinions not to count.Less

Epilogue: The Ordeal of the Irish Republic

Bruce Nelson

in Irish Nationalists and the Making of the Irish Race

This chapter discusses events surrounding the Irish Republican government's signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on December 6, 1921. The treaty granted Ireland dominion status but stopped far short of ... More

This chapter discusses events surrounding the Irish Republican government's signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on December 6, 1921. The treaty granted Ireland dominion status but stopped far short of recognizing the “isolated Republic” that the members of Dáil Éireann and the Irish Republican Army had sworn a solemn oath to uphold. Almost immediately, the treaty divided the republican movement, and by the time it was ratified by a narrow margin in early January 1922, Ireland was drifting toward civil war. The acrimonious treaty debate, the descent into fratricidal warfare that pitted former comrades against each other; the gratuitous violence that took the lives of leading republicans such as Michael Collins, Harry Boland, Erskine Childers, and Liam Mellows—all of this left an indelible imprint on the Irish psyche and affected politics in Ireland for much of the twentieth century. It is fair to say that from the moment the treaty was signed, the republican movement was engulfed by an internal crisis of direction and morale from which it never fully recovered.Less

Introduction

Bill Kissane

in The Politics of the Irish Civil War

This introductory chapter provides a brief summary of the literature on the Irish civil war and its relevance to the general debate on civil wars. It suggests that despite the localized nature of ... More

This introductory chapter provides a brief summary of the literature on the Irish civil war and its relevance to the general debate on civil wars. It suggests that despite the localized nature of most of the fighting, and the personalization of the issues around the figure of Eamon de Valera in much of the historical literature, the Irish civil war should be regarded above all as a legitimacy crisis. That crisis reflected the intense concern with international status which had characterized the Sinn Fein movement and overrode any socio-economic or regional tensions. In that movement, questions of national freedom were intimately bound up with ideas of democratic legitimacy, and this made for an increased importance of constitutional divisions following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. The last section of this chapter outlines the structure of the book.Less

Conservatism, Anti-Socialism, and the End of the Lloyd George Coalition

E. H. H. GREEN

in Ideologies of Conservatism: Conservative Political Ideas in the Twentieth Century

This chapter reviews the Conservative decision at the Carlton Club meeting of 1922 to end the coalition with the Lloyd George Liberals, and examines the part played by the Conservative's identity as ... More

This chapter reviews the Conservative decision at the Carlton Club meeting of 1922 to end the coalition with the Lloyd George Liberals, and examines the part played by the Conservative's identity as the party of anti-socialism in this decision. Key issues discussed include the impact of taxation, the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, and the activism of the middle classes with the formation of the Middle Class Union, the Anti-Waste League, and the People's Union for Economy.Less

‘The Gates are Thrown Open’

William Murphy

in Political Imprisonment and the Irish, 1912-1921

This chapter assesses the release of those imprisoned prior to Anglo-Irish Treaty of 6 December 1921. The releases began on 8 December and for most liberty came swiftly, but for others it came very ... More

This chapter assesses the release of those imprisoned prior to Anglo-Irish Treaty of 6 December 1921. The releases began on 8 December and for most liberty came swiftly, but for others it came very slowly indeed. After an initial mass release of internees, the new Irish Free State authorities and successive British and Northern Ireland governments haggled over the freedom of the remaining minority. Distinctions were drawn on the basis of the timing of a prisoners’ conviction, the jurisdiction in which their offence occurred, and the type of offence. Politicians used the prisoners as pawns in a variety of negotiations; their releases eased agreements and marked political milestones. Prisoners remained sticks with which political opponents beat each other, hostages, and gifts with which to appease the public. As their numbers dwindled and new conflicts arose, however, the few left behind struggled to remain in the public consciousness.Less

The Long Wait, 1921–1966

David Brundage

in Irish Nationalists in America: The Politics of Exile, 1798–1998

This chapter analyzes the Irish American nationalist movement in a period when it was relative small. It begins with the debate over the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the ensuing Irish Civil War, which ... More

This chapter analyzes the Irish American nationalist movement in a period when it was relative small. It begins with the debate over the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the ensuing Irish Civil War, which confused and demoralized the US movement. It then goes on to discuss residual influences of Irish nationalism in American life, including the labor movement and urban politics. Finally it considers post–World War II developments, such as suburbanization, in furthering the decline of the movement.Less

A State-in-Waiting: Foreign Policy under the Provisional Government of 1922

Gerard Keown

in First of the Small Nations: The Beginnings of Irish Foreign Policy in the Inter-War Years, 1919–1932

The Anglo Irish Treaty of December 1921 established the Irish Free State as a dominion within the British Commonwealth at a time when the dominions did not have their own foreign policy or diplomats ... More

The Anglo Irish Treaty of December 1921 established the Irish Free State as a dominion within the British Commonwealth at a time when the dominions did not have their own foreign policy or diplomats abroad. The Free State did not legally exist until December 1922. In the interim, a Provisional Government managed the transition from British rule while the revolutionary Dáil government continued to exist in parallel. Chapter 4 looks at the awkward cohabitation between the two, the split in the foreign service established by Dáil Éireann as Ireland slid towards civil war over the terms of the Treaty, and the consequences for the efforts of George Gavan Duffy and Michael Collins to craft a foreign policy for the new state.Less

Rising through the Ranks: 1921–1926

in Seán MacBride: A Republican Life 1904–1946

This chapter examines Seán MacBride's rise through the ranks of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). It discusses MacBride's opposition to the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, the division created by the treaty ... More

This chapter examines Seán MacBride's rise through the ranks of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). It discusses MacBride's opposition to the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, the division created by the treaty among the ranks of the IRA and describes MacBride' law education and his imprisonment at Mountjoy. It also considers his marriage to Catalina ‘Kid’ Bulfin and his close association with Éamon de Valera starting in 1925. This chapter also considers MacBride's conflict with his mother who supported some of the provisions of the treaty.Less

Regulation 14B and its Progeny

A. W. Brian Simpson

in In the Highest Degree Odious: Detention without Trial in Wartime Britain

It was the text of Regulation 14B, not its original limited purpose as an instrument of alien control, which lived on, and this text was drafted so as not to restrict the scope of the regulation to ... More

It was the text of Regulation 14B, not its original limited purpose as an instrument of alien control, which lived on, and this text was drafted so as not to restrict the scope of the regulation to that purpose. The expression ‘of hostile origin’ clearly included former enemy citizens, and perhaps those whose parents were of enemy citizenship. ‘Of hostile associations’ was much less precise. The war with Germany was not the only problem then confronting government; there was the Irish question, and the authorities made extensive use of Regulation 14B to crush the Irish rebellion of 1916. With the official end of the war on August 31, 1921 executive detention ceased to be possible in mainland Britain under the Defence of the Realm Act, and with the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 6, 1921, and the establishment of the Irish Free State, it might be supposed that detention in Britain under the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act 1920 might then have ceased too. But, incredibly, the arrests and detentions continued.Less

Prelude

in Planning Derry: Planning and Politics in Northern Ireland

This chapter describes the political and religious circumstances prevalent in Ireland throughout the making of the plan for Londonderry. It provides a brief historical background of Ireland and ... More

This chapter describes the political and religious circumstances prevalent in Ireland throughout the making of the plan for Londonderry. It provides a brief historical background of Ireland and highlights the schism between those Irish who regard Northern Ireland as an integral part of Great Britain and those who regard it as a natural part of the Republic of Ireland. It discusses the social and economic inequities that affected both Protestant and Catholic working-class populations and considers the struggle of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the signing of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty.Less