 The Birth of the Irish Republic; painting by Walter Paget | |
| Native name | Tréimhse Réabhlóideach in Eirinn |
|---|---|
| Date | 1912 (1912) to 1923 (1923) |
| Location | Ireland |
| Outcome | Partition of Ireland;Anglo-Irish Treaty; establishment ofIrish Free State andNorthern Ireland |
Therevolutionary period inIrish history was the period in the 1910s and early 1920s whenIrish nationalist opinion shifted from theHome Rule-supportingIrish Parliamentary Party to therepublicanSinn Féin movement. There were several waves ofcivil unrest linked toUlster loyalism,trade unionism, andphysical force republicanism, leading to theIrish War of Independence, thePartition of Ireland, the creation of theIrish Free State, and theIrish Civil War.
Some modern historians define the revolutionary period as the period from the introduction of theThird Home Rule Bill to the end of the Civil War (1912/1913 to 1923),[1][2] or sometimes more narrowly as the period from theEaster Rising to the end of the War of Independence or the Civil War (1916 to 1921/1923).[3][4]
The early years of the Free State, when it was governed by the pro-Treaty partyCumann na nGaedheal, have been described by at least one historian as acounter-revolution.[5]
Home Rule seemed certain in 1910 when theIrish Parliamentary Party (IPP) underJohn Redmond held the balance of power in theBritish House of Commons. The third Home Rule Bill was introduced in 1912.Unionist resistance was immediate, with the formation of theUlster Volunteers (UVF). In turn, theIrish Volunteers were established in 1913 to oppose them and prevent the UVF introduction of self-government inUlster.[6] TheDublin lock-out in the same year led to creation of theIrish Citizen Army.
In September 1914, two months after theFirst World War broke out, the UK Parliament passed theGovernment of Ireland Act 1914, known as the Home Rule Act, to establish self-government for Ireland, but the act was suspended for the duration of the war.[6] Irish nationalist leaders and the IPP under Redmond supportedIreland's participation in the British war effort, in the belief that it would ensure implementation of Home Rule after the war. A core of leaders within the Irish Volunteers were against this decision, but the majority of the men left to form theNational Volunteers, some of whom enlisted inIrish regiments of theNew British Army, the10th and16th (Irish) Divisions, the counterparts of the unionist36th (Ulster) Division. Before the war ended, Britain made two concerted efforts to implement Home Rule, one in May 1916 and again with theIrish Convention during 1917–1918, but nationalists and unionists were unable to agree to terms for the temporary or permanent exclusion of Ulster from its provisions.[citation needed]
The period 1916–1921 was marked by political violence and upheaval, ending in thepartition of Ireland and independence for 26 of its 32 counties. A failed militant attempt by the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army was made to gain independence for Ireland with the 1916Easter Rising, an insurrection in Dublin. Although support for the insurgents was small, the execution of fifteen people by firing squad, the imprisonment or internment of hundreds more, and the imposition of martial law caused a profound shift in public opinion towards therepublican cause in Ireland.[7] In addition, the unprecedented threat of Irishmen being conscripted to theBritish Army in 1918 (for service on theWestern Front as a result of theGerman spring offensive) accelerated this change (seeConscription Crisis of 1918). In theDecember 1918 elections,Sinn Féin, the party of the rebels, won three-quarters of all seats in Ireland. Twenty-seven of theseMPs assembled in Dublin on 21 January 1919 to form a 32-countyIrish Republic parliament. TheFirst Dáil Éireannunilaterally declared sovereignty over the island of Ireland.[8]
Unwilling to negotiate any understanding with Britain short of complete independence, theIrish Republican Army, the army of the newly declared Irish Republic, waged a guerilla war (theIrish War of Independence) from 1919 to 1921. In the course of the fighting and amid much acrimony, the FourthGovernment of Ireland Act 1920 implemented Home Rule while separating the island into what theBritish government's Act termed "Northern Ireland" and "Southern Ireland". In July 1921 the Irish and British governments agreed to a truce that halted the war. In December 1921 representatives of both governments signed theAnglo-Irish Treaty. The Irish delegation was led byArthur Griffith andMichael Collins. This created theIrish Free State, a self-governingDominion of theCommonwealth of Nations in the manner of Canada and Australia. Under the Treaty, Northern Ireland could opt out of the Free State and stay within theUnited Kingdom: it promptly did so. In 1922, both parliamentsratified the Treaty, formalising dominion status for the 26-county Irish Free State (which renamed itselfIreland and claimed sovereignty over the entire island in 1937, anddeclared itself a republic in 1949), while Northern Ireland, gaining Home Rule for itself, remained part of the United Kingdom.
Separate unionist and nationalisthistorical narratives exist for the historic events in question; nationalist perspectives are further divided by the Civil War which ended the revolutionary period. TheNorthern Ireland peace process, with its promotion of dialogue and reconciliation, has modified this separation.[20][21] TheBureau of Military History established by the Irish government in 1947 collectedoral history accounts from republican veterans of the period 1913 to 1921. Its records were sealed until the last veteran's death in 2003; they were published online in 2012.[22]
In May 2010, the Institute for British Irish Studies inUniversity College Dublin organised a conference on the themeA Decade of Centenaries: Commemorating Our Shared History.[23]TaoiseachBrian Cowen addressed the conference:[24]
This coming decade of commemorations, if well prepared and carefully considered, should enable all of us on this island to complete the journey we have started towards lasting peace and reconciliation. Twelve years have passed since the [Good Friday] Agreement. In the next twelve years we will witness a series of commemorations which will give us pause to reflect on where we have come from, and where we are going. With the centenaries of the Ulster Covenant, the Battle of the Somme, the Easter Rising, the War of Independence, the Government of Ireland Act and the Treaty, the events which led to the political division of this island come up for re-examination. We will also reflect on the crucial roles played by the Labour movement in that defining decade.
He later said "We believe that mutual respect should be central to all commemorative events and that historical accuracy should be paramount."[25]
TheOireachtasJoint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement discussed commemoration on 13 October 2011, at whichIan Adamson said "The main problem that persists is one of two narratives. There is a Protestant, loyalist narrative and a republican narrative."[26]
On 27 February 2012, theNorthern Ireland Assembly passed a motion:[27]
That this Assembly notes the number of centenaries of significant historic events affecting the UK and Ireland in the next 10 years; calls onthe Executive to ensure that these are marked in an inclusive manner; and further calls on theFirst Minister anddeputy First Minister, theMinister of Culture, Arts and Leisure and theMinister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to work together, with the British and Irish Governments, to develop a co-ordinated approach to the commemoration of these important events in our shared history.
An All-PartyOireachtas Consultation Group on Commemorations exists,[28] with an "Expert Advisory Group of eminent historians".[29] In April 2012, the National Commemorative Programme for the Decade of Centenaries, covering centenaries from 1912 to 1922, was announced in theDepartment of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht under ministerJimmy Deenihan.[30] In June, Deenihan stated that consideration will initially be focused up to 2016, centenary of the Easter Rising.[31]
Hugo Swire told the UK parliament in May 2012 that theNorthern Ireland Office was consulting with the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish government, saying "All these discussions underpin the need to promote tolerance and mutual understanding to ensure that these anniversaries are commemorated with tolerance, dignity and respect for all."[32]
In a debate on the programme in theSeanad in June 2012,Martin McAleese said "It may be more accurate to regard not alone the decade from 1912 to 1922 but rather the 13-year period from 1911 to 1923, as representing the turbulent years that had such a dramatic impact on the course of our island's history. There are approximately 62 events in that period which constitute the package of centenary celebrations, from the arrival ofJames Connolly in Belfast in 1911 through to the ending of the Civil War in 1923."[33]
A series of conferences,Reflecting on a decade of War and Revolution in Ireland 1912–1923 was organised by Universities Ireland starting in June 2012.[34]
Century Ireland is a website launched in May 2013 to track events as their centenaries pass, using both period documents and modern commentary. It is produced byBoston College's 'Center for Irish Programs', and is funded by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and hosted byRTÉ.ie.[35][36]
