Ethan Walker
The complex history of Ireland and Britain is marked by centuries of British rule, religious conflict, and Irish resistance. From the 12th century onwards, Ireland was ruled by the English, and later Britain, enduring waves of colonisation and religious reformation. Despite this, Ireland retained its Catholic majority, with the Reformation failing to gain traction. Tensions between Catholics and Protestants persisted, with the former seeking independence from British rule and the latter generally supporting it. This dynamic came to a head during the Easter Rising of 1916, when Irish nationalists rebelled against British rule, setting the stage for Ireland's eventual partition and the creation of the Irish Free State in 1921. The partition left a Catholic minority in Northern Ireland, governed by the Protestant-unionist Ulster Unionist Party, leading to further conflict and the emergence of groups like the IRA and UVF.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of opposition | 1916 (Easter Rising) |
| Who opposed? | Irish nationalists; Catholic and republican nationalists |
| Who were they opposing? | British rule |
| What did they want? | Independence from Britain; a united Ireland |
| What happened as a result? | Partition of Ireland; creation of an Irish Free State in 1921 |
| What was the Irish Free State? | 26 counties in the south of Ireland that were no longer part of the UK but remained within the British Empire |
| What about Northern Ireland? | Six out of nine counties in the northern province of Ulster remained part of the UK |
| What was the impact on religion? | A large Catholic minority was left within Northern Ireland, governed by the Protestant Unionist Party |
| What was the impact on the police? | The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) was targeted by the IRA as it was mainly Irish Catholic |
| What was the impact on the military? | The British Army's longest operation occurred during 'The Troubles' in the late 1960s |
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What You'll Learn
The Irish War of Independence
The roots of the Irish War of Independence can be traced back to the 19th century, when Irish nationalists began to demand greater political independence and land reform. This sentiment grew stronger in the early 20th century, with groups like the Fenians and the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) calling for home rule or outright independence from Britain. In 1912, the British government conceded to the demands for home rule, but this decision was met with opposition from Ulster unionists, who formed the paramilitary Ulster Volunteers (UVF) to resist devolution. In response, Irish nationalists established the Irish Volunteers, setting the stage for further conflict.
The outbreak of World War I temporarily halted the implementation of home rule in Ireland, as many Irish nationalists answered the call to support the British war effort. However, a significant minority of Irish Volunteers, led by Eoin MacNeill, opposed Ireland's involvement and maintained their organisation to push for home rule. In 1916, during the Easter Rising, Irish nationalists launched a rebellion against British rule in Dublin, proclaiming an Irish Republic. While the uprising was swiftly defeated, the British response sparked widespread nationalist and republican sympathies, shifting the political landscape in Ireland.
The December 1918 election reflected this shift, with the hard-line nationalist party Sinn Féin securing a landslide victory. On January 21, 1919, Sinn Féin formed a breakaway government, the Dáil Éireann, and declared Irish independence. This act of defiance marked the beginning of the Irish War of Independence. The IRA, as the successor to the Irish Volunteers, employed guerrilla tactics, targeting police barracks, infrastructure, and symbols of British rule. Sporadic violence marked the opening months of the war, but the conflict escalated towards the end of 1919, with the IRA launching a series of attacks on RIC barracks in southern Ireland.
By early 1920, the IRA had destroyed or evacuated many RIC barracks, effectively removing British authority from significant areas. The British response was ruthless, with the Black and Tans, a force of British recruits to the RIC, engaging in brutal counteractions. Despite manpower and ammunition shortages, the IRA continued their campaign, and by mid-1921, the death toll had climbed to around 1,500, with about 6,000 republicans imprisoned. A truce was reached on July 11, 1921, leading to negotiations and the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on December 6, 1921. The treaty established the Irish Free State, a self-governing dominion within the British Empire, while granting home rule to six predominantly Protestant counties in Northern Ireland, which remained a part of the United Kingdom.
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The Easter Rising
The insurrection began on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, in Dublin. It was planned by Patrick Pearse, Tom Clarke, and several other leaders of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), a revolutionary society within the nationalist organisation called the Irish Volunteers. The Volunteers had about 16,000 members and were armed with German weapons smuggled into the country in 1914. The insurrection was supplemented by the Irish Citizen Army, an association of Dublin workers formed after a failed general strike in 1913, and by the small Sinn Féin party.
On Easter Sunday, April 23, 1916, a group of radical nationalists seized the General Post Office (GPO) building in Dublin, proclaiming the establishment of the Irish Republic. The revolt came as a shock to the British, who quickly responded with an armed force. Although the rebellion was quickly suppressed, the leaders of the insurrection were court-martialled and executed by British authorities. These executions turned the dead republican leaders into martyred heroes, intensifying resentment against British rule.
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The Irish Volunteers
The initiative for the formation of the Irish Volunteers came from the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). Bulmer Hobson, a member of the IRB, believed that the formation of the UVF could be used as an "excuse to try to persuade the public to form an Irish volunteer force". The IRB began preparations for the open organisation of the Irish Volunteers in January 1913. James Stritch, an IRB member, had a hall built at the back of 41 Parnell Square in Dublin, which served as the headquarters for the group. They began learning foot-drill and military movements in anticipation of the formation of the Volunteers.
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Partition of Ireland
The partition of Ireland was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. The latter is now known as the Republic of Ireland or simply Ireland. The partition came into effect in May 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920.
The Act intended both territories to remain within the United Kingdom and contained provisions for their eventual reunification. The smaller Northern Ireland territory was created with a devolved government (Home Rule) and remained part of the UK. The larger Southern Ireland was also created, but its administration was not recognised by most of its citizens, who instead recognised the self-declared 32-county Irish Republic.
The partition was the culmination of a long and complex history of religious and political conflict in Ireland. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Irish Catholics, known as nationalists, believed that Ireland should have its own government independent of England and the British Crown. On the other hand, Irish Protestants, known as loyalists, generally supported British rule.
In the early 20th century, the British government was prepared to grant 'home rule' to Ireland. However, those in Ulster, with a Protestant majority, opposed this and pushed for separation from the rest of the country. The First World War stalled progress toward home rule, and in the Easter Rising of April 1916, a group of radical nationalists known as the Sinn Fein seized the General Post Office in Dublin, hoping to spark a revolution.
The war also intensified resentment against Irish republicanism in Britain and Ulster, making reconciliation between Ireland's Catholic and Protestant communities difficult in the war's aftermath. The partition of Ireland occurred in this context of heightened tensions and unresolved political differences.
The Irish War of Independence (1919-1921) was a guerrilla conflict between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and British forces, resulting in a truce in July 1921. This led to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which established the Irish Free State in Southern Ireland. Northern Ireland's parliament chose to remain in the UK, and the territory of Southern Ireland left the UK and became the Irish Free State, now the Republic of Ireland.
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The Troubles
The conflict has its roots in the partition of Ireland in 1921, which created the Irish Free State in the south and left six counties of the northern province of Ulster as part of the United Kingdom. This partition created a large Catholic minority within Northern Ireland, governed by the discriminatory Ulster Unionist Party. The Northern Ireland state was designed to have a permanent unionist majority, with gerrymandered boundaries and the denial of voting rights to Catholics.
In the late 1960s, a civil rights movement emerged in Ulster to promote the political and social rights of the Catholic minority. This led to violence, with the involvement of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on the Catholic side and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA) on the Protestant side. The British Army was deployed in 1969, in what became its longest operation. While some Catholics initially welcomed the British Army as a more neutral force, they soon came to see it as hostile and biased, particularly after Bloody Sunday in 1972.
The IRA was weak at the beginning of the conflict but soon launched a new campaign against Northern Ireland. At the same time, loyalist paramilitary groups also emerged, such as the Ulster Protestant Volunteers (UPV), which was founded to oust the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Terence O'Neill, whom they viewed as too 'soft' on the civil rights movement. These groups carried out a number of violent attacks on Catholic communities, including petrol bombings of homes, schools, and businesses.
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Frequently asked questions
The Easter Rising was a rebellion against British rule in Ireland. It took place in Dublin in 1916 when a group of committed Catholic nationalists rose up against British rule.
The Irish War of Independence was a conflict between Irish nationalists and the British government from 1919 to 1921. The nationalists sought to create a "state within a state" in opposition to British rule. The conflict resulted in the deaths of over 500 policemen in Ireland, with many more wounded.
In 1921, after an uprising against British rule, Ireland was divided into two. Six out of nine counties in the northern province of Ulster remained part of Britain, while the rest of Ireland achieved self-government within the British Empire as the Irish Free State.
