Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence, also known as the Anglo-Irish War, occurred from 1919 to 1921, following the 1916 Easter Rising and the subsequent rise of the Sinn Féin political party, which declared Ireland's independence from Britain after winning the 1918 election. The conflict was primarily fought between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and British military forces, characterized by guerrilla tactics employed by the IRA, who aimed to disrupt British governance in Ireland through surprise attacks and assassinations. Despite being outmatched in terms of military resources, the IRA's campaign gained significant public support, particularly following the British execution of Easter Rising leaders.
The war culminated in the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1921, which resulted in the establishment of the Irish Free State as a self-governing entity within the British Commonwealth. However, the treaty also allowed for the partition of Ireland, granting Northern Ireland the option to remain part of the UK, a contentious provision that led to deep divisions within the nationalist movement and ultimately sparked the Irish Civil War from 1922 to 1923. The Irish War of Independence marked a significant turning point in Ireland's struggle for autonomy and laid the groundwork for ongoing political and social complexities in the region.
Irish War of Independence
Also known as the Anglo-Irish War, the Irish War of Independence grew from the 1916 Easter Rising, a six-day rebellion against British rule in Ireland. The war broke out in 1919, after the Sinn Féin political party won Ireland's 1918 election and declared Ireland's independence from Great Britain. It was fought between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and military forces representing Britain, and concluded with the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.
The Irish War of Independence was successful in liberating Ireland from British rule, but it also led to the partitioning of Ireland into two states. It was a key precursor of the Irish Civil War (1922–1923), in which the nationalist movement that inspired the Easter Rising and the fight for independence split into opposing factions.
Background
The Act of Union established the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK) in 1800. This elevated the status of Ireland from a British protectorate to a full political and economic partner, but Ireland's inclusion proved to be contentious. The Act of Union abolished Ireland's Dublin-based parliament, subjecting the country to direct rule from London. Adherence to Protestant Christianity was an important aspect of the British identity, and Ireland was historically a Catholic country. Irish Catholics were subjected to institutional discrimination under British rule, which favored Ireland's Protestant minority, which was concentrated in its nine northern counties, collectively known as Ulster.
Beginning in 1885, the UK moved toward a policy known as Home Rule, in which the member nations of the union were granted a measure of self-governance through their own parliamentary institutions. However, Ulster's population included many unionists who favored Ireland's inclusion in the UK and opposed Home Rule. This led to the establishment of the Ulster Home Force (UHF), a paramilitary organization dedicated to resisting Irish Home Rule. Irish nationalists founded a paramilitary organization in response. This Irish Volunteer Force (IVF) eventually became known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
A nationalist movement determined to create an independent Ireland initially gained momentum before declining as Europe moved toward World War I (1914–1918). On Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, with Britain deeply involved in the war, Irish nationalist leaders proclaimed the founding of an independent Irish republic. Approximately one thousand Irish nationalist insurgents faced off against about four hundred British troops in the streets of Dublin. As the fighting intensified, Britain sent a large military contingency and quashed the rebellion in six days. The event came to be known as the Easter Rising.
Public opinion turned strongly in favor of the Irish nationalist cause after British authorities executed the Easter Rising leaders. In the Irish general election of 1918, the fiercely nationalist Sinn Féin party soundly defeated the moderate Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), though voters in Ulster registered strong support for the pro-UK Unionist Party. Sinn Féin quickly declared Ireland an independent republic, and Britain countered with an offer of limited self-government. On January 21, 1919, IRA sympathizers assassinated two officers of the British-backed Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) armed police force. This incident is widely considered the beginning of the Irish War of Independence.
Overview
Great Britain's military might far exceeded that of the IRA. With the backing of the Sinn Féin government, the IRA pursued a guerrilla campaign built around three main activities: attacking British government property and institutions, conducting raids to secure weapons and obtain funds, and assassinating pro-Britain public officials. These activities were carried out by IRA operatives, who were loosely organized in decentralized units. These units, which operated independently, regularly conducted surprise attacks. Most operatives were volunteers, who would return to civilian life after a mission. Over the course of the Irish War of Independence, the IRA had about fifteen thousand operatives. About three thousand were available for service at any time.
Early in the war, the RIC was a favored target of the IRA. The IRA's goal was to goad the RIC, and Britain, to brutally retaliate against its sporadic surprise attacks. IRA leaders believed this would help the IRA grow and thrive by building support. The attacks prompted the RIC to create a reserve unit informally known as the Black and Tans comprising mercenaries hired by the British government to help suppress the Irish nationalist insurgency. The Black and Tans attacked Irish civilians and destroyed civilian property, and civilians both hated and feared them.
Michael Collins (1890–1922) was a key IRA leader and a prominent member of the Sinn Féin government. He directed many IRA strikes by choosing targets, funding and arming independent IRA units, and heading an extensive network of spies and informants. Collins also managed the leadership of individual units, guiding the IRA into the infamous Bloody Sunday episode that is widely cited as the zenith of the conflict.
The events of Bloody Sunday occurred on November 21, 1920. Under Collins's direction, the IRA assassinated nineteen people suspected of being British intelligence agents in a remarkable display of the IRA's reach and the sophistication of its network. The RIC quickly retaliated by deploying newly recruited forces to open fire on a civilian crowd watching a Gaelic football match at a Dublin stadium, killing at least twelve people and wounding at least sixty more. In addition to winning a great deal of both Irish and international support for the IRA's cause, the events of Bloody Sunday also crippled Britain's spy network, greatly inhibiting its ability to gather crucial information.
However, the episode also forced the IRA to change its tactics after the RIC was authorized by the British government to detain suspected insurgents indefinitely and without trial. By the summer of 1921, approximately 4,500 people had been taken into British custody, and many full-time IRA members were forced to flee and regroup. These insurgents reorganized themselves into units of about one hundred members, known as flying columns. Though the flying columns continued the guerrilla campaign, Sinn Féin agreed to negotiate an end to the conflict. Its leadership believed the Irish people had little inclination to endure further violence, and the IRA was running low on arms and funds while the British military presence in Ireland was growing.
Britain did not insist on an IRA surrender. The Sinn Féin and British governments reached a settlement known as the Anglo-Irish Treaty on December 6, 1921. It established an independent Irish Republic within the British Commonwealth, but also contained controversial provisions that would allow the newly created, primarily pro-British partition state of Northern Ireland to opt out of a union with Ireland and remain part of the UK. Subsequent disagreements created deep-running divisions within the Irish nationalist movement, which led to the Irish Civil War.
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