137-888: The National Army , sometimes unofficially referred to as the Free State Army or the Regulars , was the army of the Irish Free State from January 1922 until October 1924. Its role in this period was defined by its service in the Irish Civil War , in defence of the institutions established by the Anglo-Irish Treaty . Michael Collins was the army's first commander-in-chief until his death in August 1922. The army made its first public appearance on 31 January 1922, when command of Beggars Bush Barracks
274-1021: A Sam Browne belt . The ordinary volunteer's uniform was a similar pattern, worn with British 1908 pattern webbing. A greatcoat was issued for bad weather. All ranks wore brown boots and leggings. The cap badge and buttons of the Irish Volunteers and the pre-Independence IRA were worn, in recognition of the National Army's origins. Rank markings were coloured cloth cuff bands and coloured diamond shaped cloth cap badge backing. General Officers' markings were cloth bands on shoulder strap, collar gorget and cap diamonds. Rank markings were re-arranged on 31 January 1923: Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 1922 – 29 December 1937), also known by its Irish name Saorstát Éireann ( English: / ˌ s ɛər s t ɑː t ˈ ɛər ə n / SAIR -staht AIR -ən , Irish: [ˈsˠiːɾˠsˠt̪ˠaːt̪ˠ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ] ),
411-460: A birth rate of just 18.6 per 1,000. Irish society during this period was extremely Roman Catholic, with Roman Catholic thinkers promoting anti-capitalist, anti-communist, anti-Protestant, anti-Masonic, and antisemitic views in Irish society. Through the works of priests such as Edward Cahill , Richard Devane, and Denis Fahey , Irish society saw capitalism, individualism, communism, private banking,
548-546: A class traditionally seen as "pro-British". The Free State Government, for its part, officially executed 77 anti-Treaty prisoners. Government forces also carried out a number of atrocities against prisoners. This was particularly pronounced in Kerry, where the fighting was most bitter. On at least three occasions in March 1923, IRA prisoners were massacred with land mines in reprisal for the killing of Free State soldiers. Ironically,
685-694: A combination of three sources, and was largely the work of Michael Collins in the Treaty negotiations. It came in part from a draft oath suggested prior to the negotiations by President de Valera. Other sections were taken by Collins directly from the Oath of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), of which he was the secret head. In its structure, it was also partially based on the form and structure used for 'Dominion status'. Although 'a new departure', and notably indirect in its reference to
822-579: A group called the "neutral IRA", which tried to reconcile the two factions. Meanwhile, the IRA in Northern Ireland maintained its links with Michael Collins; the only Northern IRA leader to join the anti-Treaty side was Belfast commander Joe McKelvey . The Northern IRA launched a renewed military offensive in May 1922, in which it was aided covertly by both the National Army and the anti-Treaty IRA. This
959-458: A landmine; the detonation killed eight and only left one, Stephen Fuller , who was blown clear by the blast to escape. Frank Aiken , IRA Chief of Staff ordered IRA volunteers to dump arms on 24 May 1923, ending the fighting. With the end of the Civil War, the National Army had grown too big for a peacetime role and was too expensive for the new Irish state to maintain. In addition, many of
1096-683: A left-wing IRA leader who was opposed to the Catholic nationalism of many IRA members, said disparagingly that "we don't have an IRA battalion in Belfast, we have a battalion of armed Catholics". This burst of what has sometimes been termed "social republicanism" expired in the mid-1930s. In 1931 Saor Éire had quickly collapsed due to the combination of fierce reaction from the Catholic Church, deeply hostile to anything that appeared communist, and repressive legislation immediately introduced by
1233-657: A new office of President of Ireland was instituted in place of the Governor-General of the Irish Free State. The new constitution claimed jurisdiction over all of Ireland while recognising that legislation would not apply in Northern Ireland (see Articles 2 and 3 ). Articles 2 and 3 were reworded in 1998 to remove jurisdictional claim over the entire island and to recognise that "a united Ireland shall be brought about only by peaceful means with
1370-481: A tactical and ideological departure from the Twomey, MacBride and Barry period. Russell eschewed the left-wing tendencies of the 1920s and 30s IRA and pushed for a more "militarist" approach. One of the first major moves by Russell was to shore up the political credibility of the IRA. As Chief of Staff, he was able to secure a powerful symbolic gesture from the "rump" of the second Dáil, that is to say, elected members of
1507-521: Is the model of the reconstituted Seanad Éireann (the Senate), which operates based on a system of vocational panels, along with a list of appointed nominating industry bodies, a corporatist concept (seen in Pope Pius XI's 1931 encyclical Quadragesimo anno ). Furthermore, Ireland's main political parties; Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Labour, all had an inherently corporatist outlook. The government
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#17327728088401644-729: The 1932 general election ), the Seanad , university representation in the Dáil, and appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council . One major policy error occurred in 1936 when he attempted to use the abdication of King Edward VIII to abolish the crown and governor-general in the Free State with the " Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act ". He was advised by senior law officers and other constitutional experts that, as
1781-584: The British Army ; by May 1923 this had grown to 58,000 troops. The National Army lacked the expertise necessary to train a force of that size, so approximately 20 per cent of its officers and 50 per cent of its soldiers were Irish ex-servicemen of the British Army and men like Martin Doyle , Emmet Dalton , W. R. E. Murphy , and Henry Kelly brought considerable combat experience. In March 1922, there
1918-576: The Defence Forces as the Irish Free State 's military force. The National Army was constituted from the revolutionary Irish Republican Army (IRA), which emerged from the successful Irish War of Independence fought as a guerrilla campaign against the British Army and Royal Irish Constabulary . On 31 January 1922 the first unit of the new National Army, a former IRA unit of the Dublin Guard , took possession of Beggars Bush Barracks ,
2055-583: The Four Courts in Dublin, thus beginning the Irish Civil War . The National Army was greatly expanded in size to fight the civil war against the anti-Treaty IRA, in a mostly counter-insurgency campaign that was brought to a successful conclusion in May 1923. From 1 October 1924, the Army was reorganised into a smaller, better regulated force; the term "National Army" was superseded by the legal establishment of
2192-668: The Great Depression on the population, to which the IRA's new social radicalism (see next section) appealed. Another important factor was the formation of the Blueshirts : a quasi- fascist organisation set up by Eoin O'Duffy, originally composed of Civil war veterans of the Free State Army. The IRA and the Blueshirts both attacked political meetings and also fought street brawls against each other. While most of
2329-570: The Kerry IRA's sole contribution in 1919–21 was "the shooting of an unfortunate soldier on the day of the truce". In Kerry's case (which saw more Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) men killed than anywhere else outside Dublin and Tipperary), this was far from true; however, some areas such as County Sligo and County Wexford did see considerably more action in the Civil War than in the War of Independence. Other IRA men such as Florence O'Donoghue formed
2466-721: The Oireachtas , made up of the king and two houses, Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann (the Irish Senate). Executive authority was vested in the king, with the Governor-General as his representative. He appointed a cabinet called the Executive Council to "aid and advise" him. The Executive Council was presided over by a prime minister called the President of the Executive Council . In practice, most of
2603-644: The Pound sterling from its inception; there is no reference in the Treaty or in either of the enabling Acts to currency. Nonetheless, and within a few years, the Dáil passed the Coinage Act, 1926 (which provided for a Saorstát [Free State] coinage) and the Currency Act, 1927 (which provided inter alia for banknotes of the Saorstát pound ). The new Saorstát pound was defined by the 1927 Act to have exactly
2740-729: The Presbyterian Church in Ireland , the Methodist Church in Ireland , the Religious Society of Friends in Ireland , as well as the Jewish Congregations and the other religious denominations existing in Ireland at the date of the coming into operation of this Constitution. Following a referendum, this section was removed in 1973. After the setting up of the Free State in 1923, unionism in
2877-542: The Second Dáil who remained Republicans. 7 of these former TDs transferred what authority they believed they had as representatives of the second Dáil to the IRA army council, thus, in their minds, rendering it the legitimate governing body of Ireland. The IRA felt this move gave them the authority to formally declare war on the United Kingdom , which they would almost immediately do. The IRA that emerged from
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#17327728088403014-463: The strikes of agricultural labourers in Munster and south Leinster, as well as reversing factory seizures by striking workers. In 1924, a small group of officers, led mainly by former members of The Squad , attempted to resist the efforts to demobilise. This situation evolved into what became called the " Army Mutiny ", which, after an ultimatum, was resolved relatively peaceably with recognition of
3151-611: The " Irish pound " and the coins were marked Éire . Ireland joined the League of Nations on 10 September 1923. It would also participate in the Olympics sending its first team to the 1924 Summer Olympics held in Paris. They would send further teams to the 1928 Summer Olympics and the 1932 Summer Olympics . According to Gerard Keown, by 1932 much had been achieved in the quest for an independent foreign policy. The Irish Free State
3288-602: The "reconstruction" of a "free and progressive Europe". The Third Reich was also praised as the "energising force" of European politics and the "guardian" of national freedom. When George Bernard Shaw retorted that the Nazis were anti-Catholic, the IRA responded that Hitler's and Mussolini's support of Franco in Spain proved their pro-Catholic credentials. By 1941, the IRA numbered fewer than 1,000 members, many of whom were imprisoned. Most of its able political organisers had left in
3425-667: The Allies and Germany. On 23 December 1939, IRA members stole almost the entire reserve ammunition store of the Irish Army from the Magazine Fort in Dublin's Phoenix Park . This became known as the " Christmas Raid " in IRA folklore. The RUC found two and a half tons of the stolen ammunition inside County Armagh on 2 January 1940. The next day the Irish Minister for Justice, Gerald Boland , at an emergency session of
3562-537: The British Government, but with the consent of the Irish Government. From 1927, the Irish Government alone had the power to advise the king whom to appoint. As with all dominions, provision was made for an Oath of Allegiance. Within dominions, such oaths were taken by parliamentarians personally towards the monarch. The Irish Oath of Allegiance was fundamentally different. It had two elements;
3699-729: The British Parliament that may have enacted the original legislation in the past. It also removed Westminster's authority to legislate for the Dominions, except with the express request and consent of the relevant Dominion's parliament. This change had the effect of making the dominions, including the Free State, de jure independent nations—thus fulfilling Collins' vision of having "the freedom to achieve freedom". The Free State symbolically marked these changes in two mould-breaking moves soon after winning internationally recognised independence: When Éamon de Valera became President of
3836-465: The British government and members of the Dáil, culminating in the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921. The Treaty allowed for the creation of a separate state to be known as the Irish Free State, with dominion status, within the then British Empire—a status equivalent to Canada. The Parliament of Northern Ireland could, by presenting an address to the king, opt not to be included in
3973-530: The British monarchy and introducing an elected president as head of state. The document also included a territorial claim to Northern Ireland . By the late 1930s at the latest, most Irish people disagreed with the residual Irish Republican Army's claims that it remained the legitimate 'army of the Republic'. In Northern Ireland, the IRA's main role was to try to defend the Catholic community during outbreaks of sectarian rioting. For this reason Peadar O'Donnell ,
4110-581: The Dáil from 1922 to 1927 and thereafter ruled as a minority government until 1932. In 1931, with the passage of the Statute of Westminster , the Parliament of the United Kingdom relinquished nearly all of its remaining authority to legislate for the Free State and the other dominions. This had the effect of granting the Free State internationally recognised independence. In the first months of
4247-757: The Dáil, introduced the Emergency Powers Bill to reinstate internment, Military Tribunal, and executions for IRA members. It was rushed through and given its third reading the next day creating the Emergency Powers Act. It was later used to execute at least six IRA volunteers in Ireland between 1940 and 1944. Peter Barnes and James McCormick , who had been arrested in England shortly following an IRA bomb that exploded in Coventry on 25 August 1939 (see 1939 Coventry bombing ), resulting in
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4384-436: The Executive Council (prime minister) in 1932 he described Cosgrave's ministers' achievements simply. Having read the files, he told his son, Vivion, "they were magnificent, son". The Statute of Westminster allowed de Valera, on becoming President of the Executive Council (February 1932), to go even further. With no ensuing restrictions on his policies, he abolished the Oath of Allegiance (which Cosgrave intended to do had he won
4521-629: The Forces) consisting of such number of officers, non-commissioned officers, and men as may from time to time be provided by the Oireachtas ." " The Forces shall be established as from a date to be fixed by Proclamation of the Executive Council in the Iris Oifigiúil " The establishment of the Forces was on 1 October 1924. This date marks the ending of the initial phase of the National Army and
4658-454: The Free State government led by W. T. Cosgrave; many more were arrested after they dumped arms and returned to civilian life. By late 1923, over 12,000 anti-Treaty IRA men were interned. The prisoners were released over the following year, with Éamon de Valera the last to leave Kilmainham Gaol in 1924. In 1924 the IRA counted 14,500 members in total, including young men aged from 19 upwards, but with just over 5,000 weapons in its dumps. By 1926
4795-466: The Free State had re-taken all the major towns and territory held by republicans. The Free State's best troops were the Dublin Guard : a unit composed of former IRA men, mostly from the Dublin Brigade's active service unit who were to the forefront in the Free State's offensive of July–August 1922. They sided with the Free State primarily out of personal loyalty to Collins. The anti-Treaty IRA
4932-402: The Free State party Cumann na nGaedheal not to respect the result and prepared for another civil war. To their surprise, Cosgrave's party peacefully gave up power and instructed the police and armed forces to obey the new government. In the first two years of Fianna Fáil government, the IRA's membership grew from a low of 1,800 to over 10,000. This can be put down to the radicalising impact of
5069-613: The Free State's establishment, the new dominion had the "lowest birth-rate in the world". The report noted that amongst countries for which statistics were available ( Ceylon , Chile, Japan , Spain, South Africa , the Netherlands, Canada, Germany , Australia, the United States, Britain, New Zealand, Finland, and the Irish Free State), Ceylon had the highest birth rate at 40.8 per 1,000 while the Irish Free State had
5206-461: The Free State, in which case a Boundary Commission would be established to determine where the boundary between them should lie. Members of the parliament of the Free State would be required to take an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the Free State and to declare that they would be "faithful" to the king (a modification of the oath taken in other dominions). The Dáil ratified
5343-463: The Free State, the Irish Civil War was waged between the newly established National Army and the Anti-Treaty IRA , which refused to recognise the state. The Civil War ended in victory for the government forces, with its opponents dumping their arms in May 1923. The Anti-Treaty political party, Sinn Féin , refused to take its seats in the Dáil, leaving the relatively small Labour Party as
5480-609: The Government of Ireland Act 1920) to become Chairman of the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State in accordance with the Treaty. The general election in June gave overwhelming support for the pro-Treaty parties. W. T. Cosgrave 's Crown-appointed Provisional Government effectively subsumed Griffith's republican administration with the death of both Collins and Griffith in August 1922. The following were
5617-527: The Guard was rapidly expanded by the recruitment of many more men, including Irish veterans of the British Army. The Guard acted, particularly in County Kerry, which they occupied after a successful assault on Tralee in August 1922, with fearsome brutality, beginning the summary execution of captured IRA soldiers. The most notorious example of this occurred at Ballyseedy where nine IRA prisoners were tied to
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5754-399: The IRA Army Council declared war on the UK. The IRA Sabotage Campaign or "S-Plan" began a few days later. Under it, IRA operatives based in Britain attacked infrastructure, with a view to weakening the UK's war effort. Following the German invasion of Poland, the Irish government declared its neutrality on 2 September, along with a state of emergency for the duration of hostilities between
5891-420: The IRA a quasi-legal status that meant Gardaí were unwilling to act against them for fear of repercussions. On his victory tour, de Valera snubbed a Garda guard of honour in Skibbereen , but saluted the IRA one. By 1935 this relationship had turned to enmity on both sides. The IRA accused Fianna Fáil of "selling out" by not declaring a republic and by tolerating the continued partition of Ireland. De Valera banned
6028-417: The IRA could not continue to fight the British successfully, anti-Treaty officers such as Ernie O'Malley and Tom Barry felt that the IRA's position was stronger than it had ever been. Another factor was the role of powerful personalities; where the leader of an IRA unit—for example Sean McEoin , who sided with the Treaty in County Longford —took sides, often the remainder of his command joined him. The same
6165-421: The IRA had become a pro-fascist group. Similarly, in September 1939 upon the outbreak of World War II , socialist republican and former IRA Army council member George Gilmore wrote an appeal pleading with the IRA to dump arms until the war in Europe was over and denounced them for flirting with fascism by seeking aid from Germany. In January 1939, as the United Kingdom prepared for a possible war with Germany,
6302-405: The IRA in 1936, after they murdered a landlord's agent, Richard More O'Farrell, in a land dispute and fired shots at police during a strike of Dublin tramways workers, on top of their bank robberies. However, most of the IRA's republican constituency were reconciled to the Free State by de Valera's government, which introduced a republican constitution in 1937, abolishing the Oath of Allegiance to
6439-434: The IRA launched a campaign in Dublin to rid the city of moneylenders. It employed largely anti-Semitic rhetoric, with a large number of the known moneylenders raided being Jews. The IRA considered itself to be upholding the Republic that was declared in the 1916 Proclamation and held that the government of the Irish Free State was illegitimate. It maintained that it remained the army of that Republic, in direct continuity with
6576-403: The IRA leadership, meeting Joseph McGarrity of Clan na Gael, who pledged monetary support to Russell's cause, while in Ireland, his supporters Peadar O'Flaherty and Tom McGill travelled the country, sounding out support for Russell, and had the IRA's commanding officer in England replaced by Jimmy Joe Reynolds, who favoured a bombing campaign. Growing frustration by younger members of the IRA at
6713-405: The IRA of 1919–1921. This attitude hardened as the Civil War went on, and especially after the killing of Michael Collins in an ambush in August 1922. Collins wrote to W. T. Cosgrave on 25 July 1922 that those on the anti-Treaty side were "misguided, but practically all of them are sincere". However, the subsequent government attitude under Cosgrave was that the anti-Treaty side were rebels against
6850-420: The IRA of the War of Independence period. There were several competing organisations on the radical republican side of Irish politics during this period. In addition to the IRA, these included the hard-line elements of anti-Treaty Sinn Féin, such as Mary MacSwiney , who had not followed de Valera into constitutional politics, and the rump of the anti-Treaty members of the Second Dáil , still proclaiming themselves
6987-405: The IRA's Dublin Brigade, under Oscar Traynor , occupying O'Connell Street until they were dislodged by artillery fire. In July 1922, the anti-Treaty IRA units held most of the south and west of Ireland. However, the Republicans, under a new chief of staff, Liam Lynch, soon lost most of the territory they initially controlled. While the anti-Treaty side had a numerical advantage at the very start of
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#17327728088407124-403: The Irish Republican Army (IRA) and British security forces, continued until July 1921 when a truce came into force. By this time the Parliament of Northern Ireland had opened, established under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 , presenting the republican movement with a fait accompli and guaranteeing the British presence in Ireland. In October negotiations opened in London between members of
7261-405: The Jews out of Europe, and accusations towards the Irish government of being dominated by "Jews and Freemasons ". Seamus O'Donovan denounced Britain and the United States as being "centres of Freemasonry, international financial control and Jewry". In 1939 O'Donovan became increasingly enamoured of Nazi ideology and visited Germany three times ‘to discuss potential agents, the supply of arms in
7398-401: The National Army had no legal relationship with the Provisional Government and the Army Councils operated in co-operation with the government while remaining a separate and independent entity. Many who supported the treaty in the civil war and joined the pro-treaty forces believed they were fighting for the republic which Collins had promised. Army appointments were made inside the army and not by
7535-405: The National Army's most effective troops were the Dublin Guard , who were to the forefront of the Free state offensive in the summer of 1922. The Guard was formed in June 1921 by an amalgamation of the IRA Squad and Dublin IRA Active Service Unit – both pro-Treaty in sympathy due to their links with Michael Collins. Its officers, 'formed the cadre of the Dublin Guard'. After the onset of civil war,
7672-466: The National Army. Michael Collins, Richard Mulcahy and Eoin O'Duffy planned a nationwide offensive, sending columns overland to take Limerick and Waterford and seaborne forces to Counties Cork , Kerry and Mayo . The only true conventional battle during the offensive was the Battle of Killmallock . Collins was killed in an ambush by IRA forces at Béal na Bláth in County Cork on 22 August 1922; General Richard Mulcahy then took command. Some of
7809-466: The Provisional Government or later Free State Governments. Martial Law was initiated by the army on 11 July 1922, did not derive from any act of parliament. A force of 4,000 troops was envisaged, but with the impending Civil War , on 5 July 1922 the Provisional Government authorised raising an establishment of 35,000 men. Many of the new army's recruits were veterans of the British Army in World War I , where they had served in disbanded Irish regiments of
7946-432: The Rearguard": In de Valera's words, " Further sacrifice of life would now be vain and continuance of the struggle in arms unwise in the national interest and prejudicial to the future of our cause. Military victory must be allowed to rest for the moment with those who have destroyed the Republic. Other means must be sought to safeguard the nation's right. " By this time, thousands of republicans were already prisoners of
8083-458: The Republic on the treaty's ratification. His resignation outraged some of his own supporters, notably Seán T. O'Kelly , the main Sinn Féin organiser. On resigning, he then sought re-election but was defeated two days later on a vote of 60–58. The pro-Treaty Arthur Griffith followed as President of the Irish Republic. Michael Collins was chosen at a meeting of the members elected to sit in the House of Commons of Southern Ireland (a body set up under
8220-425: The Senate of Northern Ireland passed resolutions "for the express purpose of opting out of the Free State". The Treaty established that the new state would be a constitutional monarchy , with the Governor-General of the Irish Free State as representative of the Crown. The Constitution of the Irish Free State made more detailed provision for the state's system of government, with a three-tier parliament, called
8357-411: The Spanish Republic and subsequently banned members for joining the Connolly Column. Frank Ryan was perhaps the most prominent Irish participant. (At the same time, IRA opponent and Greenshirts leader Eoin O'Duffy organised the Irish Brigade to go to Spain to fight on the opposing side, with Francisco Franco 's Nationalists.) The IRA was banned once again in 1935, as were the Blueshirts. Moss Twomey
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#17327728088408494-400: The Treaty on 7 January 1922, causing a split in the republican movement. A Provisional Government was formed, with Michael Collins as chairman. The Irish Free State was established on 6 December 1922, and the Provisional Government became the Executive Council of the Irish Free State , headed by W. T. Cosgrave as President of the Executive Council . The following day, the Commons and
8631-444: The Treaty still afforded Ireland more internal independence than it had possessed in over 400 years, and far more autonomy than had ever been hoped for by those who had advocated for Home Rule . However, a number of conditions existed: The Statute of Westminster of 1931, embodying a decision of an Imperial Conference, enabled each dominion to enact new legislation or to change any extant legislation, without resorting to any role for
8768-426: The Treaty, but opinion among IRA volunteers was divided. By and large, IRA units in Munster and most of Connacht were opposed to the Treaty, while those in favour predominated in the Midlands, Leinster and Ulster . The pro-Treaty volunteers formed the nucleus of the new National Army . Anti-Treaty officers called an army convention in March 1922, attended by their supporters, which reaffirmed their opposition to
8905-458: The Treaty. They repudiated the authority of the Dáil , claiming that its members had broken their oath to defend the Irish Republic , and declared their own Army Executive to be the real government of the country until the Republic was formally established. The reasons why volunteers chose pro- and anti-Treaty positions are complex. One factor was an evaluation of the military situation. Whereas Collins, Richard Mulcahy and Eoin O'Duffy felt that
9042-534: The UK for work had a notable effect on IRA manpower. The Gardaí described the assassination as "a well and coolly thought-out outrage, well-planned and daringly executed". Seán MacBride was disliked by many members of the IRA who were distrustful of his inclination for politics, and he soon came in to open conflict with the IRA's Quartermaster-General, Seán Russell , who prepared a bombing campaign in England in spite of MacBride's disapproval. MacBride had Russell court-martialed for misappropriating IRA funds, resulting in
9179-428: The UK. In 1937, he drafted a new constitution , which was adopted by a plebiscite in July of that year. The Free State came to an end with the coming into force of the new constitution on 29 December 1937, when the state took the name " Ireland ". The Easter Rising of 1916 and its aftermath caused a profound shift in public opinion towards the republican cause in Ireland . In the December 1918 General Election ,
9316-411: The War of Independence derisively termed the new recruits "truceileers". These were to divide in broadly the same ratio as the veterans; however, most of them did not take part in the Irish Civil War . At the beginning of the Civil War, the Free State had about 8,000 fighters, mostly pro-Treaty IRA volunteers. The anti-Treaty side could muster about 15,000 men but it could not arm them all. At the start of
9453-448: The accolade of election to a non-permanent seat on the council of the League of Nations and asserted its full equality with Britain and the other dominions within the Commonwealth. By contrast, the military was drastically reduced in size and scope, with its budget cut by 82% from 1924 to 1929. The active duty forces were reduced from 28,000 men to 7,000. Cooperation with London was minimal. According to one report, in 1924, shortly after
9590-413: The almost three-year-long War of Independence (1919–1921). The disparity is no doubt due to the Free State troops' relative paucity of training and equipment compared with British forces. The conduct of the Civil War resulted in long-lasting bitterness on both sides. In September special emergency legislation came into effect under which military tribunals were empowered to pass death sentences. The head of
9727-480: The anti-Treaty forces, Liam Lynch, responded with an announcement that Free State TDs and Senators who had voted for the legislation would be targeted. A number of members of the Oireachtas were attacked, TD Seán Hales was killed and the property of parliamentarians burnt. In addition IRA men around the country burned many of the stately homes of the old Protestant Anglo-Irish landed class—a policy motivated by both class antagonism and nationalist resentment against
9864-401: The authority of the Irish Free State's Government . The National Army's initial organisation was based on the IRA's system of divisions and brigades . In January 1923 a new organisation was established. The Irish Free State's area was divided into nine commands. The nine commands were: The Army Corps were: The National Army officer's uniform was made of dark green serge and worn with
10001-610: The beginning of the Irish Civil War . The IRA contingent in the Four Courts, who had only small arms, surrendered after two days of shelling and the buildings were stormed by National Army troops. Fighting continued in Dublin until 5 July 1922 , as IRA units from the Dublin Brigade led by Oscar Traynor occupied O'Connell Street , provoking a week's more street fighting. This fighting cost both sides, with 65 killed and 280 wounded in all. The British supplied artillery, aircraft, armoured cars, machine guns, small arms and ammunition to
10138-405: The brutality of the occupying Free State troops. Other areas of guerrilla activity included County Cork , western County Mayo , County Wexford and several other localities. Despite the limitations of the anti-Treaty IRA's campaign, they still inflicted more fatalities on Free State troops (about 800) in the eleven-month civil war than they had on British Crown forces, who lost about 600 killed in
10275-549: The civil war recruits were badly trained and undisciplined, making them unsuitable material for a full-time professional army. In the autumn of 1923, the government started to reduce the size of the National Army. This entailed a reduction of 30,000 personnel (including 2,200 officers) by March 1924. On 3 August 1923, the Irish Free State passed the Defence Forces (Temporary Provisions) Act, raising " an armed force to be called Óglaigh na hÉireann (hereinafter referred to as
10412-580: The consent of a majority of the people, democratically expressed, in both jurisdictions in the island". With regard to religion, a section of Article 44 included the following: The State recognises the special position of the Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church as the guardian of the Faith professed by the great majority of the citizens. The State also recognises the Church of Ireland ,
10549-410: The crown and governor-generalship existed separately from the constitution in a vast number of acts, charters, orders-in-council, and letters patent, they both still existed. A second bill, the " Executive Powers (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1937 " was quickly introduced to repeal the necessary elements. De Valera retroactively dated the second act back to December 1936. The new state continued to use
10686-562: The deaths of several uninvolved English civilians, were executed on 7 February 1940. Republican publication An Phoblacht did not deny their mission in England and IRA membership but maintains that they were not involved with the Coventry bombing. In July 1940 the IRA issued an open letter stating that if "German forces should land in Ireland, they will land...as friends and liberators of the Irish people". Readers were informed that Germany desired neither "territory nor...economic penetration" in Ireland but simply wanted Ireland to play its part in
10823-544: The debacle of the Republican Congress would be inspired primarily by a conservative, strictly nationalist political outlook and was increasingly influenced by radical right-wing ideas based on Catholic social teaching such as corporatism , distributism and even the fascist ideology of Ailtirí na hAiséirghe , which sent books, journals and posters to IRA internees imprisoned in the Curragh . Tarlach Ó hUid ,
10960-453: The draft document was subsequently approved by the Dáil. A plebiscite was held on 1 July 1937, which was the same day as the 1937 general election , when a relatively narrow majority approved it. The new Constitution of Ireland ( Bunreacht na hÉireann ) repealed the 1922 Constitution, and came into effect on 29 December 1937. The state was named Ireland ( Éire in the Irish language ), and
11097-607: The editor of the IRA newspaper War News , and Gearóid Ó Broin, a member of the IRA Army Council, became members of Ailtirí na hAiséirghe, and the IRA Adjutant-General, Tomás Ó Dubhghaill , expressed his approval of the party in a letter to its leader Gearóid Ó Cuinneagáin . Anti-Semitic sentiments also began to be expressed, including satisfaction at the 'cleansing fires' of the Wehrmacht driving
11234-444: The event of war, [and to collect] radio sets and courier communication.' In 1942 he wrote an article arguing that Ireland's future lay in an alliance with a victorious Germany. The IRA began to reconcile with their erstwhile opponent Eoin O'Duffy, who met in the summer of 1939 with several IRA figures and Eduard Hempel . A year later, IRA officers approached O'Duffy and asked him to join the organisation. While O'Duffy did not take up
11371-458: The fighting was conducted with fists or boots, at least one Blueshirt and one IRA man were shot dead in these clashes. IRA leaders saw in these events the beginnings of a republican revolution and the overthrow of the Free State. They were to be disappointed. Initially, de Valera's Fianna Fáil government was friendly towards the IRA, legalising the organisation and freeing all their prisoners who had been interned by Cumann na nGaedhael. This afforded
11508-611: The first President of the Executive Council (prime minister). The Oireachtas or legislature consisted of Dáil Éireann (the lower house) and Seanad Éireann (the upper house), also known as the Senate. Members of the Dáil were required to take an Oath of Allegiance to the Constitution of the Free State and to declare fidelity to the king . The oath was a key issue for opponents of the Treaty, who refused to take it and therefore did not take their seats. Pro-Treaty members, who formed Cumann na nGaedheal in 1923, held an effective majority in
11645-420: The first British barracks to be handed to the new state. Michael Collins envisaged the new army being built around the pre-existing IRA, but over half of this organisation rejected the compromises made in the Anglo-Irish Treaty , and favoured upholding the revolutionary Irish Republic that had existed from 1919 until 1921. In February 1922, the pro-treaty National Army began to recruit volunteers. Until 1924,
11782-567: The first, an oath to the Free State, as by law established , the second part a promise of fidelity, to His Majesty, King George V, his heirs and successors . That second fidelity element, however, was qualified in two ways. It was to the King in Ireland, not specifically to the King of the United Kingdom. Secondly, it was to the king explicitly in his role as part of the Treaty settlement, not in terms of pre-1922 British rule. The Oath itself came from
11919-562: The former British administration), with Peadar O'Donnell establishing the Anti-Tribute League in 1928. Many Communist Party of Ireland members were also members of the IRA at this time. Political initiatives such as Saor Éire , begun in 1931, were promoted by left-wing IRA members such as George Gilmore , Peadar O'Donnell and Frank Ryan . IRA members also helped establish the "Friends of Soviet Russia", from which they later expelled Communist Party members when relations between
12056-473: The government. Left-wing IRA members, including Peadar O'Donnell, Frank Ryan and George Gilmore, frustrated with the failure of the IRA to achieve either "The Republic" or socialist revolution, left in 1934 to set up a new party, the Republican Congress . This, in turn, was ultimately a failure, partly because conservative elements in the IRA leadership opposed it and forced its supporters to leave
12193-574: The hopes of gaining Soviet finance and weaponry. A secret pact was agreed, whereby the IRA would spy on the United States and the United Kingdom and pass information to Red Army military intelligence in New York City and London in return for £500 a month. The pact was originally approved by Frank Aiken, who left soon after to co-found Fianna Fáil with De Valera, before being succeeded by Andrew Cooney and Moss Twomey, who kept up
12330-399: The island a great degree of independence, but with six counties in the north staying within the United Kingdom as the new jurisdiction of Northern Ireland . The IRA units in the other 26 counties (that were to become the Irish Free State ) split between supporters and opponents of the Treaty. The anti-Treatyites, sometimes referred to by Free State forces as "Irregulars", continued to use
12467-455: The issue. The Free State was not a republic. The Oath became a key issue in the resulting Irish Civil War that divided the pro and anti-treaty sides in 1922–23. The compromises contained in the agreement caused the civil war in the 26 counties in June 1922 – April 1923, in which the pro-Treaty Provisional Government defeated the anti-Treaty Republican forces. The latter were led, nominally, by Éamon de Valera , who had resigned as President of
12604-426: The latter's demotion within the organisation. When the next army convention was called, MacBride was ousted and Tom Barry elected Chief of Staff. Barry began preparations for a large-scale invasion of Northern Ireland, establishing camps where hundreds of IRA men were trained, creating detailed maps containing the locations of army and police barracks, and importing Thompsons with the help of Clan na Gael . However,
12741-460: The lawful government, and were not entitled to recognition as legitimate combatants. Some of the officers of the new Irish Army , led by Liam Tobin , formed an association called the "Old IRA" to distinguish themselves from the anti-Treaty fighters. Some pro-Treaty IRA officers, such as Eoin O'Duffy, alleged that the "Irregulars" had not fought the British in the War of Independence . O'Duffy claimed that
12878-408: The legal establishment of the Defence Forces as the Irish Free State 's military force. However, it was not a new force: the legislation was explicit that the Defence Forces would have the same legality, organisation, personnel, orders and regulations as the 1922–24 force. The Special Infantry Corps was established during the final stages of the Civil War, to reverse illegal land seizures and break
13015-461: The less compromising elements in Sinn Féin and among a majority of the IRA. Dáil Éireann ratified the Treaty by 64 votes to 57 after a lengthy and acrimonious debate, following which President Éamon de Valera resigned. Sinn Féin split between pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty factions, and the Army did likewise. The majority of headquarters staff, many of whom were close to Michael Collins , supported
13152-610: The men accused of these war crimes were mostly from the Dublin Guard, themselves IRA veterans from 1919 to 1921. By 1923, the defeat of the anti-Treaty IRA seemed assured. It controlled no territory and its guerrilla campaign had little public support. The civil war petered out in mid-1923 after the death in action of IRA chief-of-staff Liam Lynch. Shortly afterward, on 24 May 1923, the anti-Treaty forces received an order, issued by Frank Aiken , their chief-of-staff, to "dump arms". Éamon de Valera supported this in his speech "Legion of
13289-542: The monarchy, it was criticised by nationalists and republicans for making any reference to the Crown, the claim being that it was a direct oath to the Crown, a fact arguably incorrect by an examination of its wording, but in 1922 Ireland and beyond, many argued that the fact remained that as a dominion the King (and therefore the British) was still Head of State and that was the practical reality that influenced public debate on
13426-701: The name "Irish Republican Army" (IRA) or in Irish Óglaigh na hÉireann , as did the organisation in Northern Ireland, which originally supported the pro-Treaty side (if not the Treaty). Óglaigh na hÉireann was also adopted as the name of the pro-Treaty National Army , and it remains the official legal title of the Irish Defence Forces . The signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty by the Irish delegation in London caused an angry reaction among
13563-413: The navy, air service and army" to Red Army intelligence. In 1926, after failing to persuade Sinn Féin to participate in the political institutions of the Free State, de Valera formed a new political party, called Fianna Fáil , and many Sinn Féin members left to support him. De Valera would in 1932 become President of the Executive Council , at the head of the first Fianna Fáil government. Also in 1926,
13700-462: The next day. IRA men assassinated Free State minister Kevin O'Higgins in 1927 in revenge for his perceived responsibility for executions in the Civil War. A total of four Gardaí were killed by the IRA in the period 1926–1936. In 1932 Gardaí shot two IRA leaders, George Gilmore and Thomas Ryan, in Kilrush , County Clare . When de Valera's Fianna Fáil party won the 1932 election, the IRA expected
13837-425: The number of members had shrunk to 5,042. By 1930 the IRA possessed fewer than 2,000 members and only 859 rifles, indicating the decline in its military potential. The casualties of the anti-Treaty IRA in the Civil War have never been accurately counted, but are thought to have been considerably more than the 800 or so deaths suffered by the Free State Army, perhaps two or three times as numerous. Significantly however,
13974-597: The offer, he was later invited to join Moss Twomey and Andrew Cooney in protesting the basing of American troops in Northern Ireland. In 1940, prominent members and supporters of the IRA established Córas na Poblachta , which, among its objectives, called for the "destruction of the Masonic Order in Ireland" and the "reversal of the cultural conquest of our country by England", not excluding "the employment of compulsion" to that end. Many far-right figures joined
14111-420: The only legitimate Irish parliament. For most of this period, the IRA's relations with Sinn Féin were poor (IRA members were even forbidden to join the party), despite the reconciliation attempt represented by the 1929 Comhairle na Poblachta . The IRA intervened in a number of strikes during this period, and IRA members campaigned against the payment of land annuities (in respect of the buying-out of landlords by
14248-446: The only opposition party. In 1926, when Sinn Féin president Éamon de Valera failed to have this policy reversed, he resigned from Sinn Féin and led most of its membership into a new party, Fianna Fáil , which entered the Dáil following the 1927 general election . It formed the government after the 1932 general election , when it became the largest party. De Valera abolished the oath of allegiance and embarked on an economic war with
14385-491: The organisation's inactivity under Fitzpatrick's leadership led to Seán Russell's election as Chief of Staff at a General Army Convention of the IRA in April 1938, in spite of Barry's protests against the idea of a bombing campaign and Russell himself being forbidden to attend the convention. Barry and many leading members of the IRA opposed to the campaign subsequently resigned. Russell's tenure as Chief of Staff would signal both
14522-681: The organisation. The Congress itself also split and collapsed after its first general meeting in 1935. In 1936–37, a number of ex-IRA men were among the Irish fighters (later to become known as the Connolly Column ) who joined the largely socialist International Brigades to fight for the Second Spanish Republic against the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War . The IRA did not show any support for
14659-545: The party, including Ó Cuinneagáin, who lead the party's youth wing, Aicéin, until its independence was terminated in 1942, while Córas na Poblachta took on a strongly anti-Semitic and pro-German character. The IRA's ideological shift was noted by other organisations at the time. In 1940, the Communist Party of Ireland , which had been close to the IRA in the 1930s, published an article in its official newspaper for Northern Ireland The Red Hand that openly questioned if
14796-565: The plan was cancelled just days before it was scheduled to be executed as a result of revelations that the plans had been leaked, becoming common knowledge in Dublin, and that the Belfast Brigade had been infiltrated by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). Afterwards, Tom Barry resigned as Chief of Staff, being succeeded by Mick Fitzpatrick . Seán Russell left Ireland for the United States without permission from
14933-547: The position for almost a decade and became the longest-lasting Chief of Staff of this iteration of the IRA. Under his reign, he cautiously opened the IRA up to left-wing influences in order to contrast it against the emerging right-wing stance of the Cumann na nGaedheal government. In summer of 1925, the anti-treaty IRA had sent a delegation led by Pa Murray to the Soviet Union for a personal meeting with Joseph Stalin , in
15070-454: The principal parties of government of the Free State between 1922 and 1937: Michael Collins described the Treaty as "the freedom to achieve freedom". In practice, the Treaty offered most of the symbols and powers of independence. These included a functioning, if disputed, parliamentary democracy with its own executive, judiciary and written constitution which could be changed by the Oireachtas. Although an Irish republic had not been on offer,
15207-583: The promotion of alcohol, contraceptives, divorce, and abortion as the pursuits of the old 'Protestant-elite' and Jews, with their efforts combined through the Freemasons . Denis Fahey described Ireland as "the third most Masonic country in the world" and saw this alleged order as contrary to the creation of an independent Irish State. In 1937 the Fianna Fáil government presented a draft of an entirely new Constitution to Dáil Éireann. An amended version of
15344-531: The public support that had existed during the War of Independence and facing an enemy who knew them and the countryside intimately, the anti-Treaty forces found that they could not sustain a guerrilla war such as that fought against Britain. Only in County Kerry was a relatively effective campaign fought, with the IRA units re-taking Kenmare and other towns from the Free State on several occasions. The IRA's relative popularity in this area had much to do with
15481-464: The real power was exercised by the Executive Council, as the Governor-General was almost always bound to act on the advice of the Executive Council. The office of Governor-General of the Irish Free State replaced the previous Lord Lieutenant , who had headed English and British administrations in Ireland since the Middle Ages. Governors-General were appointed by the king initially on the advice of
15618-514: The republican Sinn Féin party won a large majority of the Irish seats in the British parliament: 73 of the 105 constituencies returned Sinn Féin members (25 uncontested). The elected Sinn Féin MPs, rather than take their seats at Westminster, set up their own assembly, known as Dáil Éireann (Assembly of Ireland). It affirmed the formation of an Irish Republic and passed a Declaration of Independence . The subsequent War of Independence , fought between
15755-409: The same weight and fineness of gold as was the sovereign at the time, making the new currency pegged at 1:1 with sterling. The State circulated its new national coinage in 1928, marked Saorstát Éireann and a national series of banknotes . British coinage remained acceptable in the Free State at an equal rate. In 1937, when the Free State was superseded by Ireland ( Éire ), the pound became known as
15892-466: The secret IRA-Soviet espionage relationship until around 1930–31. While Twomey was not an ideological Marxist-Leninist (although there were some communists in the IRA at this time, such as Peadar O'Donnell); he saw the arrangement as purely utilitarian and regarded the Soviets as "shifty" and "out to exploit us." Some republicans argued that they had lost the Civil War because they had not appealed to
16029-498: The social unrest in the country and had lacked any social or economic programme, which allowed communists to gain influence. Nevertheless, the IRA passed specifications of British "submarine detection sonar and aeroplane engines for bombers, military journals and manuals, and gas masks" to the Soviets and the IRA's man in the U.S., "Mr. Jones", passed "reports of the army's chemical weapons service, state-of-the-art gas masks, machine-gun and aeroplane engine specifications, and reports from
16166-554: The south largely came to an end. The 1937 Constitution saw a notable ideological slant to the changes of the framework of the State in such a way as to create one that appeared to be distinctly Irish. This was done so by implementing corporatist policies (based on the concepts of the Roman Catholic Church , as Catholicism was perceived to be deeply imbedded with the perception of Irish identity). A clear example of this
16303-479: The stand-off by shelling the Four Courts garrison into surrender: at 4.29am on 28 June 1922, 18-pounder guns borrowed from the British army opened fire on the Four Courts. It is sometimes assumed the Provisional Government appointed Michael Collins as Commander-in-Chief of the National Army, but there is no evidence to support this contention. This was the point of no return and is regarded as
16440-531: The two organisations deteriorated. In the years after the Civil War, many republicans viewed the Free State, with its censorship of newspapers and extensive coercive legislation, as a sham democracy, in the service of British imperialism. The IRA remained prepared to take over the country by insurrection, after which it expected to have to fight the British again. In November 1926 it seized 11 Garda Síochána barracks, shooting dead two Gardaí. The Free State immediately used its Special Powers Act to intern 110 IRA men
16577-501: The war had not been brought to an end by any kind of agreement between the two sides. The IRA of the post-Civil War era would never accept the Free State as a legitimate Irish government and would continue to oppose its existence. The period immediately following the Irish Civil War saw the IRA swing towards the political left, manifest in the election of Moss Twomey to the position of chief of staff. Twomey would go on to hold
16714-467: The war, they had just under 7,000 rifles, a few machine guns and a handful of armoured cars taken from British garrisons (who were under orders not to fire on IRA units) as they evacuated the country. The remainder of anti-Treaty IRA arms were shotguns (3,000 of which were confiscated after the Civil War) and other civilian weapons. Public support for the Treaty settlement and the new Irish Free State
16851-403: The war, they were soon both outnumbered and outgunned. The Free State's National Army was quickly expanded to over 38,000 by the end of 1922 and to 55,000 men and 3,000 officers by the end of the war; one of its sources of recruits was Irish ex-servicemen from the British Army . Additionally, the British met its requests for arms, ammunition, armoured cars, artillery and aeroplanes. By August 1922,
16988-664: Was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between the forces of the Irish Republic – the Irish Republican Army (IRA) – and British Crown forces. The Free State was established as a dominion of the British Empire . It comprised 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland . Northern Ireland , which
17125-545: Was a major stand-off between up to 700 National Army and anti-treaty IRA in Limerick over who would occupy the military barracks being vacated by departing British troops. The situation was temporarily resolved in April when the two sides agreed to occupy two barracks each. In April 1922 Brigadier-General George Adamson – one of the founders of the National Army – was shot dead by the IRA in Athlone . In early May 1922 there
17262-598: Was a sub-group of the original pre-1922 Irish Republican Army , characterised by its opposition to the Anglo-Irish Treaty . It existed in various forms until 1969, when the IRA split again into the Provisional IRA and Official IRA . The original Irish Republican Army fought a guerrilla war against British rule in Ireland in the Irish War of Independence between 1919 and 1921. The Anglo-Irish Treaty signed on 6 December 1921 ended this war by granting most of
17399-640: Was also true for anti-Treaty leaders such as Liam Lynch in Cork. In March 1922, the Anti-Treaty IRA captured the Royal Navy vessel Upnor off the coast of Cobh, County Cork, which was carrying arms. On the outbreak of civil war in June 1922, the government of the Irish Free State issued directives to newspapers that its Army was to be called "The National Army", and that its opponents were to be called "Irregulars" and were not to be associated with
17536-566: Was an established element in the European system and a member of the League of Nations. It had blazed a trail in asserting the rights of the dominions to their own foreign policy, in the process establishing full diplomatic relations with the United States, France, Belgium, Germany, and the Holy See. It was concluding its own political and commercial treaties and using the apparatus of international relations to pursue its interests. It had received
17673-574: Was an even more serious clash in Kilkenny , when the IRA occupied the centre of the town and 200 National Army troops were sent from Dublin to disperse them. 18 people were killed in the fighting in Kilkenny. In a bid to avoid an all-out civil war, both sides agreed to a truce on 3 May 1922. On 14 April 1922, 200 Anti-Treaty IRA soldiers led by Rory O'Connor occupied the Four Courts and several other buildings in central Dublin. At this time Collins
17810-484: Was handed over from the British Army . Its first troops were those volunteers of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the " Provisional Government of Ireland " formed thereunder. Conflict arose between the National Army and the anti-Treaty components of the IRA , which did not support the government of the Irish Free State. On 28 June 1922 the National Army commenced an artillery bombardment of anti-Treaty IRA forces who were occupying
17947-483: Was imprisoned and was succeeded as chief of staff by Seán MacBride . De Valera's government increasingly followed a strict anti-IRA policy. In 1936 Vice-Admiral Henry Somerville was assassinated in his West Cork home by IRA gunmen for recruiting many local Irishmen, including IRA members and even a captain in the Drimoleague IRA company, into the British military which combined with other members immigrating to
18084-578: Was interrupted by the outbreak of the Irish civil war . Many Northern IRA men then had to flee the North in order to escape internment or worse at the hands of the Northern authorities. Over 500 of them ended up in the National Army during the civil war. The IRA had been expanded hugely in 1922, from perhaps 15,000 men before the truce with the British in July 1921, to over 72,000 by November 1922. Veterans of
18221-510: Was made up of the remaining six counties, exercised its right under the Treaty to opt out of the new state. The Free State government consisted of the Governor-General – the representative of the king – and the Executive Council (cabinet), which replaced both the revolutionary Dáil Government and the Provisional Government set up under the Treaty. W. T. Cosgrave , who had led both of these administrations since August 1922, became
18358-527: Was not equipped or trained to fight conventional warfare. Despite some determined resistance to the Free State advance south of Limerick by late August, most of them had dispersed to fight a guerrilla campaign. The anti-Treaty guerrilla campaign was spasmodic and ineffective. Much of it was composed of the destruction of infrastructure such as the main railway bridge linking Cork with Dublin. They also burned many public buildings and "commandeered" supplies by force, alienating many civilians. Furthermore, without
18495-532: Was reflected in the victory of the pro-Treaty side in general elections in 1922 and 1923. Anti-Treaty forces controversially seized a number of public buildings in Dublin in April 1922, most notably the Four Courts . Eventually, after two months and under British pressure, Michael Collins decided to remove them by force. Pro-Treaty forces bombarded the building, which surrendered after two days. Confused fighting raged for another five days, with anti-Treaty elements of
18632-550: Was supplying the anti-treaty IRA with British arms for use in Northern Ireland On 27 June 1922, the Four Courts IRA garrison kidnapped JJ "Ginger" O'Connell , a general in the National Army following the arrest of IRA volunteer Leo Henderson who was commandeering cars for use in Northern Ireland. After giving the Four Courts garrison a final ultimatum to leave the building, the pro-treaty army decided to end
18769-403: Was the subject of intense lobbying by leading Church figures throughout the 1930s in calling for reform of the State's framework. Much of this was reflected in the new 1937 Constitution. 53°20′52″N 6°15′35″W / 53.34778°N 6.25972°W / 53.34778; -6.25972 Irish Republican Army (1922%E2%80%931969) The Irish Republican Army ( IRA ) of 1922–1969
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