A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county . This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.
111-653: North Riding County Council ( NRCC ) was the county council of the administrative county of the North Riding of Yorkshire . It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and was abolished on 31 March 1974. The council met at County Hall in Northallerton . It was largely replaced by North Yorkshire County Council with some responsibilities being transferred to the following district authorities: Selby , Harrogate , Craven , Richmondshire , Hambleton , Ryedale and Scarborough . County council In Norway,
222-579: A Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) policeman and the burning of an RIC barracks in Kerry. The attacks brought a British military presence from the summer of 1918, which only briefly quelled the violence, and an increase in police raids. However, there was as yet no co-ordinated armed campaign against British forces or RIC. In County Cork , four rifles were seized from the Eyeries barracks in March 1918 and men from
333-663: A Special Military Area under the Defence of the Realm Act two days later. The war was not formally declared by the Dáil, and it ran its course parallel to the Dáil's political life. On 10 April 1919 the Dáil was told: As regards the Republican prisoners, we must always remember that this country is at war with England and so we must in a sense regard them as necessary casualties in the great fight. In January 1921, two years after
444-577: A choice by Prime Minister David Lloyd George to put down the rebellion in Ireland rather than negotiate with the republican leadership. As a result, violence escalated steadily from that summer and sharply after November 1920 until July 1921. It was in this period that a mutiny broke out among the Connaught Rangers , stationed in India . Two were killed whilst trying to storm an armoury and one
555-542: A county council ( Norwegian : Fylkesting ) is the highest governing body of a county municipality ( fylkeskommune ). The county council sets the scope of the county municipal activity. The council is led by the Chairman of the County Council, more commonly called a County Mayor ( fylkesordfører ). Members of the council are elected for a four-year term through the general local elections , which can extended for
666-485: A football match, shooting into the crowd. Fourteen civilians were killed, including one of the players, Michael Hogan , and a further 65 people were wounded. Later that day two republican prisoners, Dick McKee , Peadar Clancy and an unassociated friend, Conor Clune who had been arrested with them, were killed in Dublin Castle. The official account was that the three men were shot "while trying to escape", which
777-490: A lower tier of governance of urban and rural districts . The administrative and financial business carried by county grand juries and county at large presentment sessions were transferred to the new councils. Principal among these duties were the maintenance of highways and bridges, the upkeep and inspection of lunatic asylums and the appointment of coroners . The new bodies also took over some duties from poor law boards of guardians in relation to diseases of cattle and from
888-501: A new government by its side. The IRA's main target throughout the conflict was the mainly Irish Catholic Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), the British government's armed police force in Ireland, outside Dublin. Its members and barracks (especially the more isolated ones) were vulnerable, and they were a source of much-needed arms. The RIC numbered 9,700 men stationed in 1,500 barracks throughout Ireland. A policy of ostracism of RIC men
999-526: A reputation just as bad as the Tans for their mistreatment of the civilian population but tended to be more effective and more willing to take on the IRA. The policy of reprisals, which involved public denunciation or denial and private approval, was famously satirised by Lord Hugh Cecil when he said: "It seems to be agreed that there is no such thing as reprisals but they are having a good effect." On 9 August 1920,
1110-472: A result, the status of some of these (mainly) more rural counties changed. Cornwall, Durham, Northumberland, Shropshire and Wiltshire became unitary authorities providing all services. Some of these councils have dropped the word "county" from their titles. Bedfordshire and Cheshire county councils were abolished with more than one unitary council established within the boundaries of the abolished council. Other county councils remained unchanged, particularly in
1221-491: A second four-year term. It is common for members of a county council to also hold seats in municipal councils, but very rare that they also hold legislative ( Storting ) or other government office, without a leave of absence . The (elected) county mayor should not be confused with the (appointed) county governor . The county council has its roots in Amtsformandskabet created in 1837. Starting in 1964, members of
SECTION 10
#17327830225311332-566: A sectarian conflict raged in which almost 500 were killed, most of them Catholics. In May 1921, Ireland was partitioned under British law by the Government of Ireland Act , which created Northern Ireland . A ceasefire began on 11 July 1921. The post-ceasefire talks led to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921. This ended British rule in most of Ireland and, after a ten-month transitional period overseen by
1443-923: A series of violent incidents between trade unionists and the Dublin police in the Dublin lock-out . In June 1914, Nationalist leader John Redmond forced the Volunteers to give his nominees a majority on the ruling committee. When, in September 1914, Redmond encouraged the Volunteers to enlist in the British Army, a faction led by Eoin MacNeill broke with the Redmondites, who became known as the National Volunteers, rather than fight for Britain in
1554-434: A slightly different division of powers between county and district councils, however. The county and district councils were abolished twenty-two years later, when the present system of principal areas was introduced. A county council is a type of local government that is responsible for providing services to a specific county or region. It is typically composed of elected officials who are responsible for making decisions about
1665-595: A small minority. The demand for home rule was eventually granted by the British government in 1912, immediately prompting a prolonged crisis within the United Kingdom as Ulster unionists formed an armed organisation – the Ulster Volunteers (UVF) – to resist this measure of devolution , at least in territory they could control. In turn, nationalists formed their own paramilitary organisation,
1776-469: A system of large regional councils was introduced. Regions were themselves abolished in 1996 and replaced by the current unitary council areas . In Scotland, control of county administration was in the hands of Commissioners of Supply . This was a body of the principal landowners liable to pay land tax, and was unelected. The first elections to Scottish county councils took place in February 1890. Only
1887-578: A unitary authority. County councils were abolished under the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 in 1973. The only local authorities since that date have been district councils . In Scotland county councils existed from 1890 to 1975. They were created by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 and reconstituted forty years later by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 . County councils were abolished in 1975 when
1998-481: A war was to kill someone, and we wanted to start a war, so we intended to kill some of the police whom we looked upon as the foremost and most important branch of the enemy forces. The only regret that we had following the ambush was that there were only two policemen in it, instead of the six we had expected. This is widely regarded as the beginning of the War of Independence. The British government declared South Tipperary
2109-673: Is sometimes used in English for regional municipal bodies in other countries. Both Swedish and Norwegian county councils are directly elected by their inhabitants as it is also the case in Romania during local elections. There are some differences between them in responsibilities. Irish War of Independence Inconclusive Creation of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland 491 dead The Irish War of Independence ( Irish : Cogadh na Saoirse ) or Anglo-Irish War
2220-575: The 1918 general election Irish voters showed their disapproval of British policy by giving Sinn Féin 70% (73 seats out of 105,) of Irish seats, 25 of those being uncontested. Sinn Féin won 91% of the seats outside of Ulster on 46.9% of votes cast but was in a minority in Ulster, where unionists were in a majority. Sinn Féin pledged not to sit in the UK Parliament at Westminster , but rather to set up an Irish parliament. This parliament, known as
2331-845: The Allied war effort in Irish regiments of the New British Army , the intention being to ensure the commencement of home rule after the war. However, a significant minority of the Irish Volunteers opposed Ireland's involvement in the war. The Volunteer movement split, a majority leaving to form the National Volunteers under Redmond. The remaining Irish Volunteers, under Eoin MacNeill , held that they would maintain their organisation until home rule had been granted. Within this Volunteer movement, another faction, led by
SECTION 20
#17327830225312442-649: The Chief Secretary for Ireland Hamar Greenwood reported that 556 Constables and 313 Magistrates had resigned within two-month period. The Irish Republican Police (IRP) was founded between April and June 1920, under the authority of Dáil Éireann and the former IRA Chief of Staff Cathal Brugha to replace the RIC and to enforce the ruling of the Dáil Courts , set up under the Irish Republic. By 1920,
2553-638: The Easter Rising against British rule and proclaimed an Irish Republic . Although it was defeated after a week of fighting, the Rising and the British response led to greater popular support for Irish independence. In the December 1918 election , republican party Sinn Féin won a landslide victory in Ireland. On 21 January 1919 they formed a breakaway government ( Dáil Éireann ) and declared Irish independence . That day, two RIC officers were killed in
2664-772: The First Dáil , and its ministry, called the Aireacht , consisting only of Sinn Féin members, met at the Mansion House on 21 January 1919. The Dáil reaffirmed the 1916 proclamation with the Irish Declaration of Independence , and issued a Message to the Free Nations of the World , which stated that there was an "existing state of war, between Ireland and England". The Irish Volunteers were reconstituted as
2775-659: The Greater London Council . Greater London was declared to be an "area" and not to lie in any county. In addition two pairs of administrative counties were merged to become Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely and Huntingdon and Peterborough under recommendations made by the Local Government Commission for England . The Local Government Act 1972 completely reorganised local authorities in England and Wales. County boroughs were abolished and
2886-670: The House of Commons in June 1921, Attorney-General for Ireland Denis Henry stated that he was informed by Commander-in-Chief Nevil Macready that 191 houses were destroyed in official reprisals in the area under martial law since January of that year. In December 1920 Macready informed the Cabinet of the British Government that Military Governors in the martial law areas had been authorized to conduct reprisals. On 11 December,
2997-747: The Irish Volunteers . The British parliament passed the Government of Ireland Act 1914 , known as the Home Rule Act, on 18 September 1914 with an amending bill for the partition of Ireland introduced by Ulster Unionist MPs, but the act's implementation was immediately postponed by the Suspensory Act 1914 due to the outbreak of the First World War in the previous month. The majority of nationalists followed their IPP leaders and John Redmond 's call to support Britain and
3108-559: The Irish War of Independence . The Irish Free State inherited the local authorities created by the United Kingdom legislation. The first elections after independence were held on 23 June 1925, following amendments by the Local Government Act 1925 . The act abolished rural district councils (except in County Dublin ) and passed their powers to the county councils. At the following election all county councils were to be increased:
3219-454: The Local Government Act 1958 recommended a reduction in the number of county councils in Wales and Monmouthshire from thirteen to seven, but reform did not take place until 1974. From 1 April 1974 the number of counties and county councils was reduced to eight in number. Like the county councils introduced in England at the same time, the whole council was elected every four years. There was
3330-521: The Local Government Reform Act 2014 , the number of county councils was again reduced: a merger of North Tipperary and South Tipperary County Councils created a single Tipperary County Council ; and the city and county councils of Limerick and Waterford were merged to create Limerick City and County Council and Waterford City and County Council . In Taiwan, a county council is the legislative body of each county . Members of
3441-472: The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 . Following invitations from central government in 2007, a number of county councils and their associated districts examined ways in which local government provision could be rationalised, mainly in the form of abolishing the existing county and district councils and establishing one-tier authorities for all or parts of these existing counties. As
North Riding County Council - Misplaced Pages Continue
3552-662: The Provisional Government , the Irish Free State was created as a self-governing Dominion on 6 December 1922. Northern Ireland remained within the United Kingdom. After the ceasefire, violence in Belfast and fighting in border areas of Northern Ireland continued, and the IRA launched the failed Northern Offensive in May 1922. In June 1922, disagreement among republicans over the Anglo-Irish Treaty led to
3663-679: The Soloheadbeg ambush by IRA volunteers acting on their own initiative. The conflict developed gradually. For most of 1919, IRA activity involved capturing weaponry and freeing republican prisoners, while the Dáil set about building a state. In September, the British government outlawed the Dáil throughout Ireland, Sinn Féin was proclaimed (outlawed) in County Cork and the conflict intensified. The IRA began ambushing RIC and British Army patrols, attacking their barracks and forcing isolated barracks to be abandoned. The British government bolstered
3774-743: The justices of the peace to regulate explosives. The Irish county councils differed in constitution from those in Great Britain. Most of the council was directly elected: each county was divided by the Local Government Board for Ireland into district electoral divisions , each returning a single councillor for a three-year term. In addition urban districts were to form electoral divisions: depending on population they could return multiple county councillors. The county councils were also to consist of "additional members": The first county council elections were held on 6 April 1899, and
3885-451: The metropolitan boroughs and joint boards. The Local Government Act 1992 established a new Local Government Commission whose remit was to conduct a review of the structure of local administration, and the introduction of unitary authorities where appropriate. Accordingly, the number of county councils was reduced: Avon , Berkshire, Cleveland , Hereford and Worcester and Humberside were abolished, while Worcestershire County Council
3996-644: The province of Munster—were put under martial law on 10 December under the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act; this was followed on 5 January in the rest of Munster and in counties Kilkenny and Wexford in the province of Leinster. Shortly afterwards, in January 1921, "official reprisals" were sanctioned by the British and they began with the burning of seven houses in Midleton, County Cork . Questioned in
4107-572: The " Black and Tans ") and the Temporary Cadets or Auxiliary Division (known as the "Auxies"). On 25 November 1913, the Irish Volunteers were formed by Eoin MacNeill in response to the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) that had been founded earlier in the year to fight against home rule. Also in 1913, the Irish Citizen Army was founded by the trade unionists and socialists James Larkin and James Connolly following
4218-592: The " Irish Republican Army " or IRA. The IRA was perceived by some members of Dáil Éireann to have a mandate to wage war on the British Dublin Castle administration . The heart of British power in Ireland was the Dublin Castle administration, often known to the Irish as "the Castle". The head of the Castle administration was the lord lieutenant , to whom a chief secretary was responsible, leading—in
4329-592: The " Squad "—gunmen responsible to himself who were assigned special duties such as the assassination of policemen and suspected informers within the IRA. The years between the Easter Rising of 1916 and the beginning of the War of Independence in 1919 were not bloodless. Thomas Ashe , one of the Volunteer leaders imprisoned for his role in the 1916 rebellion, died on hunger strike, after attempted force-feeding in 1917. In 1918, during disturbances arising out of
4440-465: The 1990s they also ran colleges of further education and the careers services. That decade also saw the privatisation of some traditional services, such as highway maintenance, cleaning and school meals. County councils were created by the Local Government Act 1888 ( 51 & 52 Vict. c. 41), largely taking over the administrative functions of the unelected county courts of quarter sessions . County councils consisted of councillors, directly elected by
4551-591: The Army was to back up the police. In the course of the war, about a quarter of Ireland was put under martial law, mostly in Munster; in the rest of the country British authority was not deemed sufficiently threatened to warrant it. The British created two paramilitary police forces to supplement the work of the RIC, recruited mostly from World War I veterans, namely the Temporary Constables (better known as
North Riding County Council - Misplaced Pages Continue
4662-601: The British Army had historically been heavily dependent on Irish recruitment, concern over divided loyalties led to the redeployment from 1919 of all regular Irish regiments to garrisons outside Ireland itself. The two main police forces in Ireland were the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and the Dublin Metropolitan Police . Of the 17,000 policemen in Ireland, 513 were killed by the IRA between 1919 and 1921 while 682 were wounded. Of
4773-821: The British Parliament passed the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act . It replaced the trial by jury by courts-martial by regulation for those areas where IRA activity was prevalent. On 10 December 1920, martial law was proclaimed in Counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary in Munster; in January 1921 martial law was extended to the rest of Munster in Counties Clare and Waterford, as well as counties Kilkenny and Wexford in Leinster . It also suspended all coroners' courts because of
4884-400: The British administration. The first was Resident Magistrate John C. Milling, who was shot dead in Westport, County Mayo , for having sent Volunteers to prison for unlawful assembly and drilling. They mimicked the successful tactics of the Boers ' fast violent raids without uniform. Although some republican leaders, notably Éamon de Valera, favoured classic conventional warfare to legitimise
4995-412: The British cabinet, in the face of the crisis caused by the German spring offensive , attempted with a dual policy to simultaneously link the enactment of conscription into Ireland with the implementation of home rule, as outlined in the report of the Irish Convention of 8 April 1918. This further alienated Irish nationalists and produced mass demonstrations during the Conscription Crisis of 1918 . In
5106-411: The British government. By mid-1920, the Irish Republic was a reality in the lives of many people, enforcing its own law, maintaining its own armed forces and collecting its own taxes. The British Liberal journal, The Nation , wrote in August 1920 that "the central fact of the present situation in Ireland is that the Irish Republic exists". The British forces, in trying to re-assert their control over
5217-425: The Dublin Metropolitan Police's G Division and other important branches of the British administration. The G Division men were a relatively small political division active in subverting the republican movement. They were detested by the IRA as often they were used to identify volunteers, who would have been unknown to British soldiers or the later Black and Tans. Collins set up the "Squad", a group of men whose sole duty
5328-464: The Easter Rising. The British execution of the Rising's leaders also increased support in Ireland for both a violent uprising to achieve independence from British rule and an independent Irish republic. This support was further bolstered by the British government's decision to maintain martial law in Ireland until November 1916, the arrest of Irish critics of government policies and the possibility of conscription being extended to Ireland. In April 1918,
5439-439: The IRA claimed to have a total strength of 70,000, but only about 3,000 were actively engaged in fighting against the Crown. The IRA distrusted those Irishmen who had fought in the British Army during the First World War, but there were exceptions, such as Emmet Dalton , Tom Barry and Martin Doyle . The basic structure of the IRA was the flying column which could number between 20 and 100 men. Finally, Michael Collins created
5550-405: The IRA desist from the ambushes and assassinations, which were allowing the British to portray it as a terrorist group and to take on the British forces with conventional military methods. The proposal was immediately dismissed. The British increased the use of force; reluctant to deploy the regular British Army into the country in greater numbers, they set up two auxiliary police units to reinforce
5661-517: The IRA killed seventeen Auxiliaries in the Kilmichael Ambush in County Cork . In December, the British authorities declared martial law in much of southern Ireland, and the centre of Cork city was burnt out by British forces in reprisal for an ambush. Violence continued to escalate over the next seven months; 1,000 people were killed and 4,500 republicans were interned . Much of the fighting took place in Munster (particularly County Cork), Dublin and Belfast , which together saw over 75 percent of
SECTION 50
#17327830225315772-427: The IRA through fear or sympathy, supplying the organisation with valuable information. By contrast with the effectiveness of the widespread public boycott of the police, the military actions carried out by the IRA against the RIC at this time were relatively limited. In 1919, 11 RIC men and 4 Dublin Metropolitan Police G Division detectives were killed and another 20 RIC wounded. Other aspects of mass participation in
5883-429: The IRP had a presence in 21 of Ireland's 32 counties . The Dáil Courts were generally socially conservative, despite their revolutionary origins, and halted the attempts of some landless farmers at redistribution of land from wealthier landowners to poorer farmers. The Inland Revenue ceased to operate in most of Ireland. People were instead encouraged to subscribe to Collins' "National Loan", set up to raise funds for
5994-519: The RIC with recruits from Britain—the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries—who became notorious for ill-discipline and reprisal attacks on civilians, some of which were authorised by the British government. Thus the conflict is sometimes called the "Black and Tan War". The conflict also involved civil disobedience , notably the refusal of Irish railwaymen to transport British forces or military supplies. In mid-1920, republicans won control of most county councils, and British authority collapsed in most of
6105-421: The RIC's senior officers, 60% were Irish Protestants and the rest Catholic, while 70% of the rank and file of the RIC were Irish Catholic with the rest Protestant. The RIC was trained for police work, not war, and was woefully ill-prepared to take on counter-insurgency duties. Until March 1920, London regarded the unrest in Ireland as primarily an issue for the police and did not regard it as a war. The purpose of
6216-595: The RIC, would now be required to enter the city. The Trades Council's special Strike Committee controlled the city for fourteen days in an episode that is known as the Limerick Soviet . Similarly, in May 1920, Dublin dockers refused to handle any war matériel and were soon joined by the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union , who banned railway drivers from carrying members of the British forces. Blackleg train drivers were brought over from England, after drivers refused to carry British troops. The strike badly hampered British troop movements until December 1920, when it
6327-642: The RIC. The first of these, quickly nicknamed as the Black and Tans, were seven thousand strong and mainly ex-British soldiers demobilised after World War I. Deployed to Ireland in March 1920, most came from English and Scottish cities. While officially they were part of the RIC, in reality they were a paramilitary force. After their deployment in March 1920, they rapidly gained a reputation for drunkenness and poor discipline. The wartime experience of most Black and Tans did not suit them for police duties and their violent behavior antagonised many previously neutral civilians. In response to and retaliation for IRA actions, in
6438-514: The Scottish county councils were completely reconstituted. Their powers were increased in small burghs . On the other hand, large burghs became independent of the county for most purposes. The district committees created in 1890 were abolished and replaced by district councils, partly consisting of county councillors and partly of directly elected district councillors. Two joint county councils were created, for Perthshire and Kinross-shire and Moray and Nairnshire . The county councils also gained
6549-439: The aldermen took place every three years thereafter. The areas over which the councils had authority were designated as administrative counties . The writ of the county councils did not extend everywhere: large towns and some historic counties corporate were constituted county boroughs by the same act. County borough councils were independent of the council for the county in which they were geographically situated, and exercised
6660-444: The anti-conscription campaign, six civilians died in confrontations with the police and British Army and more than 1,000 people were arrested. There were raids for arms by the Volunteers, and two Kerry Volunteers (John Brown and Robert Laide) were shot and killed on 16 April 1918 during a raid on the police barracks at Gortalea. Those men were the first Volunteers to be killed during a raid for arms. At this time at least one shooting of
6771-463: The barracks were beaten that August. In early July 1918, Volunteers ambushed two RIC men who had been stationed to stop a feis being held on the road between Ballingeary and Ballyvourney in the first armed attack on the RIC since the Easter Rising—one was shot in the neck, the other beaten, and police carbines and ammunition were seized. Patrols in Bantry and Ballyvourney were badly beaten in September and October. In November 1918, Armistice Day
SECTION 60
#17327830225316882-423: The conflict deaths. The conflict in north-east Ulster had a sectarian aspect (see The Troubles in Ulster (1920–1922) ). While the Catholic minority there mostly backed Irish independence, the Protestant majority were mostly unionist / loyalist . A mainly Protestant special constabulary was formed, and loyalist paramilitaries were active. They attacked Catholics in reprisal for IRA actions, and in Belfast
6993-400: The conflict included strikes by organised workers, in opposition to the British presence in Ireland. In Limerick in April 1919, a general strike was called by the Limerick Trades and Labour Council, as a protest against the declaration of a "Special Military Area" under the Defence of the Realm Act, which covered most of Limerick city and a part of the county. Special permits, to be issued by
7104-653: The conflict, IRA activity was concentrated in Munster and Dublin, with only isolated active IRA units elsewhere, such as in County Roscommon , north County Longford and western County Mayo . While the paper membership of the IRA, carried over from the Irish Volunteers, was over 100,000 men, Collins estimated that only 15,000 were active in the IRA during the war, with about 3,000 on active service at any time. There were also support organisations Cumann na mBan (the IRA women's group) and Fianna Éireann (youth movement), who carried weapons and intelligence for IRA men and secured food and lodgings for them. The IRA benefitted from
7215-405: The control of the Parliament of Northern Ireland , who quickly introduced the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1922 , abolishing proportional representation. Electoral districts were redrawn, and a property qualification for voters ( Plural voting ) introduced, ensuring Unionist controlled councils in counties with Nationalist majorities. In 1968 Fermanagh County Council was reconstituted as
7326-519: The council "to any body or persons or person he shall think fit". The power was widely used by ministers of all parties. For example, Kerry County Council was dissolved from 1930 to 1932, and from 1945 to 1948, with commissioners appointed to perform the council's function. The number of county councils was increased from 27 to 29 in 1994 when County Dublin was split under the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993 into three new counties: Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown , Fingal and South Dublin . In 2014, under
7437-449: The councillors for the "landward" part of the county were elected however. The remainder of the council were co-opted by the town councils of the burghs in the county. Scottish county councils also differed from those in England and Wales as they were required to divide their county into districts. A district committee of the county councillors elected for the area were an independent local council for some administrative purposes. In 1930
7548-442: The councils are elected through local elections held every 4 years. The Outline for Implementing Local Autonomy for Cities and Counties was promulgated in April 1950. County councils were established in 1951. In 1999 the Local Government Act was enacted. As stipulated in the Act, duties of the county councils include approving the county budget, levying local taxes and enacting local ordinances. County councils were formed in
7659-401: The country, often resorted to arbitrary reprisals against republican activists and the civilian population. An unofficial government policy of reprisals began in 1919 in Fermoy , County Cork, when 200 soldiers of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry looted and burned the main businesses of the town on 8 September, after a member of their regiment—who was the first British Army soldier to die in
7770-449: The county councils were appointed by the municipal councils. In 1975, the first general elections were held for the county councils. The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Ireland, although they are now governed under legislation passed by the Oireachtas , with the principal act being the Local Government Act 2001 . The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 introduced county councils to Ireland, with
7881-447: The county's budget, infrastructure, and services. County councils are responsible for providing services such as education, health care, public safety, transportation, and social services. They also have the power to levy taxes and fees to fund these services. County councils are typically responsible for maintaining roads, bridges, and other infrastructure within their county. They also have the power to pass laws and regulations that affect
7992-582: The county. County councils are typically responsible for providing services to their constituents, such as libraries, parks, and other recreational facilities. County councils are also responsible for providing services to the elderly, disabled, and other vulnerable populations. County councils are typically responsible for providing services to the environment, such as water and air quality, and for protecting natural resources. County councils are also responsible for providing services to businesses, such as economic development and job training. The term county council
8103-538: The duties of the abolished education authorities. Since 1996 Wales has been divided into unitary principal areas . Principal councils were designated by the legislation that created them as either "county councils" or "county borough councils". County and county borough councils have identical powers. Prior to 1996 local government in Wales was similar to that in England. Thus the county councils introduced in 1889 were identical to their English counterparts. The Local Government Commission for Wales appointed under
8214-517: The early morning, Collins' Squad attempted to wipe out leading British intelligence operatives in the capital, in particular the Cairo Gang , killing 16 men (including two cadets, one alleged informer, and one possible case of mistaken identity) and wounding five others. The attacks took place at different places (hotels and lodgings) in Dublin. In response, RIC men drove in trucks into Croke Park (Dublin's GAA football and hurling ground) during
8325-475: The electorate; and county aldermen , chosen by the council itself. There was one county alderman for every three councillors (one for every six in the London County Council ). The first elections to the councils were held at various dates in January 1889, and they served as "provisional" or shadow councils until 1 April, when they came into their powers. Elections of all councillors and half of
8436-612: The eleven-month Irish Civil War . The Irish Free State awarded 62,868 medals for service during the War of Independence, of which 15,224 were issued to IRA fighters of the flying columns . Since the 1870s, Irish nationalists in the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) had been demanding home rule , or self-government, from Britain, while not ruling out eventual complete independence. Fringe organisations, such as Arthur Griffith 's Sinn Féin , instead argued for some form of immediate Irish independence, but they were in
8547-511: The first business of their inaugural meetings being the appointment of additional members. The triennial elections were postponed in 1914 on the outbreak of World War I . The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919 introduced proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote to county councils, elected from multi-member electoral areas. Only one election was under the new system before independence, held in January 1920 (in urban areas) and on 2 June 1920 (in rural areas), during
8658-558: The functions of both county and district councils. The new system was a major modernisation, which reflected the increasing range of functions carried out by local government in late Victorian Britain . A major accretion of powers took place when education was added to county council responsibilities in 1902. County councils were responsible for more strategic services in a region, with (from 1894) smaller urban district councils and rural district councils responsible for other activities. The Local Government Act 1929 considerably increased
8769-427: The ground to prevent them being used again, along with almost one hundred income tax offices. The RIC withdrew from much of the countryside, leaving it in the hands of the IRA. In June–July 1920, assizes failed all across the south and west of Ireland; trials by jury could not be held because jurors would not attend. The collapse of the court system demoralised the RIC and many police resigned or retired. In August 1920
8880-499: The heavily populated parts of England such as the south-east. Further minor local government reforms took place in 2019–20, which led to Dorset and Buckinghamshire also becoming unitary authorities providing all services. County councils existed in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 1973. Following partition, six administrative counties remained within the United Kingdom as part of Northern Ireland . Local government came under
8991-501: The jury were targeted in the reprisal. Arthur Griffith estimated that in the first 18 months of the conflict, British forces carried out 38,720 raids on private homes, arrested 4,982 suspects, committed 1,604 armed assaults, carried out 102 indiscriminate shootings and burnings in towns and villages, and killed 77 people including women and children. In March 1920, Tomás Mac Curtain , the Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork ,
9102-462: The large number of warrants served on members of the British forces and replaced them with "military courts of enquiry". The powers of military courts-martial were extended to cover the whole population and were empowered to use the death penalty and internment without trial; Government payments to local governments in Sinn Féin hands were suspended. This act has been interpreted by historians as
9213-516: The late 19th century. In the various constituent countries of the United Kingdom councils had different powers and different memberships. Following local government reforms in the 1970s, county councils no longer exist in Scotland or Northern Ireland. In England they generally form the top level in a two-tier system of administration; in Wales they are unitary authorities. In England county councils were introduced in 1889, and reformed in 1974. Since
9324-427: The mid-1990s a series of local government reorganisations has reduced the number of county councils as unitary authorities have been established in a number of areas. County councils are very large employers with a great variety of functions including education (schools and youth services), social services, highways, fire and rescue services, libraries, waste disposal, consumer services and town and country planning. Until
9435-582: The nationalist campaign involved popular mobilisation and the creation of a republican "state within a state" in opposition to British rule. British journalist Robert Lynd wrote in The Daily News in July 1920 that: So far as the mass of people are concerned, the policy of the day is not active but a passive policy. Their policy is not so much to attack the Government as to ignore it and to build up
9546-433: The new republic in the eyes of the world, the more practically experienced Collins and the broader IRA leadership opposed these tactics as they had led to the military débacle of 1916. Others, notably Arthur Griffith, preferred a campaign of civil disobedience rather than armed struggle. During the early part of the conflict, roughly from 1919 to the middle of 1920, there was a relatively limited amount of violence. Much of
9657-589: The next boat out of Dublin. The Chief of Staff of the IRA was Richard Mulcahy , who was responsible for organising and directing IRA units around the country. In theory, both Collins and Mulcahy were responsible to Cathal Brugha, the Dáil's Minister of Defence, but, in practice, Brugha had only a supervisory role, recommending or objecting to specific actions. A great deal also depended on IRA leaders in local areas (such as Liam Lynch, Tom Barry, Seán Moylan , Seán Mac Eoin and Ernie O'Malley ) who organised guerrilla activity, largely on their own initiative. For most of
9768-466: The number of extra councillors was to be twice the number of abolished rural districts. The act set out the powers and duties of county councils and also gave the Minister for Local Government the power to dissolve councils if he was satisfied that "the duties of a local council are not being duly and effectually discharged". He could order new elections to be held, or transfer the power and properties of
9879-543: The powers of county councils. Primarily, the Boards of Guardians were abolished: workhouses were taken over by the county councils as public assistance institutions, and county councils also assumed responsibility for former poor law infirmaries, and fever hospitals. County councils also took charge of highways in rural districts. In 1965 there was a reduction in the number of county councils. The London Government Act 1963 abolished those of London and Middlesex and created
9990-531: The second half of 1920 and in 1921. Collins was a driving force behind the independence movement. Nominally the Minister of Finance in the Republic's government and IRA Director of Intelligence, he was involved in providing funds and arms to the IRA units and in the selection of officers. Collins' charisma and organisational capability galvanised many who came in contact with him. He established what proved an effective network of spies among sympathetic members of
10101-492: The separatist Irish Republican Brotherhood , began to prepare for a revolt against British rule in Ireland . The plan for revolt was realised in the Easter Rising of 1916, in which the Volunteers launched an insurrection whose aim was to end British rule. The insurgents issued the Proclamation of the Irish Republic , proclaiming Ireland's independence as a republic. The Rising, in which over four hundred people died,
10212-462: The south and west, forcing the British government to introduce emergency powers . About 300 people had been killed by late 1920, but the conflict escalated in November. On Bloody Sunday in Dublin , 21 November 1920, fourteen British intelligence operatives were assassinated; then the RIC fired on the crowd at a Gaelic football match, killing fourteen civilians and wounding sixty-five. A week later,
10323-506: The summer of 1920, the Tans burned and sacked numerous small towns throughout Ireland, including Balbriggan , Trim , Templemore and others. In other acts of reprisal, between April and August 1920 over 100 mills, creameries and other economic targets were destroyed or burned. In July 1920, another quasi-military police body, the Auxiliaries, consisting of 2,215 former British army officers, arrived in Ireland. The Auxiliaries had
10434-530: The war had started, the Dáil debated "whether it was feasible to accept formally a state of war that was being thrust on them, or not", and decided not to declare war. Then on 11 March, Dáil Éireann President Éamon de Valera called for acceptance of a "state of war with England". The Dail voted unanimously to empower him to declare war whenever he saw fit, but he did not formally do so. Volunteers began to attack British government property, carry out raids for arms and funds and target and kill prominent members of
10545-487: The war. Many of the National Volunteers did enlist, and the majority of the men in the 16th (Irish) Division of the British Army had formerly served in the National Volunteers. The Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army launched the Easter Rising against British rule in 1916, when an Irish Republic was proclaimed. Thereafter they became known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Between 1919 and 1921
10656-463: The war—was killed in an armed raid by local IRA volunteers on a church parade the day before (7 September). The ambushers were members of a unit of the No. 2 Cork Brigade under the command of Liam Lynch , who also wounded four British soldiers and disarmed the rest before fleeing in their cars. The local coroner's inquest refused to return a murder verdict over the soldier and local businessmen who had sat on
10767-447: The whole of England (apart from Greater London ) was placed in a two-tier arrangement with county councils and district councils. In the six largest conurbations metropolitan county councils, with increased powers, were created. The post of county alderman was abolished, and the entire council was thereafter directly elected every four years. In 1986 the six metropolitan county councils were abolished, with their functions transferred to
10878-475: The widespread help given to them by the general Irish population, who generally refused to pass information to the RIC and the British military and who often provided " safe houses " and provisions to IRA units "on the run". Much of the IRA's popularity arose from the excessive reaction of the British forces to IRA activity. When Éamon de Valera returned from the United States, he demanded in the Dáil that
10989-529: The words of the British historian Peter Cottrell —to an "administration renowned for its incompetence and inefficiency". Ireland was divided into three military districts. During the war, two British Army divisions, the 5th and the 6th divisions, were based in Ireland with their respective headquarters in the Curragh and Cork . By July 1921 there were 50,000 British troops based in Ireland; by contrast there were 14,000 soldiers in metropolitan Britain. While
11100-418: The young government and its army. By the end of the year the loan had reached £358,000. It eventually reached £380,000. An even larger amount, totalling over $ 5 million, was raised in the United States by Irish Americans and sent to Ireland to finance the Republic. Rates were still paid to local councils but nine out of eleven of these were controlled by Sinn Féin, who naturally refused to pass them on to
11211-674: Was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic ) and British forces: the British Army , along with the quasi-military Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and its paramilitary forces the Auxiliaries and Ulster Special Constabulary (USC). It was part of the Irish revolutionary period . In April 1916, Irish republicans launched
11322-494: Was almost exclusively confined to Dublin and was put down within a week, but the British response, executing the leaders of the insurrection and arresting thousands of nationalist activists, galvanised support for the separatist Sinn Féin – the party which the republicans first adopted and then took over as well as followers from Countess Markievicz , who was second-in-command of the Irish Citizen Army during
11433-460: Was announced by the Dáil on 11 April 1919. This proved successful in demoralising the force as the war went on, as people turned their faces from a force increasingly compromised by association with British government repression. The rate of resignation went up and recruitment in Ireland dropped off dramatically. Often, the RIC were reduced to buying food at gunpoint, as shops and other businesses refused to deal with them. Some RIC men co-operated with
11544-478: Was called off. The British government managed to bring the situation to an end, when they threatened to withhold grants from the railway companies, which would have meant that workers would no longer have been paid. Attacks by the IRA also steadily increased, and by early 1920, they were attacking isolated RIC stations in rural areas, causing them to be abandoned as the police retreated to the larger towns. In early April 1920, 400 abandoned RIC barracks were burned to
11655-712: Was later executed. A number of events dramatically escalated the conflict in late 1920. First the Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney , died on hunger strike in Brixton Prison in London in October, while two other IRA prisoners on hunger strike, Joe Murphy and Michael Fitzgerald , died in Cork Jail. Sunday, 21 November 1920, was a day of dramatic bloodshed in Dublin that became known as Bloody Sunday . In
11766-407: Was led by Seán Treacy , Séumas Robinson , Seán Hogan and Dan Breen acting on their own initiative. The IRA attacked and shot two RIC officers, Constables James McDonnell and Patrick O'Connell, who were escorting explosives. Breen later recalled: ...we took the action deliberately, having thought over the matter and talked it over between us. Treacy had stated to me that the only way of starting
11877-529: Was marked by severe rioting in Dublin that left over 100 British soldiers injured. While it was not clear in the beginning of 1919 that the Dáil ever intended to gain independence by military means, and war was not explicitly threatened in Sinn Féin's 1918 manifesto , an incident occurred on 21 January 1919, the same day as the First Dáil convened. The Soloheadbeg Ambush , in County Tipperary,
11988-519: Was re-established. The reforms somewhat blurred the distinction between county and district council. The Isle of Wight county council became a unitary authority, renamed the "Isle of Wight Council". Conversely, two unitary district councils added the word "county" to their titles to become " Rutland County Council District Council" and "County of Herefordshire District Council". A further wave of local government reform took place in April 2009 under
12099-487: Was rejected by Irish nationalists, who were certain the men had been tortured and then murdered. On 28 November 1920, one week later, the West Cork unit of the IRA, under Tom Barry, ambushed a patrol of Auxiliaries at Kilmichael, County Cork , killing all but one of the 18-man patrol. These actions marked a significant escalation of the conflict. In response, the counties of Cork, Kerry, Limerick, and Tipperary—all in
12210-562: Was shot dead in front of his wife at his home, by men with blackened faces who were seen returning to the local police barracks. The jury at the inquest into his death returned a verdict of wilful murder against David Lloyd George (the British Prime Minister) and District Inspector Swanzy, among others. Swanzy was later tracked down and killed in Lisburn , County Antrim . This pattern of killings and reprisals escalated in
12321-409: Was to seek out and kill "G-men" and other British spies and agents. Collins' Squad began killing RIC intelligence officers in July 1919. Many G-men were offered a chance to resign or leave Ireland by the IRA. One spy who escaped with his life was F. Digby Hardy , who was exposed by Arthur Griffith before an "IRA" meeting, which in fact consisted of Irish and foreign journalists, and then advised to take
#530469