Irish Civil War

The Irish Civil War, which began in June of 1922 and concluded in May of 1923, was fought over the absolute versus partial sovereignty of the Irish people. The result however was much different. Thousands of casualties, a decentralized government, and a lack of unity within the country was the ultimate outcome. The catalyst for this war was the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. This treaty was designed to put an end to the Irish War for Independence by providing the creation of an Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations. It also granted Northern Ireland the option, which they accepted, to opt out of the Irish Free State. When the treaty was returned to Ireland to be ratified, the votes favored the pro-treaty side by a small margin, leaving those opposed to it angered. This split in opinion led to the inevitable war that ensued. Due to a lack of unity between Irish representatives and failed communication efforts, coupled with an over-aggressive British Navy, the Irish Civil War was unavoidable.

The primary fuel for Ireland’s desire to seek independence was the resurrection of an Irish Republic. This would not have existed without the Easter Rising of 1916. This failed attempt at independence from Great Britain reminded the Irish people that they were still under the control of the monarchy. For the next six years, Ireland fought in the War of Independence with Great Britain. This ultimately led to the creation of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which intended to put an end to violence but instead sparked the Irish Civil War.

The terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty allowed Great Britain to end fighting with Ireland while still retaining moderate power over them. On December 6, 1921, the British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, and Irish representatives including Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins signed the treaty in London. The agreement granted Ireland the power to become a free state within the British Commonwealth. The controversial aspect however was that the Irish members of parliament had to pledge their allegiance to Great Britain. This split the Irish Republic because the treaty did not give the Irish people the absolute freedom that they had been fighting for. When the treaty was returned to Ireland to be voted on, the votes favored the treaty 64 to 57. The President of the Dail at this time, Eamon de Valera, was opposed to the treaty and resigned as President after Sinn Fein voted in favor of it in Ireland. De Valera stated in the treaty debates, that the agreement was, ‘disestablishing the Republic which we had established.’ Although the treaty was a step in the right direction, de Valera was not satisfied with having to pledge allegiance to Britain and was seeking absolute independence. Although the treaty was aimed at creating peace between Ireland and Great Britain, there was instead an outbreak of violence between a two-sided Irish nation on their own home front.

The disagreement between to the pro-treaty side and the anti-treaty side did not burn on the argument of whether the treaty was beneficial to Ireland, but rather if the treaty was satisfactory enough for what Ireland had been fighting for in previous years. The positive aspects of the treaty can be outlined clearly. Dominion status within the British Commonwealth was guaranteed in the treaty. This was an improvement to Ireland’s Home Rule status at the time. Dominion status in the British Commonwealth at the time was also improving rapidly. In Dr. Ivan Gibbon’s history review on the matter, he writes, ‘The Treaty offered Irish nationalists complete independence in domestic affairs in the twenty-six county jurisdiction. It is also arguable that, given the rapidly evolving nature of Dominion status inside the British Commonwealth, that its external freedoms would also be wide-ranging and likely to expand.’ Gibbons successfully highlights not just the current positive effects that the treaty would have on the Irish people, but also alludes to its potential for the future. The treaty was also beneficial to Ireland because it aimed to end the violence in Ireland between the Irish Republican Army and the British Security Forces over the matter of Ireland’s independence.

Wars not only cause physical casualties on the battlefield, but also complicate governmental coerciveness and increase the stress of political decision-making. Bill Kissane, an expert on civil wars sheds light on the significance of this aspect of the treaty’s power in his book, Civil Wars. When discussing the Anglo-Irish Treaty, and the sense of urgency there was to ratify the agreement, he states, ‘This was certainly the view of V.S. Pritchett, a correspondent based in Dublin during the war. He believed that after six years of revolution, the politicals were suffering from strain and many were out of their minds.’ For a country that is a seeking independence, having a structurally sound government is a primary focus. Continuing a war that is hindering politicians’ ability to make rational decisions is detrimental to a country. Pritchett makes it clear why the treaty would have a profound positive impact on the future of Ireland. After six years of revolution, the treaty would allow Ireland to structurally and mentally rebuild and use their newly granted freedom as a stepping-stone for further independence.

Although the treaty offered an improvement in Ireland’s current status of sovereignty, it did not provide the Irish Republicans everything that they wanted. De Valera believed that the treaty was reversing everything that Ireland had worked for in the revolutionary years. He believed it to be more of an appeasement from Great Britain than a generous offer for freedom. The major flaw in the treaty for de Valera was that all Irish members of parliament must pledge their allegiance to Great Britain. Those opposed to the treaty used this clause as their primary reasoning for combating its ratification. In Article 2 of the treaty, there was a direct reference to Canada’s dominion status and how Ireland would directly relate. The problem with this comparison is that Great Britain is an ocean apart from Canada and has significantly less control over their territory as opposed to Ireland who is only separated from Great Britain by a small body of water. The dominion status for some Irish Republicans seemed more like political and military handcuffs. Another issue with the treaty was that Ireland was forced to limit the size of their military and also allow Great Britain to maintain control over their major ports. ‘The new political entity would not raise a defense force greater than, in proportion to the population, than that of the United Kingdom. British use of ‘treaty ports’ in peacetime and other facilities in war were guaranteed, but after five years, Irish defense of the coast was conceded.’ With Ireland unable

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