The second half of the 19th century was an epoch marked by two political issues. The land question and the Home Rule movement. Most Irish Catholics were against the union of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Some of them tried to solve the problem in a constitutional way whereas others did not reject revolutionary methods. On the contrary citizens from the northeast of Ireland who were mainly Protestants endorsed the union with Great Britain. What has happened before and how did the situation develop?
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Partition of Ireland
2.1. National Movements and Home Rule
2.2. Escalating Conflict – Easter Rising and War of Independence
2.3. Partition – Reasons and Results
3. Conclusion
1. Introduction
Partition of Ireland – Reasons and Results. The title of this term paper hopefully rouses some expectations and curiousness. For this reason the introductory text provides information about what is dealt with in the following pages, which topics are thematised and which not, what questions are raised and tried to be answered and what awaits the reader in the different content paragraphs.
In general the term paper pursues following strategy. First of all basic facts will be collected and form the framework for later analyses and interpretations. This is not just an essay on the history of a divided island. Furthermore the historical facts and figures will be the basis for subsequent theses and help to answer raised questions. Moreover it is intended that the different subheadings of the main body all work together. Each text section provides relevant findings which are necessary to understand subsequent actions so that in the end the circle is closed.
The first point of the main part examines the partition´s preconditions. Here the reader gets familiar with some important persons and associations. The starting point of this paragraph and of the term paper itself is the time around 1870 when the Home Government Association was founded.1 All in all this part provides crucial information whereupon the next passages are based. Under 2.2. Escalating Conflict – Easter Rising and War of Independence the turmoil between 1916 and 1921 is investigated. How did the situation from 1870 on develop? What are reasons for the violence and how does the Home Rule movement go on? Answers to all these questions are given here. The section ends with an transition to the main body´s last point Partition – Reasons and Results. Without anticipating too much and not to forestall the tension, but what the conflicts lead to is leaving Ireland divided. Several different reasons which are mentioned in the two preceding parts are examined in very detail in this last section. Which actions and events did really cause the partition? This is one of the questions that guides the paragraph. Another attractive question that often is asked in such a historical context is what would have happened if? Even if this kind of analysis is highly theoretical and speculative it very well goes along with the topic. Last but not least the results of the Irish partition are considered. Interests and goals of the involved parties, organisations and groups are summarized and it is presented to what extent the partition helped to fulfil these goals or not. The main part finishes, as the title foreshadows, with the partition. More precisely with the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and the Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921.2 The Irish Civil War is no part of this term paper anymore, but doubtless needs to be mentioned as it results from the partition. Finally the conclusion serves as a summary of the most important findings. Furthermore it refers back to the mentioned questions.
As the readership might have recognised there are many different questions raised in the introduction what might be a little confusing. Some of them are answered on a bigger scale and some on a smaller one. Therefore the paper´s two leading questions are formulated in an extra sentence once again: What where the main reasons for the Partition of Ireland? Did the Partition of Ireland and the situation after the division satisfy the people´s interests?
2. Partition of Ireland
2.1. National Movements and Home Rule
The second half of the 19th century was an epoch marked by two political issues. The land question and the Home Rule movement. Most Irish Catholics were against the union of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Some of them tried to solve the problem on a constitutional way whereas others did not reject revolutionary methods. On the contrary citizens from the northeast of Ireland who were mainly Protestants endorsed the union with Great Britain.3 What has happened before and how did the situation develop?
After the Great Famine which marked one of the cruelest catastrophes in the history of Ireland the land question became more and more an urgent issue. The Irish felt betrayed by the English government because they did not receive the requested support from the British Empire. For this reason the possession of the land which was primarily owned by English or Irish Protestants should be redirected by the “Irish Tenant League” that was founded in 1850. Furthermore other organisations like the “Irish Republican Brotherhood” expressed the idea of an independent Irish Republic. Generally these earlier movements only brought little progress. That changed with the establishment of another movement called Home Rule.4
People in Ireland were not satisfied with how the union worked. They felt like their own interests would not be protected by the British parliament and that they might be better off with a parliament of their own. In consequence of the unsatisfying situation the Home Government Association was founded in 1870 by the well known Protestant lawyer Isaac Butt. The association only laid focus on one single issue which was the establishment of an Irish parliament. However even if the organisation spread smart ideas, it had no representative character as it was no political party at all and soon the Home Government Association lost some of their initial supporters. In November 1873 the Home Government Association was dissolved and replaced by the Home Rule League. Although the party stated that achieving self-government was the one and only issue their policy was open to all important popular questions. In the 1874 general election the home-rulers won surprising 59 seats. The election was a great success and the party knew how to make use out of their new position. For the next 40 years the party represented the majority of the Irish people at Westminster.5
This circumstance is not owed to Isaac Butt who was a moderate leader who did not realise many political moves by what he lost his leading position. It was the young and determined Charles Stewart Parnell, a Protestant landowner who had Anglo-Irish ancestors, who became the mightiest man of Ireland at the end of the 1870s. Driven by his inner hatred for the English nation, he reinforced the Home Rule League and let the question about self-government become the major issue of Irish politics. Moreover the “uncrowned king of Ireland” had valuable contacts to other groups like the American Fenians, a group of Irish emigrants who moved to the United States and other countries and supported the aspiration for self-government. Especially their financial support was of enormous importance. Another side that assisted Parnell was the Land League that was founded in 1879 by Micheal Davitt to protect the tenants against high interest and to concede fixity of tenure. The Land League in a way profited from the agricultural depression in 1879 which was followed by new years of famine. Some of its measures like conversion from agriculture to livestock farming proved to be very profitable. As a result the Land League together with the Home Rule movement formed a strong opposition against the English landowners. Nevertheless Parnell´s success was not only a straightforward way. As a result of the Land War where the National Land League fought for the mentioned rights of the tenants, the leaders including Parnell were arrested, the Land League was prohibited and later replaced by the Irish National League.6
This incident did not decline the reputation of Parnell and the Home Rule movement. The Irish National League had significant political influence. Because of that the Liberal Party tried to receive the support of the Irish Nationalists to win the election in 1886 against the Conservatives. Therefore the Liberals pledged to take stand for Irish self-government. After winning the election, the Prime Minister Gladstone held his promise and presented the first Home Rule Bill. Although Gladstone honestly tried to convince the Lords and Commons of the Bill, it was rejected by the House of Commons. Opponents were mainly Conservative-Unionists. In 1889 it became public that Parnell was involved in a divorce suit what hugely discredited him. He had to lay down all his offices and died in 1891 at the age of 45 and left the Nationalists split. 2 years later Gladstone presented the second Home Rule Bill. This time the bill passed the House of Commons but was defeated by the House of Lords. The Irish self-government which seemed to be imminent in 1886 now receded into the distance.7
While the political ambitions got stuck at the close of the century there was an emergence of a new nationalism. In 1893 the “Gealic League” was founded and led by Douglas Hyde and Eoin MacNeill who primarily wanted to revive the general use of the Irish language. Everything that seemed to have a special Irish character was emphasized and strengthened the national identity. Everything that was of English origin, even if long established and widely used, was put away.8 This consciousness of a special Irish identity cannot be underestimated when investigating the way to Irish independence and the partition of Ireland.
At the turn of the century it seemed that England had everything under control regarding the Irish question and that Home Rule was no longer a political issue. The Conservatives who ran power at the beginning of the 20th century felt that their new policy of conciliation had justified itself. “Killing Home Rule with kindness” was the slogan of that policy. The most important achievement was the “Wyndham Land Purchase Act” of 1903. The act finished off the landlord´s control over tenants and made it easier for tenants to purchase land. Indirectly the Land Act of 1903 led to a serious set-back and initiated a great social revolution.9
When in 1906 the Liberals won the general election they did not consider Home Rule an urgent question and ignored the interests of Irish Nationalists. John Redmond, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, promised to bring Home Rule back on the agenda. He saw his ultimate chance when it came to tensions between the two houses after the lord´s rejection of a budget in November 1909. Redmond guaranteed ruling Prime Minister H.H. Asquith the Nationalist´s support if he would pass a new Home Rule Bill. In 1911 Herbert Asquith established the Parliament Act. By terms of this act the lords lost their veto on legislation. They might hold up a bill for two years, but after these two years it could pass into law without further approval. Home Rule now became more concrete than ever before. On the other side the Irish Unionists viewed the events with mistrust. For them the passing of the Parliament Act meant that their constitutional protection was destroyed. But Unionists of Ulster were ready to defy the constitution with all available means. They had their own policy and organisations and in 1910 they found a suitable leader in Sir Edward Carson who was a very talented speaker. Meanwhile the 3rd Home Rule Bill was passed. It was rejected by the Upper House, but able to become law in 1914 because of the Parliament Act. Asquith kept his promise and issued the law, but it was postponed from coming into effect by a Suspensory Act. But implementation of the bill should not being later than the end of the present war. In response to these current events Carson held an absorbing speech in Belfast in 1911 with an audience of 100.000 Unionists. “We will yet defeat the most nefarious conspiracy that has ever been hatched against a free people”.10 What Carson pointed out was that his plan of resistance was uncompromising and if the Home Rule Bill would nevertheless pass, the Unionists would ignore it and set up their own government for the province of Ulster. As a result thousands of Ulstermen signed the Solemn League and Covenant which included the mentioned points. Altogether the situation was desperate and the conflict more and more heated up. On the one hand were the Unionists lead by Carson who were not willing to compromise. On the other hand there were the Nationalists lead by Redmond who did not even consider the question of Ulster and hold that even in most counties of Ulster people were in favour of an Irish self-government. One of the most significant developments during this period was the rise of an militant spirit. In 1913 the Irish Volunteers were founded in response to the Unionist´s Ulster Volunteer Force which launched in 1912. The situation was tense and Ireland stood just before the outbreak of a civil war.11
2.2. Escalating Conflict – Easter Rising and War of Independence
Both sides moved to the continent during World War I for their self-interests. One side to preserve loyal Ulster for the Union, the other to make sure that Home Rule will be implemented. But not all Nationalists left Ireland to support the British Empire. Some remained in readiness in Ireland to maintain Home Rule after the war. They argued that they owe allegiance only to Ireland. Some followed Redmond´s call to support the Empire, the others stayed in Ireland and so the Volunteers gradually divided. Some Irish Nationalists were tired of the moderate and defensive attitude of an Eoin MacNeill, a high-placed member of the Irish Volunteers, and insisted on a change. Shortly after the outbreak of the war in August 1914 members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood planned an armed insurrection in Ireland, aiming at winning an Irish Republic. They followed an old Fenian saying “England´s difficulties are Ireland´s opportunities” and thus thought that the British involvement into war marked the perfect moment for a rebellion. The IRB was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation which origins laid in the 1850´s Fenian movement.12 The IRB was not very big in numbers, but well organised and structured. The continental war enabled its members to plan the uprising without the control of the Volunteers´ leadership. The IRB had some very enthusiastic members like the fanatic poet and political activist Patrick Pearse. Pearse together with other Volunteers arranged secret meetings together with other activists like James Connolly or Arthur Griffith, where they developed a strategy including following points: They planned to gain advanced arms by German forces, to refuse any attempt by the government to disarm the Volunteers and to start the rising before the end of the war. Their final goal was to proclaim the freedom of Ireland. Even if the plans were very precise it was not fixed when the rising should begin. Mac Neill at this time did not have a clue about the presence of the IRB in the Volunteers.13
The Uprising was planned for Easter Sunday, 23 April, but plans went wrong from the beginning on as a German ship carrying arms for the Volunteers was captured by the British navy. On Monday the rebels occupied the General Post Office in Dublin and some other significant buildings. On the same day Patrick Pearse declared the Irish Republic from the steps of the General Post Office. The Volunteers fought bravely against professional English soldiers. But when General Sir John Maxwell arrived on 28 April to take command, the outnumbered rebels were finally subdued by fire power until Pearse surrendered. Altogether 450 people died, mainly civilians, more than 3.500 were imprisoned and 90 people were sentenced to death by martial law.14
Investigating the Uprising one might conclude that the rebellion did not have a great impact on the subsequent Irish history. It did not last a long time as well as only a little number of people engaged in the conflict. Moreover the Volunteers did not succeed. To understand the importance of the rising, not only the rebellion itself but what happened afterwards needs to be investigated. The majority of the Irish citizens did not fully support the revolutionaries. They rather viewed it as senseless killing of innocent people. But the attitudes should change quickly after the executions of 15 Volunteers within 10 days. Especially the fact that several of the executed were clearly innocent like Pearse´s brother Willie who was executed just because he was Patrick´s brother horrified the Irish. All in all the secret trials and the randomness of the executions led to an altered atmosphere among the Irish population. As soon as these news were spread many citizens harshly deplored the British government.15 Furthermore the rising marked the end of the Irish Parliamentary Party. Redmond accepted the Home Rule that was offered to Southern Ireland, always being convinced that Ulster´s exclusion would only be temporary, but Ulster emphasized that they would not accept anything less than permanent exclusion. The negotiation of Home Rule on Ulster´s terms was the end of the former great Irish Nationalist Party. On the contrary a new political party gained the support of moderate as well as extreme Nationalists namely Sinn Fein. The party was founded by Arthur Griffith in 1905 with the target of establishing an independent Ireland by peaceful methods. The party wanted Ireland to have its own parliament and Irish people only needed to obey what was passed by this parliament. Sinn Fein quickly increased its relevance. In June 1917 the British released the Easter rebel Eamon de Valera who joined Sinn Fein and succeeded Arthur Griffith as President of the party. Sinn Fein was then more or less seen as the heritage to the Easter Rising´s insurgents. The American born de Valera cultivated some useful contacts to American financiers and thus was capable of gaining large amounts of donations in order to establish an independent Irish government. Furthermore Sinn Fein announced that no elected member will take his seat in the British parliament in Westminster. At the General Election the party achieved a landslide success. They won 73 seats with overwhelming 48 per cent of votes cast. What the result also meant was a clear renunciation of the Home Rule principle and the meaninglessness of the IPP. Sinn Fein kept promise and the MP´s withdrew from Westminster.16 Instead the members set up a provisional government once again. They met at the Mansion House in Dublin in January 1919 and named the government ´Dail Eireann´, the Irish Assembly. Its members announced their loyalty towards the Irish Republic and ignored or subverted British institutions. Things turned out not to be too easy. A delegation of Sinn Fein for instance failed to get America´s support for the Irish autonomy at the Peace Conference in Paris. Subsequently the Dail waited tensely for England´s reaction regarding their new government. Meanwhile the violence seemed to escalate again. The Volunteers became known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Its members began an armed campaign against British forces in Ireland. It started with the killing of two Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) policemen. In response to these actions the Crown sent special forces to Ireland in order to keep the situation under control. These so-called ´Black and Tans´, named after their uniforms, were mainly men who fought in World War I. The Tans, characterized by violence, ought to support the RIC. What developed was a wave of terror which was called the Irish War of Independence or the Anglo-Irish War. Some Irish simply called it ´The Troubles´ because there were no typical front lines, but many random violent acts that took place during 1919 and 1921.17 The fact that Britain desperately tried to maintain the order in Ireland with the help of irregular militias instead of regular forces indicates how uncontrolled the situation was. Nevertheless the war became a struggle of ambush and assassination. For example in November 1920 an IRA squad killed 14 suspected British intelligence agents in various locations across Dublin. Later that same day Black and Tans fired into a crowd of more than 8.000 spectators of a Gaelic football match and killed 12 people. This day entered the history books as Bloody Sunday. All these turmoil show that especially innocent civilians suffered from the troubles. After nearly three years of the Anglo-Irish War, King George intervened it by persuading the British Prime Minister Lloyd George to conciliate the Irish. De Valera had travelled to London several times for formal meetings with the Prime Minister and aimed at a form of autonomy which would connect Ireland and the Empire, but not Ireland and the Crown, a concept called ´external association´. But the British opposition persisted on their plans that the monarch would remain head of a new Irish state and refused De Valera´s concept. Nevertheless on 6 December 1921 the Anglo-Irish Treaty concluded the War of Independence.18
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