"When friends fall out, the daggers stay sharp. Families devour each other; the nearer in blood the bloodier. The causes of civil, as of other types of war, lie to some extent in the immediate past, and responsibilities for action or lack there of it are seldom clear cut. The participants rarely acknowledge this. But it cannot be repeated too often that no one person or party is ever wholly to blame for anything. Here again the Irish civil war was no exception." (Williams 118)
Like the majority of wars, the Irish civil war did not begin on the first day of open hostilities. The violence which became the civil war of June 1922 to May 1923 was the climax of events which had been building since before the Easter Rebellion in 1916. The religious and political issues dating back to before the turn of the century divided Ireland into numerous groups with their own ideologies and goals. The factions could be broken down many ways: Protestant or Catholic, for or against Home Rule, and after 1920, those in favor of the Irish Free State and those opposed to it. These divisions contributed greatly to the complexity of the Irish civil war. Religious divisions often crossed political ones, and political divisions appeared to change monthly depending on current objectives. A thorough understanding of the Irish civil war requires examinations of the people and events prior to the war as well as during the war.
One of the major political issues in Ireland at the turn of the century was that of Home Rule. Many Irish demanded Home Rule because it would move more political power from the British Parliament to Ireland. If passed, Ireland would gain control over their domestic affairs in their own parliament. Two failed attempts were made in 1886 and 1892 to pass Home Rule legislation in the British Parliament. Home Rule was passed in 1914 but did not take effect because of World War I. (World Book I. 427)
Political groups at this time were formed around the issue of an independent Irish government. In 1905 Arthur Griffith formed a political group named the Sinn Fin. The Sinn Fin pushed for self rule for Ireland and not for complete independence from Britain. An underground group called the Irish Republican Brotherhood demanded much more. The IRB wanted complete independence for Ireland, nothing less. Patrick Pearce, the leader of the IRB, decided that British involvement in World War I was a sufficient distraction to provide the Irish a chance to gain their full independence. In 1916 he felt the time to strike was right.
Arrangements had been made for German support of a rebellion based in Dublin. The German vessel Aud was supposed to deliver weapons to the IRB for their rebellion. The ship arrived early and was destroyed rather than be captured by the British Blockade. All planned parades and maneuvers for Easter Sunday were immediately cancelled. The Military Council composed of James Connolly, Sean MacDermott, Thomas Clarke, and Patrick Pearce met to decide on a new course of action. "They were united in believing that it would be better for Ireland ultimately that the leaders should give their lives in a simple protest than they should turn back from their enterprise now." (Macardle 165) The Military Council made the decision to strike at noon on Monday.
At noon on Monday the Republican Army occupied the Post Office in Dublin. They promptly declared the creation of the Provisional Government of the Irish Republic. The majority of republican objectives in Dublin were taken quickly. On Tuesday and Wednesday the British began to use artillery on the Republican strongholds. On Thursday British reinforcements arrived under the command of General Sir John Maxwell. He proclaimed, "If necessary I shall not hesitate to destroy all buildings within any area occupied by the rebels." (Macardle 175) On Friday morning artillery had lit the Post Office on fire, and Pearce decided it was time to surrender. On Saturday 29 April 1916 the rebellion ended.
Shortly after the rebellion British police arrested anyone they suspected of involvement in the rebellion. Hundreds were imprisoned and over a dozen were executed. James Connolly and Sean MacDermott were both shot on May 12th. The executions created a wave of protest and outrage in Ireland which also stretched into Britain. Lloyd George, a British statesman, failed to achieve Home Rule for Ireland. The Irish question would remain unanswered until after World War I. Meanwhile, all the factions retreated and regrouped.
There was no determined attempt to establish Home Rule for Ireland after the war. In the December 1918 elections the Sinn Fin took 73 of the 105 Irish seats in the British Parliament. "The new members met in Dublin. They called themselves the Dil ireann (House of Representatives) and declared all Ireland an independent republic on Jan. 21, 1919." (World Book I. 427) Shortly after this fighting broke out between the Irish and the British.
1918 to 1920 was dominated by violence between competing groups in Ireland. As the ability of the Dil government fell apart the republicans established a system of their own. "The police, and the lower courts, local republican organizers responded to popular demand by devising republican institutions with similar functions, structure, and sometimes personnel." (Foster 206) Retaliatory violence and terrorism became the hallmark of Irish politics until the 1920 Government of Ireland Act.
The Government Act created the Irish Free State. "The Act provided for the setting up of two legislatures in Ireland, one for Northern Ireland, and one for Southern Ireland." (Follis 1) The six counties of Ulster accepted the act and became Northern Ireland. The Dil rejected the act and fighting again broke out. The Irish Republican Army attacked British targets and the British responded with the Black and Tans, their strong- armed police force. Meanwhile, Eamon de Valera pushed for total independence for all of Ireland and union with Northern Ireland. Michael Collins was more outwardly inclined to work with the British to achieve Irish self rule as a dominion of the Commonwealth. "In early 1922 state authority was awkwardly distributed between Griffith's Dil ministry and Collins's more functional provisional government." (Foster 212)
In truth, Collins and de Valera sabotaged the Treaty and thus the effect was to "augment the support for the new constitution, sharpen political polarization, and ensure republican abstention from the provisional parliament." (Foster 214) Factions maneuvered for military position instead of attempting any kind of social reforms for normalcy.
The government of the Dil was led by Griffith. Michael Collins led the Provisional Government which was recognized by the British. Collins and Griffith worked closely at times. Rory O'Connor and Liam Lynch led the army executive of the IRA from the Four Courts and did not recognize either the Dil or the provisional governments. They planned large scale assaults on British installations. The last major party was the British themselves. "Between British pressures resulting from the killing of Sir Henry Wilson and pressures bred in the Four Courts, Collins at last took the decision...to clear out the occupants of the Four Courts." (Williams 127) The Irish civil war began with the Free State's bombing of the Four Courts.
Leaders quickly picked sides. "De Valera had no hesitation in taking the side of the armed opponents of the Provisional Government. He issued a public statement describing the Four Courts garrison as 'the best and bravest of our nation.'" (Holt 296) After issuing this statement de Valera joined his old Battalion as a foot soldier. "Angry IRA leaders were quick to reply. The Free State attack closed the breach between the forces of Lynch and O'Connor." (Curran 234)
As the British sent more arms and munitions to Collins and the Free state, the Republicans resisted by all means. This resistance brought about a standstill of normal life in Dublin. "Most citizens kept to their homes, shops were closed, and communications with the rest of the country were almost cut off." (Curran 237)
After the initial attack the IRA leadership outside the Four Courts all acted independently. With limited men and supplies, and without a strong centralized leadership element, the IRA was doomed from the start. While IRA leadership wavered the Provisional Government recruited heavily and stockpiled arms from Britain. Resistance in Dublin was crushed first. Then the Free State Government systematically destroyed the resistance in the provinces.
Many of the Provisional Government's normal operations such as the judiciary and the Dil were ignored in favor of military focusses. Fighting took place throughout Ireland; in Sligo, Mayo, Donegal, Limerick, Waterford, Tipperary, and Cork. As fighting broke out in the south, violence in Northern Ireland decreased. Leaders began to fall. First was Griffith who died of a brain hemorrhage. Shortly after Michael Collins was ambushed and killed returning to Cork. Collins's death was received with sorrow on both sides of the war. He was well respected as a patriot to most Irish. Cosgrave now became the head of the government. On September 18th he unveiled the new Constitution in the Dil.
Cosgrave attempted amnesty programs in October. On the 15th the amnesty offer expired and the military courts took over. Not more than a month later, "Four youths were arrested in Dublin, found guilty of carrying guns without authorization, and shot by a firing squad on november 17." (Curran 256) Erskine Childers, the Republican propaganda director, was also picked up and executed. The cruel treatment and execution of IRA prisoners quickly pushed support away from the Provisional Government.
From the beginning the IRA attempted to stay within the bounds of the accepted limits of the war. As their members were executed, the IRA was forced into equal measures. Orders were issued for certain Provisional Government officials to be shot on sight. Others were harassed. The IRA burnt homes and offices of their enemies.
Northern Ireland attempted to separate itself as much as possible with the Free State. It requested from the King that the powers of the Free State not apply in the North. The result was postponement of up to five years for both parties to reach an agreement. The Free State's constitution and inauguration continued in the face of the fighting. Cosgrave became the president of the Executive Council. In reading his senate nominations it became apparent that, "The fact that a sizable number of senators were Protestants and former Unionists demonstrated the government's desire to reconcile the old ascendancy to the new order." (Curran 264)
Shortly after the Free State came into official existence it suffered another tragedy. Two Dil deputies were shot. The government's reaction was to accuse the IRA. As a result and a message, the Cabinet voted to execute four IRA prisoners. This brought outrage against Cosgrave. It was effective though, no more deputies were shot at. Instead, "Irregulars killed O'Higgins' father, burned Cosgrave's home, threatened senators, and put a number of their homes to the torch." (Curran 267) The result was that the Free State executed more IRA prisoners. "This tactic became standard in the final stages of the war." (Curran 267)
Soon Liam Deasy, the IRA's deputy chief of staff, concluded that further struggle was pointless. He began the peace process. By February a one month cease-fire was achieved to discuss peace proposals. In April the Republican's leadership crumbled with the killing of Liam Lynch. The IRA leadership realized that they could not win even if they attempted to take the war to Britain. In late April de Valera began surrender negotiations with the Executive Council.
A series of proposals and rejections continued for several weeks. One major reason that the proposals were turned down was because they provided no disarming of the rebels. By the end of May the peace talks had reached a stalemate over the issues of allegiances and oaths, and over arms. Finally the Republicans decided to simply stop fighting and keep their weapons. The civil war ended in late May 1923 with approximately 5000 military deaths and an unknown number of civilian deaths. (Curran 276)
After the war ended Cosgrave remained president of the Executive council from 1922 until 1932. From this position he governed the Irish Free State. Cosgrave established the Cumann na nGaedheal (Community of the Gaels) party. At the same time, de Valera became the leader of the Sinn Fin. The two political parties continued to oppose each other.
The country was quickly faced with rebuilding itself. The government's focus now had to change from a military one to a social one. Infrastructure had to be rebuilt. The army was downsized and controlled. National credit and banking was established. The Shannon river was even used for hydroelectric power. The new government was not without its problems. There were more assassinations, but large scale armed conflict did not erupt.
In 1926 de Valera left the Sinn Fin and created the Fianna Fail (Soldiers of Destiny) party. De Valera became president of the Executive Council in 1932. He quickly broke as many ties with Britain as possible. De Valera decided to end the mandatory allegiance to Britain. In 1937 de Valera passed a new constitution making Ireland a democratic and independent state. This state remained in place until 1948.
The Irish civil war can not be blamed on any one group or person. The civil war was a complex one with numerous factions and issues to keep track of to properly understand the war. Virtually all the combatants and leaders on all sides felt that they were patriots. One tragedy from the war which will never be measured is the loss of future leaders for Ireland: Collins, Childers, Lynch, O'Connor, and Griffith. They believed that they were fighting for what was best for the future of the country they loved, Ireland. These men knew each other and often worked together then splintered off after a dispute over ideals. They were willing to sacrifice one another, or themselves, for the greater good of Ireland. Curran, Joseph M. The Birth of the Irish Free State 1921-1923. University: The University of Alabama Press, 1981. Follis, Bryan A. A State Under Siege: The Establishment of Northern Ireland 1920-1925. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995. Foster, R.F. The Oxford History of Ireland. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. Holt, Edgar. Protest In Arms: The Irish Troubles 1916-1923. New York: Coward-McCann,
1961. "Ireland." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1992 ed. Macardle, Dorothy. The Irish Republic. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1951. O'Brien, Conor Cruise. States of Ireland. New York: Pantheon Books, 1972. O'Connor, Sir James. History of Ireland 1798-1924 vol II. New York: George H. Dorian Company, 1926. Williams, Desmond. The Irish Struggle:1916-1926. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1966. Wilson, Tom. Ulster: Conflict and Consent. Oxford: T.J. Press Ltd., 1989.