Irish History Essay Plan- Evaluation of the Causes of the Irish Civil War
(1922)
1. Long-term Divisions in Sinn Fein
2. Divisions in Sinn Fein over the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty
3. Split in the Irish Republican Army (IRA)
4. Failure of Constitutional Solutions
5. General Atmosphere of Political Violence
Long-term Divisions in Sinn Fein
● After the 1916 Easter Rising, Sinn Fein became an “umbrella
organisation” (Lyons) because the British mistakenly labelled the
rebellion as “The Sinn Fein Rising”, attracting a wide range of ideologies
to the movement.
● For example, Griffith (the founder of Sinn Fein) was a constitutional
monarchist. Contrastingly, De Valera (President of Sinn Fein from 1917)
was a radical republican prepared to fight a war to achieve Irish
independence. The conflicting attitudes within Sinn Fein created a
tension which would erupt into civil war in 1922.
● De Valera attempted to hold Sinn Fein together, such as with the 1917
Mansion House Conference and the 1917 Ard Fheis. At the Ard Fheis,
De Valera prevented a split between the republican and non-republican
factions in the party. He encouraged the party to focus on the December
1918 election, saying “Get this done and we will agree to differ
afterwards”. De Valera also attempted to prevent conflict by creating a
purposefully vague constitution in 1917. To retain the support of
moderates, De Valera assured “We are not doctrinaire nationalists”.
However, this simply covered the issues of the time, and it was only a
matter of time before Sinn Fein fell apart.
, ● The first shots of the Anglo-Irish War were fired on 21st January 1921,
the same day that the Dail was first established. This shows a growing
impatience with the political process, making civil war seem more likely.
Divisions in Sinn Fein over the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty
● Sinn Fein failed to achieve an Irish republic or De Valera’s proposal of
“external association” with the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty. Instead, Ireland
had dominion status within the British Commonwealth. This would prove
particularly controversial.
● Generally, the Treaty was well-received. The public supported the
peace agreement after living through war since 1914. The Catholic
Church also supported the deal, and most of the Irish Republican Army
(IRA) and Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) supported the Treaty
because it was endorsed by Collins. For example, whilst Collins was a
republican, he believed that the Treaty offered “not the ultimate freedom
that all nations aspire and develop to, but the freedom to achieve it”
(Collins).
● However, the Treaty also faced significant backlash within Sinn Fein. It’s
important to note that the Treaty did not so much split the country as it
split the minority of the political elite. However, these divisions were still
significant. For example, De Valera condemned the Treaty as “an act of
disloyalty”. This reflected the view held by many opponents of the
Treaty: that it was a betrayal of the martyrs of the 1916 Easter Rising
and Proclamation of the Republic. De Valera publicly announced on 6th
December 1921 that he could not support the Treaty, and his “enormous
prestige” (Rees) granted substantial legitimacy to the anti-Treaty forces.
De Valera also resigned from his position as President, indicating that
this conflict would not be confined to the Dail. Brugha was also a
significant opponent who claimed that the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty had
“split Ireland from top to bottom” (Brugha). Fellow opponent Stack
(1922)
1. Long-term Divisions in Sinn Fein
2. Divisions in Sinn Fein over the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty
3. Split in the Irish Republican Army (IRA)
4. Failure of Constitutional Solutions
5. General Atmosphere of Political Violence
Long-term Divisions in Sinn Fein
● After the 1916 Easter Rising, Sinn Fein became an “umbrella
organisation” (Lyons) because the British mistakenly labelled the
rebellion as “The Sinn Fein Rising”, attracting a wide range of ideologies
to the movement.
● For example, Griffith (the founder of Sinn Fein) was a constitutional
monarchist. Contrastingly, De Valera (President of Sinn Fein from 1917)
was a radical republican prepared to fight a war to achieve Irish
independence. The conflicting attitudes within Sinn Fein created a
tension which would erupt into civil war in 1922.
● De Valera attempted to hold Sinn Fein together, such as with the 1917
Mansion House Conference and the 1917 Ard Fheis. At the Ard Fheis,
De Valera prevented a split between the republican and non-republican
factions in the party. He encouraged the party to focus on the December
1918 election, saying “Get this done and we will agree to differ
afterwards”. De Valera also attempted to prevent conflict by creating a
purposefully vague constitution in 1917. To retain the support of
moderates, De Valera assured “We are not doctrinaire nationalists”.
However, this simply covered the issues of the time, and it was only a
matter of time before Sinn Fein fell apart.
, ● The first shots of the Anglo-Irish War were fired on 21st January 1921,
the same day that the Dail was first established. This shows a growing
impatience with the political process, making civil war seem more likely.
Divisions in Sinn Fein over the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty
● Sinn Fein failed to achieve an Irish republic or De Valera’s proposal of
“external association” with the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty. Instead, Ireland
had dominion status within the British Commonwealth. This would prove
particularly controversial.
● Generally, the Treaty was well-received. The public supported the
peace agreement after living through war since 1914. The Catholic
Church also supported the deal, and most of the Irish Republican Army
(IRA) and Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) supported the Treaty
because it was endorsed by Collins. For example, whilst Collins was a
republican, he believed that the Treaty offered “not the ultimate freedom
that all nations aspire and develop to, but the freedom to achieve it”
(Collins).
● However, the Treaty also faced significant backlash within Sinn Fein. It’s
important to note that the Treaty did not so much split the country as it
split the minority of the political elite. However, these divisions were still
significant. For example, De Valera condemned the Treaty as “an act of
disloyalty”. This reflected the view held by many opponents of the
Treaty: that it was a betrayal of the martyrs of the 1916 Easter Rising
and Proclamation of the Republic. De Valera publicly announced on 6th
December 1921 that he could not support the Treaty, and his “enormous
prestige” (Rees) granted substantial legitimacy to the anti-Treaty forces.
De Valera also resigned from his position as President, indicating that
this conflict would not be confined to the Dail. Brugha was also a
significant opponent who claimed that the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty had
“split Ireland from top to bottom” (Brugha). Fellow opponent Stack
