Irish history Synopsis: The Free State 1923-1932

Irish History Synopsis: the Free State 1923-1932

With the demise of the War of Independance 1st Dial under Griffith's Sinn Fein on May 10 1921 it voted its powers to be transfered to its President than Eamon de Valera who had been voted to the job with he resignation of Cathal Brugha on April 1 1919.
It was decided that the President would distribute the powers when a new government was formed.

A 2nd Dial was formed under the Better Government of Ireland Act of 1921 whereby the country was partitioned into two political jurisdictions known formerly as the Free State[Soarstat] covering the 26 southern counties and Norhtern Ireland coveing 6 of the original counties of the province of Ulster.

This parliament sat in the Free State capital Dublin from August 16 1921 till June 8 1922 when it was ajourned and was subsequently prorouged by a force of 15 prominent pro treaty officials including Collins, Cosgrave, Griffith, Blythe and others who formed the 3rd Dail which sat from Sept 9 1922 to Aug 9 1923 with blindrs on considering none of the great disruptive chaotic forces and conditions before Ireland and Her people.
Discussing instedd various petty economic measures in country rural areas.
The country was virtually under Free Staate Army martial law and in an anarchistic state.
Over 18,000 anti treaty stong personel were interened as the IRA Irregulars disputed with the pro treaty IRA Free State forces.
None of the issues of partition under Lloyd George's Better Government of Ireland Act or the insuing bitter division and cruel Civil War that division enjoined,including the violent deaths of many Irish leaders nor the abuses of minority factions without a country in the 6 north eastern counties.

A general election was held in 1922 under a pact between Collins and deValera to try and create a unity government. This election produced a Free State government in the south with P T Cosgrave as Presidnet of the Executive Council [PM] giving him the ability to form a government which he sucessfully did forming the 4th Dial.

A strong conservative Cabinate was formed with Kevin O Higgins, his lieutenant ,as Taniste [Vice Presidient] and Mininster of Home Affairs.
Mininster Patrick Hogan of Clare Agriculture,
Mulcahy Mininster of Defence and Blythe as Mininster of Finance, all conservative military officers and free trade lassez faire believers.

The condition throughout Ireland at the convenining of the 4th Dial and ligitimatly elected PM ,TP Cosgrave ,began its reign by interning most of the anti treaty strong opponents and imposing through legislative acts, harsh public saftey measures.
The Taioseach was given emergency powers to this effect.

The anti treaty forces were instructed to dump arms in late 1923 by the Chief of Staff Frank Aiken as the Iregular IRA Chief Eamon de Valera and their executive council had determined not to physically contest the election of Cumman na n Gaelheal.
This restored a semblance of peace in the country. However the Free State continued to hold over 12,000 men in internment camps.

In May of 1923 agrarian workers revolted in the west against a governemnt mandated wage reduction distroying crops, spiking cattle meadows and ambushing Free State troops on the roads.

In October 23 Noel Lammas brother of Liam was killed.

De Valera who had been arrested shortly after the 1922 Pact elections was released from internment in July 1924.

The rest of the internees were released in segments over a two year period.

One of the first acts of the new Free State governemnt were to begin sugar beet production in programs and apply standards to all butter and egg production.
The govenrment also demanded the cremeries be clean and standardised for milk products and provided subsidies to assist these projects to help the rural economys recover.
These programs were done under the able leadership of Pat Hogan Mininster of Agricluture.

A Butter Standards Act was passed in 1924 along with a Land Purchase Act helping farmers purchase farm land and developing farm credit.
A Egg Act was passed in 1925 standardising all egg exports for test grade and preservation.
All egg producing premisis were standardised for cleanliness and standard grades were regularly inspected and registered.
Fines were imposed for violations ,10 lbs for first offence, 20 lbs for second and prison for 6 months for further offences or negligence.
A Dairy Production Act was passed in 1924 requiring registry and packaging standards for all butter and milk products.
A Bull Act was passed requiring licencing and inspection of all bulls for their suitablity for breeding. some 18,000 bulls were inspected with 4000 being regected as undesirable sire.
This act applied to pigs horses and rams as well.

Much of agricultural production had ceased during the two wars period from 1919 to 1923.
If Irish farm families had suceeded in remaining on the land there rate of procution was primative at best.
Turf was still dug with a spade, laborors for hire roamed the roads with their spade, cycle , scythe and flail.
Grain was still beaten in a stone quern or bron.
Hiring fairs were still used to seek help or employment for the season from May to November.
The roads were frequently impassalbe and bridges blown up by the conflicting armies. However few cars existed and tansport was mostly by cart and donkey or sledge.

Women still carried bundles on their heads in the asian or african mode.

Housing was particlularly bad.
Most cabins having three rooms containing a central kitchen with open hearth, one bedroom and a sacrosaant parlor.
A More prosperous farmer might live in a one story cottage with thatched roof and containing loft bedrooms.
The farm fertility rate was high families often having 7 to 10 children in these small shelters and extended relatives or old persons, grandparents and great aunts and uncles to old to funtion by themselves.

In these rural clachans folk legend and folk fests still prevailed.Seanachais still operated in the communities telling balllad legends and local saints days were still observed.

These cottages contained usually a dresser in the kitchen area for china pieces, a milk churn which was carefully passed down from generation to generation, settle beds put up in the day and laid out by the warm hearth a night.
Wicker work baskets were wtill used for storage and usuallly made at the homestead. Ropes were still twisted from bogwood, horse hair,straw or rushes.
Rush lites were still used in many of these dwelling and life stock brought into the cabin for protection at night.

Usually the floor was simply packed clay a status symbol being a laid flagsone floor beyond the hearth.
So the Irish lived from day to day in 1923 having , if lucky ,a few sheep or a cow, a few hens for eggs and perhaps a patch of potato.

In these stagnant curcumstances the towns being no better being usually a one street affair consisting of an upper living quarters and a shop on the sreet. There were no sidewalks.
Some planned 18 century towns laid out by a demesne lords had a town square and some of the capital towns had a Court House.
These larger twons also usually contained a workhouse, a market, a national school , hospital, a military barracks and churches representing the local denomination, prodistant or catholic.

The smaller towns were usually about 10 miles apart- a distance which could be traversed by cart in a day- usually containing around 3000 persons.
The county towns were approximatly 30 miles apart from each other and containing around 10,000 persons.Dublin, Derry, Drogehda, Cork and Galway were usually a 60 miles apart.
However by 1923 all were economically stagnant and dilapidated by loss of a vibrant trade economy and displacement.
Dublin contained slums equitalbe to those of todays Mexico city cardboard dwellings rampant with raw sweage, desease, dispair and hunger.

Most of the 1920's towns were anglised the population speaking and thinking in English, wearing English dress and applying English law.
The Cosgrave govenment set out to change all that.

In 1923 the old English Poor Law was abolished replacing the massive central controlled workhouse system with county Boards of Health plans replacing poor persons need to go to the workhouse for in house relief with home assistance and home relief payments.
The old were immidiately affected in that they could now reamin in their homes rather than go to the work house or county home.

Relief was paid directly to parents allowing children to reamin in thir homes rather than being placed in foster care.
The program was funded with 1,700 million in Irish script.

A farm subsidy program was put through with the higly competent Minister of Agriculture Pat Hogan making grants to farms to retrieve their self sufficency.

An education reform was implimented making education compulsory till age 16 and revamping the primary schools by coordinating the curriculum making history and geography of Ireland and languages of Ireland compusory for graduation to secondarylevel school.'
A rural science prgram was added along with music and needlework.

The primary schools were previously in the vice like control of denominations but the government grant now made them free and nominally secular in curriculum.
The secondary schools were not free and threfore open only to students whose family had money to send them there.

In September 1923 the Soar State applied for admissin to the League of Nations at Geneva and established Consulates in Washington DC ,Paris, Berlin, Brussels and London and began issuing passports and visas.

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At this time the Lacarno Treaty was argued and it was accepted that Commonwealth Nations were not obliged to go to war if Great Britain did.
This doctrine was abily argued on behalf of the Free State by O Higgins.

In 1923 the Imperial Conference was held in which co equality of Dominions was firmly established.

The Irish Delegation of Mr O Higgins, Mr Fitzgerald took an active role in the Conference ,which was not expected by the more suave members of the Empire.

The Prime Mininsters of other countries such as New Zeland arrived in sleek cars with their nations flags flying in the breeze, than posing for the enmassed press for photographs.

Indian delagates arrived with turbans and silk frocks accompainied by footmen and chauffers.

The crowd pressed in to see the Irish Delegations first visit to Downing St since the Treaty signing.

Eventually two old taxis arrived at the Prime Mininster's door. Unknown figures in soft hats or bowler hats hurried into the house refusing to be photographed.
They were cheered when the crowd became aware of who they were.

General Smuts of South Africa, the Conference Chair, greeted them warmly and greeted them in his opening speech.

Kevin O Higgins became an able and accepted star and co equal among equals.

The Boundry Commission, which was founded by Article 7 of the 1921 Anglo Irish Treaty, was to consist of 3 representatives, 1 for the Free State, 1 for the North and a chair for Great Britain.
Judge Feetham from South Africa was appointed by the British government as their representative. Eoin O Neill for the Free Stat. But the north refused to appoint one for themselves.
The British thereupon appointed a representative for them ,RJ Fisher a staunch Unionist and Orangeman, Editor of the Northern Whig.

In March 1924 the Army Mutiny arose in the Free State Army when officers refused to accept the government demobilization and decommissioning in the army until the government created a Republic.
The government had mandated demobilization of 1900 officers by March 7 '24 and reducing the troop streanth from 55,000 men to 18,000.

The Army on behalf of the IRA pro treaty forces sent an ultimatum to the Dial advising they could not continue to accept the Treaty without the creation of a Republic citing their slain leader Michael Collins commitment to a Republic.
They advised the Saorstat government that they had concluded the government had no such intention to secure complete independance or a Republican form of government for the nation.
They demanded a conference rgarding demobilization and the removal of the Army Council demanding a responce by 10 March 1924.
Signed by Liam Tobin Major General and president of the Army Executive Council.

The government provided a conference appointing the chief of the new Guarda police, Eoin Duffy as negociator.

At the inquiry an agreement was reached to replace the Army Council. ASU men were to be given jobs. No reprisals or victimization was to occur to men who had rebelled or deserted.
However on March 16 a pub called Devlins was surrouned by government troops.
Within were a group of prominent mutiners.
Ten of them were arrested by the Cosgrave government with McGrath of the Dial as go between.
The prime leaders however were not found as the government had hoped, several of them having been members of Collins 'Squad'.
Of the outcome the Mininster of Defence Mulcahy resigned.
All told 2 Ministers and 8 Deputies resigned along with the removal of 3 senior Army Council officers.

On March 21 some British soldiers stationed at Spike Island ,a Treaty fort at Cobh, were gunned down Chicago mob style with machine guns by 4 men in Free State uniforms who also killed an 18 year old private in the barrage and wounded 24 civilians.
These were never apprehended.

The favorable outcome of the settlement with the mutiny affair was that the Free State government established itself as civilian control of the IRA and the Army de politized itself to a position of nutrality under control of the existing state where it remains to this day.


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Following closely on the resolution of the dispute over forming a Republic the Free State was presented with the Boundry Commission refusal to ajust the boundry allowing the dissatisfied Irish population of the north to join the Free State as had been stipulated in theTreaty which states:
'the boundry should align in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants.'
At this time this would have included Tyrone, Fernmanagh, 2/3s of Down, Armagh and Derry Irish/Catholic areas.

James Craig, North Irish PM stated emphatically that he was ready to fight as in 1914 'to fight in the open against our enemies who would take away the loved soil of Ulster from any of the loyalists who wanted to remain there.'

A border agreeement was signed by the Baldwin government, by his CAbinate Lords Churchhill, Hicks Amery, and Birkenhead.
Cosgrave , O Higgins and Blyte signed for the Free State
Craig and Blackhouse for North Irleand.
This agreement set the borders as it remains today the open wound of Ireland on an island festering.

The Agreement also provided the Free State should be required to contribute to the UK public debt and to pay pensions to the old RIC.

The anti treaty forces were livid and considered the Agreement a betrayal.
De Valera recorded himself againt the Agreement stating it was 'enshrining partition of our country'.
Cosgrave stated the bitterness between the forces must be allowed to subside over partition and the Civil War before reunion could be discussed.
Cosgrave and Higgins refused to discuss reunification as to much suspition and mistrust existed as well as no stability in the Free State as yet.

Since the inception of the North Iriish State in 1921 the Irish erupted in sporatic violence and were repressed with extreme supression and reprisals.
Belfast was particularly prone o internicene street warfare which often resulted in the death of persons of rival religious sects.The religious deliniation gave to the Irish/Nationalist were catholics and th Loyalist/Unionists prodistant.

The now North Irish government under Craig createda military style police the RUC with the B specials and also a Ulster Defence Regiment all prodistant.
The government also passed supressive legislation in Special Powers Acts to repress the natives within the State.

Trade ws curtailed by the customs border duties adn the linen trade suffered creating hardship and unemployment.
Housing was deplorable among the working poor both nationalist and unionist.

Education of both nationalist and unionists young was completely controlled by the church groups.
Emigration continued to be the main means of earning a living and families were distroyed by it- often losing communication for years or forever.

The US held out a shinning light beneith her statue of Liberty.
In America the Roaring twenties were at hand. probition[the Volstead Act] had created bootlegging and smuggling trades.

While Cosgrave's government tried to curtail women by creating legilation prohibiting them to serve on Jurys or teach school the American 'Flapper' rolled away all tabus.

The Jazz Age flapper danced, drank, smoked, wore make up, cut her hair and 'petted'.
replacing the Gay 90's Gibson Girl immage of women.

They had been the work force during WW I when a whole generation had died as cannon fodder to the Imperialist Cause.

Women in America recieved the Vote with the 19th Amendment of 1920 and used it. They were femininst and 'new women'.
They wore no corsets, lightened their hair, wore dresses with waist at the hip and wore silk stockings.

Speakeasys were 'the thing' run by the Mob and such gangsters as Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Owney Madden of Liverpool birth.
There hit men such as Mad Dog Coll a catholic Irish reform school pruduct who was hit by the Mob because of killing 5 kids in a drive by shootingand being dubbed the 'Baby Killer'
A contract for 25,000 was put out by Dutch Schults and Madden and Mad Dog was shot in a phone booth on Febrauary 23, 1932 while talking to Madden, a personal friend of Lucky Lucinao .

The Irish Americans by than were generally economically sucessful and politically connected creating such machines as Tammany Hall in NY and the Chicago Daley machine with men like Ed Flyn boss of the Bronx and McManus family in Manhattan Hells Kitchen.
F Scott Fitgeral a decendant of Francis Scott Key wou wrote the Star Spangled Banner and a child of Mary McQuillan and Ed Fitgerald of Maryland wrote the period novel The Great Gatsby in 1925 ,This side of paradise in 1920 ,and Tender is the Night in 1934
Walt Disney and Helen Hayes were beginning their careers.

Eugene O Neill wrote Beyond the Horizon and Anna Christe. Both plays recived rage reviews from a thriving bright lights Broadway of the Zigfield Follies and other graeat plays and stars,

The motor car was taking over America. Its alabaster cities were prosperous and thriving.
The farm communites, as in Ireland were depressed and beset with falling prices from the lassez faire free trade policies of the Republican Adninistration.

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During this period although there was much travl betwen the new and old world the sucessful Irish went to Paris or Berlin not the slums of Dublin or the old sod cabin. Connections were lost, brother and sister lost contact, children were born and old grandparents died never knowing one another.
Political connections maintained since the Famine and Land League days were lost as old leaders died and no new ones came to replace them.
The Church was a very powerful influence in American Irish life where parish and precint life gave a sence of place, security and success.

Most of the gangland bosses were strong backers of the local parish Church/School complex.

One of the most famous criminal gang massacres was provoked when George'Bugs' Moran, an Irish Catholic boss of the north side refused to allow his territory to harbor whore houses of
Capone's flesh peddlers.
This led Bugs men to machine gun the Hawthorne Inn in Cicero, a Chicago suburb with 1000 rounds killing Capones lieutenant ,Johnie Torrio ,on February 14, 1929, the famous St Valentines Day Massacre.
Bugs was not present he 'overslept' and lived for 30 years more dying of cancer in Levenworth Kansas prison forgotten and poor.

Deanie O Banion of north Chicago was killed in 1924 being, in addition to being a street punk, a chior boy at Holy Name parish. He started out as a singer in various dives, graduated to a street mugger, robber , bootlegger and fixer.
He refused to cooperate with Capone and was gunned down in his florist shop across the street from his Church by hit men from New York.

The Irish having been regected on arrival in America took what they wanted and then, through the dispair of the home country sent thier legal and ill gotten gains home to support and keep alive family and organizations trying to survive in a hostile environment in addition to supporting their church and family in America.

By 1925 the Free State had gained control of the often violent and distructive disruptions burdening the nation in the south.

In 1923 the tax deficit in the FreeState was 1,750 million. By 1925 this deficit was reduced to 950,000 and the FreeState was able to borrow money albeit to develope the Shannon scheme as a State Corporation.

Inniciated by an engineer, Dr T A McLauglin ,who returned from his Berlin job with Siemens and Schuchert to harnass the Shannon for electricity production.

Some counties had no electricity at all.
Such electric power that existed came from private generating stations.
Opposition to the plan presented to the Dial by experts from Sweden, Norway and Switzerland were cost of 5 million for a new fangled idea, that the scheme was german plot, and that Ireland could never use so much electrcity.
The project however, was approved and took 4 years to construct marked by a strike and IRS interference.

4000 men were employed.
The Electricicity Supply Board became law in 1927 and electricity began to flow on October 29 1929 [Black Tuesday}

In 1925 the Abby Theater was given a government subsidy but in 1926 a Censorship Board was created to repress writing of controversial morality.

In addition to Land Purchase Act and Local Government Act, the Dial passed a Coinage Act, A Currency Bill ,and created the idea of a national museum and art gallery hosting such national treasures as the Ardah Chalice.







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Standards were set for all exports. Irish butter and eggs, Irish milk products.
Creameries were put under state control and standards for cleanliness were set by the government with inspections.

The fishing industry and salmon production were standardized and controlled.

Secondary school reform began in 1926 with a state subsidy overriding both the church controlled curiculum and the priveleged only useage.

A general education was offered consisting of English or Irish, Math, History, Georgraphy , Science and Latin or Greek with a leaving Cetificate granted after 4 years on a standardized test.
Formerly schools were granted aid on anual exam results for the individual school making students good at passing exams a priority over general learning.
[this is the same consept behind no child left behind now prevelant in US schools]

The grants of the Free State government were now distributed equally to all schools giving them a regular income not dependant on competitive test results.
Scholarships replaced te 40 pound exams to enter secondary schools.

Religious monopoly of secondary schools was broken by state payment for teachers and requiring teachers to be registered with choice of non sectarian non religious posts.
The State established a seniority program for teachers and because the state paid a higher wage than the churches many good teachers enterd the system as state registered teachers.

Sinn Fein and British Courts were abolished and a two tier Irish Court consisting of District Court and a Superior Court was estblished.

Local government Acts were passed giving over central control of lunatic asylums, reformatories, industrial schools, roads and bridges.

Old Rural District councils were abolished in 1925.

A Mininster and Secretaries Act was passed in 1924.

The Dial finally took on the Dublin Corporation with a Greater Dublin Commission Inquiry.
Appointing 4 young Commissioners for 3 years.
These young men rid the city of its corrupt patronage local authorities and its dirty streets and vast slums which were owned by elected corporation members with a profit motive.

The new Commissioners reduced rates
put wages to sliding scale in accordance with needs of the workers
reduced paper waste and sick pay to city employees
reduced department size
and made money renting out the Mansion House for public funtions and giving leases from the city.
The Irish Auto Club was installed in the old Mansion House stable and yard.
Useless propertys such as the Clontarf Town Hall were sold
grafetti was erased and dirt was cleaned from the streets that had acumulated for 100 years.
A French company from Paris brought in to clean the streets.

Grants were made for road repair and the unemployed were set to work on them before the American CCC was even thought of.
Unemployment benefit was paid this way rather than a direct benefit.
The roads were repaved with a new asphalt replacing cobblestone and water macadam.

This was done through contractors with equipment rather than dirctly hiring the workers.
The contract was given by the government and the contractor hired the workers.

In 1924 the poor were huddled in tenements made out of former Georgian mansions of 18 century lords all with oak panneling and ceilings.
They had been condemed but were still lived in as there was nothing else.
Croyden Park of 90 acres was purchased by the government to build houses as in Drumcondra.
Housing Acts had been passed in 1924, 1925 and 1926 making funds availabe for subsidised housing and to the Building Societys to encourage private construction.

The grand canal was repaired
markets rebuilt
Tech education developed

All this was done in Dublin in 10 months by the new young Commisssioners.

These reforms were imitated in Cork and in rural Ireland as well.

A 1923 Bill created an unarmed Free States police force called the Garda Sionchana.

Along with these progressive acts the FS government maintained a repressive Public Saftey Act and emergency Executive powers.

On July 10 1927 Kevin O Higgins was shot on the way to Church which threw the country into into a more repressive mode.
A new Public Safty Bill from the 6th Dial than sitting gave the power to raid homes to Cosgrave for 5 years.
The Executive could desolve an association advocating violence or holding unlawful meetings.
Membership became a criminal offence,
or having documents relating to these organizations was declared a criminal offence and implied membership.
Persons educated to violence under 16 years of age were to be detained for one year.
Parents were to be held responsible for the chilrens violence.
PUblishing of association offencive material was unlawful and printers were to be held liable, forfieting printing equipment.
Newspapers and periodicals were suppressed on a court order.
No importation of'dangerous' newspapers from abroad were allowed.
'Dangerous' persons were to be expelled.
Detention pending an investigation was made legal.
Refusing to reconize Court was a crime.
The Treasonable Offences Act and the Public Saftey Act violation made a party ineligibe for employment anywhere- not just by government- or receipt of a pension.
The death penalty was approved for treason, a murder or unlawful possession of a fire arm.

A special Court was convened


In addition to these added repressive acts of 1927.







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Fianna Fail under de Valera was forced by these measures to enter the Dial in 1927.

Ireland was economically struck again by the Great Depression of October 29 1929.
With agricultural products piling up exports fell by half.
Butter, Bacon and Egg prices fell.
The price of sheep plunged. Cattle prices dropped. 117 factories closed.

21,000 were unemployed in April 1929
31,000 by April 1932.

The Free Stae government applied more emergency measures.
Pay reductions for police and teachers were ordered.
Hostility exited against Free State government and intensified when the government proscuted the Irish Press of Fianna Fail for publishing police complaints.
The case was tried by a military tribunal.
A vote of no confidence was issued by the Dial which desolved and called for an election.

An election date was set for 16 February 1932 because that year was also the anniversary of St Patricks coming to Ireland 1500 years previously and the Eucharistic Congress were to be cleebrated in June 1932.

Fiana Fail won the election over the Cummann na n Gaelheal, 72 seats to 57.

On March 9 deVAlera with labour support founded a government and was elected President of the Executive Council by the 7th Dial.

He took the department of External Affairs as his.
T O Kelly became Taniste and Mininster for Local government.
Frank Aikin ,later an ambassador to the UN, took the Defence portfolio.
James Geoghegan Mininster of Justice
Sean Lemass Industry and Commerce.

As such the Free State passed into the control of the Ireglular anti partition personnel and the De Valera Era began in Ireland to last through 1948.



* the Irish Oireachtas was formed by the Free State Constitution into two bodies the Dial and the Seanad the first being the body creating the countrys legislation and appropriating funds, and the second being a body of advise and consent having limited powers.
The Seanad was fixed at 60 members. 30 were nominated by the Executive Council and 30 elected by the Dial members. These Senators were chosen for their already honored positions of respect in the country and had achieved success and respect in fields of society.
The Seanad could suggest Bills and inniciate bills but the Dial retained the power to vote on them. The Seanad members were elected for 3 years on a staggered system 1/4 at a time.




Judi Donnelly
Copyright September 12 2007


sourses: Ireland Since the Rising ,Tim P Coogan Fredrick PraegerPblsr , 1966
The Irish Free State, Denis Gwynn, MacMillan and Co Ltd, 1928
The Irish in America, Michael Coffey ,Terry Golway,Hyperion, 1997
Internet: Republic of Ireland Offical Website 2000