Irish History Synopsis: The War Years 1917-1923

Irish History Synopsis: The War Years

By 1917 Sinn Fein as a political party had recoverd enough to run a candidate ,George Plunkett , father of the rebel Joseph Plunkett, for the vacant seat for Rosscommon on the death of the Fenian incumbant James Kelly .George had been one of the internees being arrested for being the father of his rebel son. He was not in good health.
Count George won the election which had backing from both Michael Collins physical force malitia and Grifiths more pacific political resistance and separate Parliament under the Crown.

A Soldiers Song became a popular ballad at these election rallies.
In May of 1917 Joe McGuiness won a seat in Commons.
Collins and Griffith worked together again to arrive at political victory.

An Amnesty was issued in June 1917 releasing the remaining Easter Rebellion prisoners and sent home among these Eamon de Valera, who unlike Collins 6 months previously was welcomed and had no trouble finding people to shake his hand.
On July 11, 1917 he was elected to Parliament for County Clare with Sinn Fein support and a defeat for the former Parliamentary Pary under Redmond who had fought so willingly for the British cause in WW I.

Eamon than 35 and father of 4, having married Seanad Flanagan who had been his Gaelic Irish teacher, was elected President of the Irish Volunteers who had returned after the incarceration of their leader Eoin O Neill.
This created a unification between the physical force nationalist and the political agitation represented by Sinn Fein.

Eamon had earned his bacheoors degree in mathamatics from Blackrock College and set out as a teacher.
He participated in the Howth gun collectiona and the Rising Commanding a contingenet at Bolands Mills.
He was a tall austere Catholic and had been reprived of death to criminal imprisonment during the dark days of exemplary executions folling the Rising.

The war in Europe drug on and at last in April 1918 conscription stalked the doors of Ireland.
Lloyd Goerge submitting the implimentation of another Home Rule Bill for its acceptance, but a diluted form not being the already passed Bill of 1914 with its Bill of Suspention.

This proposed Bill limited the Irish Parliament's control of domestic affairs, taxing, police, post office and so forth. It reserved 40% of the seats for Unionists.
Lloyd Goerge submitted his new proposal as expected the young men of Ireland when brought to the fighing line would feel they were fighting for a 'principle' abroad denied to them at home, that being the 'principle' of self determination for small nations.

Ireland had at this time already contributed over 100,00 of its precious sons and in 1917 another 14,000 had volunteered.

The Irish Conscription Bill passed the Commons on April 16, 1917.The Irish Parliamentary Party walked out.

HR failed to win popular support and the British government announced a plot that Sinn Fein had conspired with Germany to launch a 2nd rebellion in Ireland.

The German Plot caused the arrest of Eamon de Valera, Arthur Griffieth, Kathleen Clarke,Countess Markievicz and 70 other persons including old Count Plunkett.

The British than tried to convince the Americans of the enormity of this Plot and to connect American Irish sympathisers like Devoy to it.

They had no proof.

Wilson however even though pro Briish declined to participate in the smear fearing backlash from the well established Irish Americans.

On June 18 1918 Arthur Griffith a prisoner in the German Plot was elected to Parliament from Cavan by discusted Irish votors .

At the end of WW I ,at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Sinn Fein leaders were still in custody of internment without trial and unconvicted of any cime or treason.










the war years pg 2


Lloyd George instead of implimenting Home Rule as passed in 1914 by the British Parliament announced that Irleland would continue to be held by military force from theCastle and HR was postphoned indefinately.
The English Parliament was dissolved at Wars end.
A general election was called for December 1918.

Collins with his allies organized a massive campaign to tranform the election to a referendum for Ireland's claim to independance.
The bulk of Sinn Fein leadership still being held in internment were stood for election. 48 of them.
The Party made clear to the electorate that these candidates stood for Ireland's independance.

To Sinn Feins advantageat this election was the new franchise extending the vote to 800,000 women over 30 and the elimination of the property qualification now extending the vote to 2 million over 21 males.

Sinn Fien in addition to the calling for a vote for independence followed a progrrm of economic and social relief for the poor and small farmers thus insuring the vote of these left out peoples.
At election Sinn Fein won 73 of Irelands 105 English Parliamentary seats leaving the Parliamentray Party with just 6 seats from its former 80.

The Sinn Fein candidates were committed to Irish Independance and individual respect in Ireland.
The representatives not in prison, 27 of them, gathered in Dublin Mansion House on January 21 1919 and Declared an Irish Parliament to be known as the Dial Eireann.
They than issued a Declaration of Independance and declared the nation a soveriegn state.
These rights extending to all its men and women and all its natural possesssions.
It called for the evacuation of English forces from Ireland.

On this same day three Volunteer force men Breen, Treacy and Hogan attacked 2 constables McDonnell and O Connell both catholics wearing the police unifrom of the Royal Irish Contabulary who were transporting gelignite explosive to a quarry at Solenhead inTipperary.
Thus begain the War of Independence.




On January 17, 1919 the military authority for Ireland had telegraphed the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Sir Henry Wilson requesting tanks machine guns and ammunition to put down thepeaceful opending take over by the newly elected Sinn Fein .

On January 20 1919 the Paris Peace Conference opened at Versailles Palace.
SinnFein hoped to be invited to this conference to achieve self determination and recognition for Ireland.
Sean O Kelly was sent toi Paris to try and achieve these ends.
Kelly worked hard from his Grand Hotel suite to obtain a hearing from the Peace Conference ,all to no avail ,even with mobilization efforts from Americas 25,000 Irish by Pat McCartain.

Kelly even applied directly to President Woodrow Wilson but was not recieved.

On 22 Febrary 1919 an Irish Race Council held at Philadelphia demanded 'Irish Freedom' and the US House of Representatatives passed a Resolution asking the Paris Peace Conference to consider Irelands petition for self determination.

The conference in the end sided with the Lloyd George/Unionist party and considered Ireland an internal British affair, the same position taken in the occupation of Ulster from 1969 to 2004.

Wilson did not want a break with its ally Great Britain and would not countenance diplomacy to achieve either recongnition or self determination status for Ireland.

pg 3 war years


When the 1919 Dial took office 1/2 of the delegates were in English jails off the island, including deValera Where they were elected to the respecitive positions by the Dial members who were still free and conviened at the Mansion House in Dublin by the elusive Michael Collins and his lieutenant Harry Boland with Cathal Bruga.
Arthur Griffith Mininster of Home Affairs; Count Plunkett, Mininster of Foreign Affairs; John Mac Neill to Industry; Cathal Bruga to Defence; Countess Markievicz Mininster of Labor ;William Cosgrave Mininster of Local Government and Michael Collins Mininster of Finance.

Michael also at about this time became President of the secret IRB [Irish Republican Brotherhood] and was on the military counsil of the Irish Volunteers as organizer.
Cathal Brugha then being Chief of Staff to the Irish Volunteers, his position was filled by Richard Mulcahy when Cathal became a mininster of the government.

Most of the Dial representatives, in addition to being Sinn Fein politically elected representatives, were also members of the Irish Volunteers and the secret IRB.
A state of War was declared by the Dial as the British Army occupied the whole of Ireland in 1919.

Cathal Brugha issued a directive to the Irish Volunteers through their An t Oglach[ The Soldier] a secret journal authorizing the Volunteers to kill enemys of the state as represented by the Dial Eireann.
Identifying these enemys of the state as British soldiers and policemen of the British governemnt civil structure in Ireland.
Neither Dial Eireann nor Sinn Fein issued cooberating statemenets upholding the moral and legal authority designated to the Army of Ireland forces.

To augment its demand for release of the German Plot prisoners ,over half the elected representatives of the Dial Government, Sinn Fein in early 1919 banned hunting in Ireland.This arroused ire among local folk who did not abide with the decree.

Britain continued to ignore the elected body and its demands for self determination or to relaese even those prisoners elected to office in the general election of 1918.

Collins and Boland went to England and 'sprung' de Valera from Lincoln jail by having him make a key, with impressions of candle wax , to the inner prison doors which he was able to obtain as a devote catholic by helping the prison chaplan say Mass within the prison.

On the 4th try a key was sent in which worked.

They than spirited 'Dev' away in a motor car to safe house in England.
Shortly after this dramatic escape the British governement released all the German Plot prisoneers.

They took their places in the new Irish governement by April 1919.

DeValera left for the US in an attempt to win recognition for the still unrecognised Free State governement and to acquire American money.
He was helped by Collins and stowed away on ship bound for NY, Manhattan where he arrived on June 11, 1919.
He visited his remarried American mother in Rochester NY and than was wisked away in a motorcade to the Waldof Astoria Hotel where he addressed reporters with his Irish cause and attended a reception where he met John Devoy who declared him as best leader Ireland has had in a century.

He spent the next 18 months in NY not returning to Ireland till December 1920.
During this time he argued with established American Irish leaders over revolutionary matters with great factionalism in the American ideas.

In the end John Devoy was ousted as leader after 5 decades of revolutionary ajutation.

Neither of the Presidential candidates of 1920 would commit a statement to the idea of Ireland self determination or its Republic.
Nor would the Democratic Party platform include a Resolution favorable to Irish ideals.

pg 4 war years

Meanwhile in Ireland Michael Collins prepared for physical force resistance for the Volunteers became in addition to Finance Minister, Director of Intelligence.
As part of the Supreme Council of the IRB ,which considered itself the government of Ireland in accordance with its Constitution .

The Volunteers of about 5000 strong were carrying out systematic attacks on the Royal IrishConstabulary throughout 1919.
Collins targeted detectives with his control of intelligence agents eventually forming a group known as 'The Squad' which penetrated the British police, military and theCastle with its own spys.

These targeted British intelligence personnel were killed one by one usually in their own homes as they left church or other frequents. They were targeted and killed for waht they knew.

Collins by de Valera's absence was both military and political leader of the Irish rebellion as well as, being chief organizer of the Irish Volunteers and President of the IRB, four vital posts or leadership.

In September 1919, after an attack by the Cork Brigade on stationed Brisish troops, the British authorities at the Castle suppressed the Dial, SinnFein, Cumman na mBan.

Military rule was stepped up with regular raids of homes by soldiers, 20,000 between September 1919 and March 1920. This involved closing of fairs, markets, road checks, traffic delays and pat down searches.The military search patterns repeated itself throughout 1919-1920 and again in Ulster from 1970-1994.

Some 4000 Irish were arrested and taken to British prisons.
Soldiers with fixed bayonets patroled the streets of Dublin

.Lloyd Goerge in England included a 4th or 5th Home Rule Bill ,setting up two separate Parliaments in Ireland, one in Dublin for the 26 counties and a separate one in Belfast controlling the 6 counties of Ulsters 9 counties.
This Bill called the Better Government of Ireland bill of 1920.

The Bill was critizised as war like and divisive by the Irish
prodistant asendancy voice ,the Irish Times

Attacks were stepped up against the Castle forces by the Volunteers which brought out retalaliation to the Irish civilain populatio who were viewed as conspirators to the rebels and their support base.

The rebel forces had no uniforms but where known as the IRA.
TheBritish government did not recognize them as distint from the civil populations.


pg 5 war years


In July 1920, due to increasing attacks on RIC barracks of by the guerilla forces and believing the civilian population supported these rebels, the British government organized , in addition to its already large regular Army presence in Ireland ,a force ofAuxiliaries which were formed of veterans from WW I.
These forces were sent into Ireland and were ruthless in the suppression of both civil and Volunteer Irish people causing mayhem and mockery within the country.
At one point burining down an entire Cork town.

The British government considered the Irish Volunteers, and indeed the Irish People ,as criminals and their resistance as criminal offences.
The Auxiliaries to the RIC concluded that the Guerrillas could not operate without the support of the citizens and retaliated against these citizens by murding and torturing them and by distroying homes and economic resourses.
Famlies were so afraid of Tan raids they often went into the fields to sleep at night fearing torture ,or summary execution on the spot by these mauraders.

In June 1920 the famous Flying Columns struck regularly at contingents of British troops and police Barracks, of which there were over 2000 in Ireland.Capturing arms and killing as many as could not escape.
These columns were critisized by local citizens as late sleepers, hanging around the pub and eating local food.
They were usually roaming bands of men 'on the run' from police , provincial ,with full time training camps in the mountains.
A major operative need of all the Irish forces was that of obtaining weopons.
Some of these were captured from the barrack raids and some were supplied to them by British soldiers willing to suppliment their low pay by selling their weopons to the Irish.

These Active Service units of about 35 men were organized into an offensive weapon against both the regular RIC and the terrorist Black and Tan mobile Auxiliaries numbering over 10,000 men.

Although the entire IRA force numbered around 112,000 strong, the Columns were no more than 3000 personnel on active service at one time.
The raids against government forces was indiscriminate where as many native Irish wearing a British police or military uniform or serving a British establisment were killedas the occupying forces. They represntated the occupation.

Between 1919 and the signing of a truce in July 1921 over 150 systematic, well orchestrated attacks were carried out all over Ireland by these Active Service Units indicating a planned ,objective oriented operation to rid Ireland of British civil and military control.
The attacks being orchestrated by the central command structure under Collins and Mulcahy. [Cronology of Irish War for Independance: Wikipedia]

After the July 1921 truce ,attacks continued until the signing of the Anglo Irish Treaty in December 1921, along with serious rioting in Belfast after and before King George V opened the partition Parliament there on June 22 1921.
The Beter Governemnt of Ireland Act having been given the Royal Assent on December 23, 1920.
The attacks continued systematically by IRA Active Service units in both north [now separate]and south[ the 26 counties] throughout 1922.

After the truce was declared there were 50 attacks during the 6 monthsbefore the Treaty ws signed.
The attacks subsided in the 6 counties with the outbrak of Civil War in Dublin between the anti treaty forces of the IRA and the pro treaty forces of the IRA.

In early May 1922 my grandfather, a small farmer , stood on a lonley dock watching 2 of his daughters one 16 and one 10 being sent to the US to stay with relatives.
He never saw either of them again and out of his 10 children born in Tyrone ,7 of them migrated leaving only 3 at home ,one of whom was shot in 1973 during the 'Troubles'

After the implimentation of the Better Governemnt of Ireland Act partitioning the island ,Michael Collins met with de Valera and the two organized an election platform for a unity government to be elected to the next parliament.
Griffith President of the Free State opposed this election and SinnFein backed the pro treaty side against he anti treaty side.
36 anti treaty seats were taken out of 128 seats.

This split the anti treaty forces againO Connor taking his forces to Dublin to resist and continue war with the British.
The rest remained neutral
.When the O Connor anti treaty forces occupied the Four Courts in Dublin and created a separate administration from the provisional Free State government under Griffith and his protreaty Sinn Fein the British governmetn demanded the Courts be cleared and provided artillery to do so.


On June 22 1922 Sir Henry Wilson was killed and the British government felt the Four Courts holders were responsible.

After a week of steady artillery fire and fighting allied by the pro treaty Free State, the Four Courts surrendered on June 30 1922.

The now so called 'Irregulars' retired under the command of de Valera and Liam Lynch to Cork and Limerick which were captured by Irish Regular Army of the Free State pro treaty force by August.

From July 1 1922 to July 3 1923 fighting continued between pro and anti treaty forces in Dublin and the countyside.

On July 3rd the Free state provisional government authorised a provision for 20,000 men from the pro treaty army to serve for 6 months.



On July 4 ,Frank AikenO/C 4th northern divison of IRA forces declared nutrality calling for an end to the civil fighting.

On July 5 anti treaty men surrendered led by Cathal Brugha.
When he refused to surrender he was shot.

The Four Courts were distroyed after 8 days of fighting.

On July 13 1922 a provisional government war council arrainged with Michael Collins ,Commander inChief and Mulcahy Mininster of Defence in setting up 5 command areas.

Emmet Dalton the Eastern Comand composed of the old 4th and 5th Northern Division and the old 1st and 2nd eastern division of Carlow and WexfordBrigades.

Sean Mac Eoin the WesternCommand, the old 2,3 and 4 Western Divisions and the Midlands.

TP Proust was given charge of the South eastern Divisions Kilkenny, Waterford and south and middle Tipperary.

The south western divison going to O Duffy, Clare Limerick and Cork

J J O Connell the 5th division the Currah old 3rd south division.

TP Cosgave made Chairman of the Provisional govenrment and ,Minister of finance.

On 13 July Frank Boland ,on the run in the mountains of Dublin ,wrote to McGarrity in Philiadelphia that in his belief the provisional government cannot defeat the anti treaty forces even if they garrisoned every town in Ireland.

pg 6 war years


On Auust 10,1922 Griffith died of a stroke.

On August 22 1922 while driving to his native Bealnamblath in Cork Michael Collins auto train was attacked.
He resisted for about 30 minutes but was finally shot in the back of the head by the attackers who got away clean and have never been identified to this day.

In October the Irregular forces were condemned by the Catholic Church.
In October the Dial passed a Public Safety Bill allowing military trials and the death penalty for having a weapon.
Erskine Childers a prodistant Republican was picked up carrying a small pistol given him by Michael Collins as a momento,and was killed for it on November 10 1922.

Four other men were seacretly shot in Dublin within a week of this summary execution by Order of the Provincial Governemt. Later being identified as Liam Mellows, Rory O Connor, Joe McKelvey and Richard Barrett.

The pro treaty army was around 15,000 men strong.

The skirmishes continued with deadly earnest beteen these countrymen often achieving a more war like tenacity than had been shown fighting the British in the War of Independance.

33 summary executions were conducted by the Provincals in January 1923.

On April 10 1923 Liam Lynch died in a shoot out inthe Tipperary mountains refusing to surrender.

Tthe Civl War ended ignomoniously with the Cease Fire Order to the Irregular forces
leaving a residue of bitterness and reprisals for decades .
After a cease fire order was issued to anti treaty troops by Frank Aiken to dump arms and installed by the out of control 'government in exile' ,the anti treaty governed by an Executive Council headed by Eamon de Valera.
The cease fire order and dump arms order were published by Aiken on 24 May 1923 ending the Irish Civil War.

In June 1923 the Provisional government passed a Public Order Bill with powers to inter, seize land and stock.
Arrests and reprisal killings by the Provincial governement under Cosgrave the Chairman ,continued. through August, when de Valera came out of hiding and general election was held.

Cumman n Gaelheal ,Cosgraves party ,won 63 seats Sinn Fein 44.

On September 10 1923 Saorstat Eirean was admitted to the League of Nations.

In October a hunger strike began among the 8000 anti treaty forced interred at Mount joy prison.

In November ,7 pro treaty officers are court marshaled for refusing to sign de mobilization papers until the governmetnt guaranteed Ireland would become a Republic.

Dinny Byrne at Newbride and Andrew Sullivan at Mountjoy die of hunger strike.

On November 23 the strike ends and women prisoners are released but men still kept in interment and only realased in incriments until the summer of 1924.

On December 29 two more anti treaty men were exucuted but a date is in dispute of they were shot in 1922 or 1923.

Records for the Civil War remain skeachy in the public sphere to this day but the resentments and fears and repirsals do not.

The Courts of Justice Act of 1924 abolished both the British and Sinn Fein Republican Courts creating a District And Circuit Criminal Court and High Superior Court.

The Army Mutiny was put down by the Free State in 1924 as the demobilizing continued towards peace time, officers demanding a guarntee that the Republic would be established.
A compromise was reached with these and Eion O Duffy which established the army as a non political servant of theFree State.

The Free State economy was based on large farms , wealthy anglo irish holdings and agriculture.
The Electricity Supply Board was founded.
New jobs were created and free trade upheld again.

The Diplomatic Service was established .
A facimily of peace and order returned to the tense land under PT Cosgrave ,under his Cumman na nGaelhed Party and its Ministers Blythe, Higgins.and Mulcahy which expressed consistancy and a repressive military hand.

The partys major members were prominent business holders, large farmers ,cattle traders and professionals.

It styled itself the Party of law and order.

It did not believe in State programs to assist the poor urban or rural.

This rule prevailed for the next 10 years of Irish history until it was succeded by Fianna Fail and de Valera in the genral election of 1932.

And thus the 7 years of terror and rebellion ended in Ireland calling to silence and rest the banshee cries throughout the land.
Aoihill, Cliodna, Aine, Una, Grian,Eiblinn and perhaps one mssing representing the 7 sons of Oilill Olam of long centures past the common ancestor their moan to be hard no more for 40 years.

Judi Donnelly
Copyright 1 Septembe 2007

sourses: The Green Flag, Robert Kee, Penguin Books 1972
For the Cause of Liberty, Terry golway, Simon and Schuster, 2000
Everything Irish, Ruckenstein and O Malley, Ballantine Books, 2003

Danta Aodhagain ui Rathaille, Translation Rev Patrick S Dinneen, MA, Irish Text Society, 1900,
[Poems Egan Rahilly] Introduction pg liv-lv