Rise of Sinn Fein and First Dail: Ireland 1916-1923 Part 2

Ireland 1916 1923 Part 2.

The Rise of Sinn Fein and the First Dail. You will learn: The Rise of Sinn Fein. The 1918 General Election. The First Dail.

The Rise of Sinn Fein. Sinn Fein's popularity grew after the Rising: They were given the recognition and credit for the Easter Rising in newspapers at the time. Many young people felt the Irish Parliamentary Party was outdated and were drawn to Sinn Fein. People were angered by the executions of the leaders of the Rising. Many were convinced that Home Rule was not enough and so support for the IPP declined. Sinn Fein began to win by-elections in 1917 and 1918. Elections had not been held since the outbreak of war so there had been deaths and retirements in the intervening years.

The Rise of Sinn Fein cont. Eamonn de Valera (won seat East Clare by-election in 1917) took over from Arthur Griffith as Sinn Fein leader in 1917. He was the only surviving commander from the Rising and benefitted from people's growing admiration for the rebels. He also became the new President of the Irish Volunteers. Conscription Crisis: In 1918 Britain planned to introduce conscription (compulsory joining of the military for a period of time for men 18 and over) in Ireland. All Irish parties at the time were opposed to conscription but Sinn Fein organised its opposition the best and when the plans were dropped they got the credit. German Plot: Members of Sinn Fein were arrested (British Government) for allegedly plotting with Germany. There was no evidence for this, and again increased their popularity.

When?: December 1918 (after WW1 ended). Who?: Sinn Fein won 73/105 seats. The Unionists won 23. The Irish Parliamentary Party won 6. Made it clear that people no longer wanted a Home Rule parliament. Alternative: A republic with complete independence from Britain. Result: Sinn Fein decided to abstain from the Westminster parliament and formed a government in Dublin. From here they would work to achieve a republic. The Sinn Fein MPs called themselves TDs Teachtai dala. The 1918 General Election.

Where? The Mansion House, Dawson street. When? 21st January, 1919. Name? Dail Eireann "meeting of Ireland." Who? 27 TDs present. Others were in jail or on the run due to events like the German Plot. IPP and Unionists refused to attend and continued to attend Westminster. President/leader: Cathal Brugha (Arthur Griffith and Dev in jail.)April Dev became President. First meeting: Issued a Declaration of Independence to establish "an Irish republic and pledge ourselves and our people to make this declaration effective by every means at our command." The First Dail.

Changes made to establish control: 1. They gained control of local government. 2. They founded Sinn Fein/Dail courts to deal with people's court cases and crimes. 3. They organised loans to help run the new Dail: Michael Collins raised a loan of over 300,000 from the general public. De Valera wen to America to have the new government recognised, and raised over $5million from the diaspora. The First Dail cont.

The Dail was declared illegal by the British government in late 1919. They passed the Government of Ireland Act 1920 stated there would be a Home Rule Parliament in Ulster and one for the rest of Ireland. (to keep both the Unionists and Nationalists happy.) Sinn Fein rejected this compromise and continued to demand independence for the whole of Ireland. British Government reaction:

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.

What you will learn: 1. How the War of Independence began. 2. The tactics of the IRA and the British forces. 3. The Key events of the war. 4. The end of the war. The War of Independence, 1919 1921.

Since the rising the Irish Volunteers had been infiltrated by the IRB, Michael Collins (member of First Dail) belonged to both organisations. Irish volunteers were renamed the Irish Republican Army and they were the official army of the Irish Republic. When? 21st January, 1919. (first day the First Dail met). How and where? A Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) patrol was ambushed in Soloheadbeg in Co. Tipperary. Result: Two RIC constables were killed by the group of volunteers, led by Dan Breen and Sean Treacy. The ambush was not authorised by the Dail. The outbreak of the War of Independence.

Guerrilla warfare this tactic involved ambushes and hit-and-run methods. RIC barracks were attacked and raided for their guns and ammunition. Michael Collins (Director of Intelligence) organised an intelligence network of spies to gather information secretaries, cleaners, policemen and even people working in Dublin Castle. Collins formed a paid Dublin group called the Squad or "Twelve Apostles". These were assassins whose job was to kill spies and British detectives. Very effective at preventing the British from gaining information. IRA Methods.

Flying Columns these were local units set up as the numbers in the IRA increased. They took part in large scale ambushes. Raided local police stations for weapons and ammunition. They were fed and sheltered by local people which made them hard for the British to locate. IRA Methods cont.

Michael Collins. This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.

Reinforcements were needed to help the RIC and this lead to the formation of the Black and Tans in spring 1920. They were made up of ex-British soldiers and named after the colour of their uniforms. Later ex-army officers were recruited to help. These were known as Auxiliaries. They were ruthless. 1920 British police force was 40,000 Vs. 10,000 IRA. Terrible reprisals (an act of retaliation against local people in revenge for attacks on British organisations.)were carried out by both groups. Effect? Increased support for the IRA. British Methods.

March 20th, 1920. British forces murdered the Lord Mayor of Cork, Tomas MacCurtain, who had lead the Cork Volunteers in the Rising. October 25, 1920. Terence MacSwiney (successor of MacCurtain) died in Brixton prison after 74 days on hunger strike. November 1, 1920. Kevin Barry (18) was hanged for taking part in an ambush in Dublin in which a British soldier was killed. November 21, 1920. Collin's squad killed 13 British intelligence agents. In retaliation, the Auxiliaries entered Croke Park during a Dublin Vs Tipperary match and opened fire on the crowd, killing 12 people, including Tipp player, Michael Hogan. Bloody Sunday. Key Events.

November 28, 1920. Tom Barry and the West Cork Brigade ambushed and killed 18 Auxiliaries in Kilmichael, Cork. In retailitation the Auxiliaries burned Cork city centre. May 25, 1921. The IRA burned Dublin's Custom House. The fire lasted for 5 days and destroyed records going back for centuries. Eighty IRA men were killed or captured. Key Events cont.

Both governments British and Irish saw that peace was needed. WHY? The Irish were running out of weapons and ammunition and the war was costing the British 20 million a year. The British were also being criticised at home and abroad about the Black and Tans and the Auxiliaries treatment of civilians. When de Valera returned from America he agreed a truce with Lloyd George. The truce began on 11th July 1921. The End of the War of Independence.

Black and Tans. This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.