Pledge Ourselves and Our People

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1 pa Pledge Ourselves and Our People

2 Irish Archives Education Pack Pledge ourselves and our People p1 Contents Introduction Timeline Background Extension of Franchise Election Campaigning Successful Candidates Establishment of Dáil Éireann Aftermath and Impact Further Sources The IAR is funded by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht; the Department for Communities, Northern Ireland and the Heritage Council and the work of the IAR would not be possible without this assistance for which we are most grateful. This pack has been funded by the Heritage Council and we would like to thank the Heritage Council for their continued support and help with this project. It would not be possible to make these resources available without the archives services and cultural institutions that safeguard this rich heritage and we would like to thank all of those who so kindly contributed to the project. The pack was written and produced by IAR Steering Group members Joanne Rothwell, Natalie Milne and David Gunning and designed by Red Heaven Design IE/DCC/14/3/5/1 Representation of the People Act, 1918 Explanatory Booklet. By kind permission of Donegal County Archives. - Copyright Irish Archives Resource,

3 EPH F202 Sinn Féin Manifesto. By kind permission of the National Library of Ireland INTRODUCTION The Irish Archives Resource (IAR) is an online portal to archive collections across Ireland, north and south. The goal of the IAR is to introduce people to the wealth of archival resources available in Ireland. This resource pack is part of a series of educational packs organised by topic that has been produced to highlight these resources. Pledge Ourselves and Our People is designed to highlight archival resources that document the 1918 General Election in Ireland and the changes that the election made in the Irish political landscape. It documents the political situation in Ireland prior to the election, the candidates, the campaign and the immediate aftermath of the election. This pack and the archival resources it provides are relevant to the following topics in the Leaving Certificate and A-Level History curriculum: LEAVING CERTIFICATE: LATER MODERN IRELAND 1. Movements for political and social reform The pursuit of sovereignty and the impact of partition The Irish diaspora LEAVING CERTIFICATE: EUROPE AND THE WIDER WORLD 1. National state and international tension CCEA NORTHERN IRELAND A-LEVELS 1. A2 Unit 1 Clash of ideologies Europe A2 Unit 2 Partition of Ireland AQA A LEVELS 1. Challenge and transformation: Britain British Empire CAMBRIDGE AS AND A LEVELS FOR OVERSEAS STUDENTS 1. Component 3: The causes and impact of British imperialism c Component 3: Europe of the dictators

4 Irish Archives Education Pack Pledge ourselves and our People p3 Timeline

5 Irish Archives Education Pack Pledge ourselves and our People p4 BACKGROUND In the years immediately prior to the 1918 General Election and following the 1916 Easter Rising the political landscape in Ireland was changing. The initial success of the Home Rule Bill in 1914 followed by the outbreak of the First World War, which suspended its enactment, conspired to undermine the dominance of the Irish Parliamentary Party and contributed to the increase in popular support for the Sinn Féin party. Opposition to Home Rule, particularly in the North, increased popular support for the Ulster Unionist Party there. The Irish Parliamentary Party under John Redmond s leadership had used their position in the House of Commons to leverage the introduction of the Home Rule Bill and were in every expectation of its enactment in The Ulster Unionist Party, under Edward Carson, were bitterly opposed to the introduction of Home Rule and campaigned actively against it. The Ulster Unionists moved increasingly towards advocating the partition of the six counties of the north-east to prevent any introduction of Home Rule in the North. As a result, there was an increasing tension between them and the southern unionists of the Irish Unionist Alliance, led by Lord Midleton, who were opposed to partition and, who, by 1917, were seeking concessions and safeguards for unionists in the event of the introduction of Home Rule. The Military Services Bill was introduced in April 1918 and was widely opposed. Indeed, not only was it opposed by Irish Nationalists it was also unpopular with Unionists but it was the virulent nationalist opposition to it that gained ground and was seized upon by Sinn Féin. In April 1918 a meeting was held at the Mansion House in Dublin to oppose it. A national pledge was signed at church doors against conscription. Although the Irish Parliamentary Party opposed the bill in the House of Commons, it was Sinn Féin that was identified in the public mind with opposition to conscription. Captain William Redmond spoke in the House of Commons stating If they persist in this proposal of conscription there will be no Irish Party in the House of Commons but then you will have a very much harder nut to crack in Ireland (10 April 1918 Hansard (Commons) Vol. 104 ). This threat of conscription and the possibility of partition were at the forefront of the political campaigns on the eve of the 1918 General Election. The success of the Ulster Unionist Party in 1917 in ensuring that the six counties were excluded from the introduction of Home Rule in the Government of Ireland Act was popular amongst their voters, but hugely detrimental to the Irish Parliamentary Party. John Redmond had reluctantly accepted this proposal on the understanding that it was to be a temporary measure, but this acceptance, even on a temporary basis, was not widely supported even amongst his own party. The Irish Convention was established by the British Government in July 1917 to try to bring about agreement on the introduction of Home Rule and a resolution to the Irish Question. Among the proposals was the introduction of Home Rule to a twenty-six county Irish dominion with the six counties left out. Such a possibility succeeded only in highlighting and heightening the divisions on both nationalist and unionist sides. The Irish Parliamentary Party responded to the outbreak of the First World War by calling on the men of Ireland to join the British Army and fight in the war. This early support for recruitment became problematic for the Irish Parliamentary Party when the British Government proposed to extend conscription to Ireland. EPH A156 Cavan by - election poster. By kind permission of the National Library of Ireland

6 Irish Archives Resource Pack The Present Duty of Irishwomen p5 BACKGROUND EPH F113 Recruitment Poster, 23 August By kind permission of the National Library of Ireland D627/432/166 Letter from John E. Walsh to Hugh de Fellenberg Montgomery, By kind permission of the Deputy Keeper of the Records, Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. DS32.11 Trinity College - Irish Convention , Dixon Slide Collection, Dublin and Irish Collections. By kind permission of Dublin City Library and Archive. IE/GCCA GC/7/11 Entry at the back of Staff Attendance Register, Galway County Council. By kind permission of Galway County Council Archives. IE/WCA/TNC/4/2 Petition Against Conscription, By kind permission of Waterford City and County Archives.

7 Irish Archives Education Pack Pledge ourselves and our People p6 The Extension of the Franchise The Representation of the People Act, 1918 provided a watershed moment for democracy in the United Kingdom and Ireland. This legislation reformed the electoral system and saw the inclusion of almost all men, and, for the first time, women in the political system by giving them the vote. The Act removed the property qualification for all men over the age of 21, enabling working class men to vote for the first time. It also introduced suffrage to women over 30 years old on the stipulations that: they owned property they were a university graduate voting in a university constituency they were a member or married to a member of the Local Government Register In Ireland this legislation increased the electorate from 700,000 voters to over 2 million. It was the First World War that impelled electoral reform, in acknowledgement that service in war deserved political representation but the widening of enfranchisement had been anticipated, particularly, in the face of the long campaign for the right to vote for women. The Representation of the People Bill was unanimously passed in June 1917 and with it came the establishment of the Boundary Commission to redistribute seats in the House of Commons under the terms of the Bill. The intention was to have an average of 43,000 people per MP, but it was deemed necessary by the Commission members to reduce this to 30,000 per MP in certain areas to ensure counties with a large geographical spread and smaller population retained adequate representation. The report recommended the boroughs of Galway, Kilkenny, Newry and Waterford were to lose their separate representation and King s County (Offaly), Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Queen s County (Laois) and Westmeath were all to return one MP instead of two. The boroughs of Dublin and Belfast were to gain representation as were the counties of Down and Dublin Sinn Féin and the Ulster Unionist Party were active is seeking the votes of the newly enfranchised voting public. The votes of the new women voters were actively targeted with Cumann na mban campaigning for Sinn Féin and the Ulster Women s Unionist Council campaigning for the Ulster Unionist Party. D 2846/1/3/12 Letter from James Craig on preparations for the General Election to Lady Londonderry, By kind permission of the Deputy Keeper of the Records, Public Record Office, Northern Ireland.

8 Irish Archives Resource Pack The Present Duty of Irishwomen p7 pa The Extension of the Franchise CSO/RP/1917/29520/3(15) Map of County Down showing parliamentary divisions, Boundary Commission (Ireland), By kind permission of the National Archives of Ireland. CSO/RP/1919/29520/3(21) Map of Galway showing parliamentary divisions. Boundary Commission (Ireland), By kind permission of the National Archives of Ireland. CSO/RP/1917/29520/3(1) CSo/RP/1917/29520/3(9) CSO/RP/1917/29520/3(11) Report of the Boundary Commission (Ireland), By kind permission of the National Archives of Ireland.

9 Irish Archives Education Pack Pledge ourselves and our People p8 Election Campaigning Sinn Féin began building a steady stream of successes in by-elections during 1917 leaving them in a strong position coming up to the 1918 elections. The first of their successes was in the by-election of North Roscommon held on 3 February 1917 which was won by Count George Noble Plunkett who ran as an Independent but later joined Sinn Féin. His success demonstrates the change in attitude towards those who had participated in the 1916 Rising and the sympathy and support that was gained followed the execution of the leaders of the 1916 Rising, including his son, Joseph Plunkett.The increase in support for those in prison and for the Sinn Féin policy can be seen in the success of Joe McGuinness in Longford in May McGuinness was in prison at the time and far from being a matter of disquiet it was a matter of pride and central to his campaign. A nation-wide set of Sinn Féin clubs was founded and meetings were organised throughout the country. The party spread rapidly in Ireland with over 1,200 branches and a membership of over one million individuals by the time of the Ard Fheis in October Sinn Féin had developed a strong organisational network with popular support in local communities, successfully establishing itself as an alternative to the Irish Parliamentary Party by December The party manifesto was based on four main points: 1. Abstention from Westminster 2. Total separation from Westminster 3. Complete autonomy for Ireland 4. International recognition His success was followed by success for Éamon de Valera in East Clare in July 1917 and for W.T. Cosgrave in Kilkenny City on 10 August /057 W.T. Cosgrave at the hustings, 1920s. By kind permission of RTE Photographic Archive. EPH E31 Election Poster Joe McGuinness. By kind permission of the National Library of Ireland.

10 Irish Archives Education Pack Pledge ourselves and our People p9 Election Campaigning The Irish Parliamentary Party were starting to fight back with some by-election successes, including that of Captain William Redmond in Waterford. However, the Party s organisational base began to disintegrate in the face of the organised opposition of Sinn Féin and the leadership distracted itself with the abortive Irish Convention. The stagnation of the party was evident in the fact that many seats went uncontested in the general election; entire counties such as Clare, Cork and Kerry offered no opposition. The Catholic Church had been wavering in its support for the Irish Party and this came to a head early during the Longford by-election. Redmond s assent to the temporary exclusion of Ulster from the Government of Ireland Act (1914) had seriously damaged his credibility and Catholic and Protestant bishops signed a petition opposing partition on the day before the Longford poll. The Irish Unionist Alliance and the Ulster Unionist Party were also experiencing difficulties and divisions as a consequence of the willingness of southern unionists, under Lord Midleton, to compromise during the Irish Convention in July The Ulster Unionist Party were not willing to agree to any compromise and were pressing for Home Rule to be postponed, or, for Ulster to be cut out of the Government of Ireland Act. The Ulster Unionist Party were successful in this demand and fought their General Election campaign on this basis to much success in their northern constituencies. Southern Unionists had some success in Rathmines and Trinity in Dublin but their few seats were not enough in the face of the wider Sinn Féin election success. Voter intimidation was rampant during the election campaign and interruption of speeches and other disruptions were common occurrences. The Waterford City by-election, held following the death of Redmond in March 1918, in which his son Captain William Redmond defeated Sinn Féin s Dr Vincent White, was marked by violent scuffles which were repeated in the December General Election. Footage of Waterford Election Campaign is available from British Pathé The campaign in 1918 demonstrated the preparation of Sinn Féin and the Ulster Unionist Party in the months prior to election and this was reflected in the election results. Sinn Féin Unionist Irish Parliamentary Party Seats Before Seats After Independants and Labour IE/LHA/PP118/F/17 (2) Letter from John Dillon, MP and Leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. By kind permission of Louth County Archives. IE/LHA/PP118/F/21 (2) Election Poster for Richard Hazelton, Irish Parliamentary Party Candidate. By kind permission of Louth County Archives. IE/DCC/14/3/5/4 Statutory Declaration of Secrecy, 1918 Parliamentary Elections. By kind permission of Donegal County Archives.

11 Irish Archives Education Pack Pledge ourselves and our People p10 SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES U = Unionist IPP = Irish Parliamentary Party SF = Sinn Féin ND = Independent UO= Unopposed ANTRIM East Br: Gen Robert MacCalmount (U) Mid: Robert O Neill (U) Maj Peter Kerr Smiley (U) Charles Craig (U) ARMAGH Mid James Lonsdale (U) North Lt Col Sir William Allen (U) South Patrick Donnelly (U) CAVAN East Arthur Griffith (SF UO) West Peter Galligan (SF UO) CLARE Eamonn de Valera (SF UO); West: Brian O Higgins (SF UO) CORK COUNTY David Kent (SF UO) Mid: Terrence McSwiney (SF UO) Patrick O Keefe (SF UO) North- Thomas Hunter (SF UO) Michael Collins (SF UO) South- Diarmuid Lynch (SF UO) West: Seán Hayes (SF UO) BELFAST Cromac William Kindsay (U); Duncairn Sir Edward Carson (U); Falls Joseph Devlin (IPP); Ormeau Thomas Moles (U); Pottinger Capt. Herbert Dixon (U); Shankill Samuel McGuffin (U); St Anns Thomas Burn (U); Victoria Thompson Donald (U); Woodvale Robert Lynn (U) CORK CITY James Walsh and Liam de Roiste (SF) DERRY City: Prof. Eoin MacNeill (SF); Hugh Anderson (U) Denis Henry (U) IE/CCCA/U192 Liam De Róiste and JJ Walsh, Hallahan Photo Album. By kind permission of Cork City and County Archives. CARLOW James Lennon (SF unopposed) 0506/077 Members of Sinn Féin, Cork, L-R Front Row: Tadhg Barry; Tomás MacCurtain; Pat Higgins. Back Row: David Cotter; Seán Murphy, Donal Barrett, Terence MacSwiney, Pat Trahey. Taken at the Freeman s Journal office, Dublin. By kind permission of RTE Photographic Archive.

12 Irish Archives Education Pack Pledge ourselves and our People p11 SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES U = Unionist IPP = Irish Parliamentary Party SF = Sinn Féin ND = Independent UO= Unopposed DONEGAL Edward Kelly (IPP) Joseph O Doherty (SF) Peter Ward (SF) West: Joseph Sweeney (SF) DOWN David Reid (U) Mid: James Craig (U) Thomas Brown (U) Jeremiah McVeigh (IPP); West: Daniel Wilson (U) DUBLIN CITY St James: Joseph McGrath (SF) St. Michans: Michael Staines (SF) St Patricks: Countess Markievicz (SF) St. Stephens: Thomas Kelly (SF) Trinity: Rt Hon Arthur W. Samuels (U) and Sir Robert Woods (IND) FERMANAGH North Edward Archdale (U) South Seán O Mahony (SF) Joseph Sweeney, Sinn Féin. By kind permission of The Capuchin Annual, DUBLIN Clontarf: Gen Richard Mulcahy (SF); College Green: Seán T. O Kelly (SF) Harbour: Philip Shanahan (SF) Frank J. Lawless (SF) Pembroke: Desmond Fitzgerald (SF) Rathmines: Sir Maurice Dockrell (U) George Duffy (SF) GALWAY Conemara: Padraic O Maille (SF); Liam Mellows (SF UO); Dr. Bryan Cusack (SF); Frank Fahy (SF) 0510/051 Countess Markievicz, Sinn Féin candidate and first woman elected to parliament. By kind permission of RTE Photograph Archive. Frank J. Lawless, Sinn Féin. By kind permission of Swords Historical Society. Tom Kelly, Sinn Féin and later Alderman, Dublin City Council, By kind permission of Dublin City Library and Archive. Joseph Sweeney, Sinn Féin. By kind permission of The Capuchin Annual, 1970.

13 Irish Archives Education Pack Pledge ourselves and our People p12 SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES U = Unionist IPP = Irish Parliamentary Party SF = Sinn Féin ND = Independent UO= Unopposed KERRY Pearce Beasley (SF UO) North : James Crowley (SF UO); Fionan Lynch (SF UO); Austin Stack (SF UO) KILDARE Donal Buckley (SF) Art O Connor (SF) LAOIS Kevin O Higgins (SF) MAYO Eamonn de Valera (SF) Dr. John Crowley (SF) William Sears (SF UO) West: Joseph McBride (SF) KILKENNY WT Cosgrave (SF UO) James O Mara (SF) LEITRIM James Dolan (SF) MEATH North : Liam Mellows (SF) Edmund Duggan (SF) James Crowley, Sinn Féin. By kind permission of Kerry County Archives. LIMERICK Dr. Richard Hayes (SF) West: Conor Collins (SF UO) City: Michael P Colivet (SF UO) MONAGHAN Ernest Blythe (SF) Sean MacEntee (SF) LONGFORD Joseph P. McGuinness (SF) NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND Prof. Eoin MacNeill (SF) LOUTH John J. O Kelly (also known as Sceilg - pamphlets) OFFALY Dr Patrick McCartan (SF UO) Fionán Lynch, Sinn Féin, Casement Park, August By kind permission of Kerry County Archives.

14 Irish Archives Education Pack Pledge ourselves and our People p13 SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES U = Unionist IPP = Irish Parliamentary Party SF = Sinn Féin ND = Independent UO= Unopposed QUEEN S UNIVERSITY Sir William Whitla (U) WATERFORD City: Capt. William Redmond (IPP) County: Cathal Brugha (SF) ROSCOMMON Count Plunkett (SF UO) Harry Boland (SF) WESTMEATH Laurence Ginnell (SF) SLIGO John Clancy (SF) Alex McCabe (SF) WEXFORD Roger Sweetman (SF) Dr. James Ryan (SF) Captain William Redmond campaigning in By kind permission of Waterford City and County Archives. TIPPERARY Pierce McCann (SF) Mid: Seamus Bourke (SF UO) Joseph McDonough (SFUO) Patrick Moloney (SF) TYRONE North Thomas Harbison (IPP) North West: Arthur Griffith (SF) William Coote (U) WICKLOW Sean R. Etchingham (SF) West: Robert Barton (SF) Dr. James Ryan By kind permission of Wexford County Archives. WLAA/PP1/BE7 Letter of recommendation from Captain Booth, Curragh Camp, for Robert Childers Barton, 17 December By kind permission of Wicklow County Archives.

15 0207/009 Members of the First Dáil Éireann, 21 January By permission of RTE Photographic Archive. ESTABLISHMENT OF Dáil Éireann In accordance with Sinn Féin policy the elected members boycotted Westminster and refused to attend the House of Commons to take their seats. British politicians had publicly doubted that Sinn Féin members would adhere to their vow to abstain from parliament believing they would not miss out the opportunity for a high profile public voice, or indeed the lure of a 400 per annum salary. However, the party was adamant in its resolve to form an assembly in Ireland Dáil Éireann. The Ulster Unionist Party also viewed the election as a success thus paving the way for a new Boundary Commission and further divisions over partition. The surviving remnants of the Irish Parliamentary Party, the Unionists and Unionist Labour members all boycotted Dáil Éireann, consequently the first Dáil was an assembly of Sinn Féin only. In addition, only 26 Sinn Féin members were free to take their seats, the rest being incarcerated at the time. At 3.30pm on 21st January 1919 the first Dáil Éireann met at the Mansion House in Dublin. All proceedings were held in Irish with select papers translated into English and French for the observing media. The meeting lasted less than two hours but was proclaimed as the parliament of a new state, the Irish Republic. The British administration and Unionists refused to acknowledge the Dáil but Sinn Féin focused on being recognised internationally as the key to Ireland s right to self-determination and launched a campaign for international recognition. D627/434/137 Letter from Bishop Charles D Arcy to Hugh de Fellenberg Montgomery, By kind permission of the Deputy Keeper of the Records, Public Record Office, Northern Ireland.

16 Irish Archives Education Pack Pledge ourselves and our People p15 Aftermath and Impact During the 1918 general election, the Conservative party had secured a pledge from Prime Minister Lloyd George not to submit the six counties of Ulster to a Home Rule parliament against their will. Sinn Féin s abstentionist policy meant that unionists maintained the only effective Irish voice in Westminster and this increased their determination to work towards separation. In 1919, the Cabinet Committee on the Irish Question proposed partition of the island between two parliaments. On 24 February 1920, the Cabinet decided that the territory of Northern Ireland would comprise the counties of Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down, Fermanagh and Tyrone. Despite opposition from nationalists and some unionists including Edward Carson who felt it betrayed southern unionists, the bill was supported and endorsed by the Ulster Unionist Council. Following the Government of Ireland Act (1920), the Ulster Unionist Council voted for James Craig as Prime Minister, Craig succeeded Carson as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party in February The unionists took forty of the fifty-two seats for the Northern Ireland parliament, which was opened by King George V on 22 June Following the ratification of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December, the parliament of Northern Ireland voted itself out of the jurisdiction of a United Ireland. The first Dáil adopted a Message to the Free Nations of the World in addition to the Declaration of Independence and appointed Count George Plunkett as the first Minister for Foreign Affairs. Seán T. Ó Ceallaigh was sent to the Paris Peace Conference in February 1919 as Ireland s envoy to gain a hearing for recognition of the Irish state and entry in its own right to the League of Nations. Indian politicians and activists including Vithalbhai Patel and Subhas Chandra Bose were enthusiastic followers of the Irish independence movement, and both visited the nascent Irish Free State on a number of occasions. From as early as 1922, the British authorities monitored links between Irish and Indian nationalists, and were particularly apprehensive about de Valera s visit to the newly independent India in In 1932, the Indian-Irish Independence League was formed with the aim to work by every possible means to secure the complete independence of India and Ireland, and to achieve the closest solidarity between the Irish and the Indian masses in their common struggle against British imperialism. The Irish Free State retained dominion status but successive governments attempted to overcome this limitation by establishing an authoritative and independent voice in international affairs. The Cumann na ngaedheal government ( ) pushed Ireland into the international arena and despite British objections, the Free State was formally admitted to the League of Nations on 10 September The Anglo-Irish Treaty was registered with the organisation as an International Agreement in D3480/22/1 Opening of Ulster Parliament, By kind permission of the Deputy Keeper of the Records, Public Record Office, Northern Ireland.

17 Irish Archives Resource Pack The Present Duty of Irishwomen p16 Aftermath and Impact 0505/094 William T. Cosgrave and devalera meeting Governor Dunne of Philadephia, Michael J. Ryan and Frank P Walsh, prominent Irish Americans c1919. By kind permission of RTE Photographic Archive. P150/2955 Letter from Jawaharlal Nehru to Éamon de Valera with photograph from his visit in Reproduced by kind permission from UCD-OFM Partnership. 2002/5/1 Cover Page and Signatures of Anglo-Irish Treaty. By kind permission of the National Archives of Ireland.

18 Irish Archives Education Pack Pledge ourselves and our People p17 Further Sources Irish Archives Resource Portal. Publications: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Documents on Irish Foreign Policy Public Record Office of Northern Ireland Research Guide Anglo-Irish Treaty Decade of Centenaries, Public Records Office, Northern Ireland First Dáil Exhibition, RTE Archives Decade of Centenaries A Nation and Not a Rabble, Diarmuid Ferriter (London, 2015) Ireland, India and Empire: Indo-Ireland Radical Connections , Kate O Malley (Manchester, 2009) Ireland in the Twentieth Century, Tim Pat Coogan (London, 2003) Revolutionary Government in Ireland: Dáil Éireann , Arthur Mitchell (Dublin, 1995) The Irish Parliamentary Party at Westminister , Conor Mulvagh (Manchester, 2016) The Partition of Ireland, , Michael Laffan (Dundalk, 1983) The Resurrection of Ireland: The Sinn Féin Party , Michael Laffan (Cambridge, 2005)

19 pa Pledge Ourselves and Our People Irish Archives Education Pack 2017