1919 Irish War for Independence

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2 Committee Letter Dear Members of the Dáil Éireann, It is my honor and privilege to welcome all of you to the 20th annual Virginia Model United Nations conference, hosted by the University of Virginia's International Relations Organization! Even more specifically, we cordially welcome you to Dublin, Ireland, where we travel back in time just under a century to the year 1919, where we will wage our war of independence to escape the tyranny of the British Empire. This will be an exciting, fast-paced and rewarding committee, and we can't wait for you to join this journey with us! I, Jesse Berman, your Chair alongside your Crisis Director Aran Teeling, felt that this topic was a Model UN must due to our passion for Irish history. Overlooked by much of the rest of the world, Irish history has long been subsumed by larger discussions of British colonialism, but these discussions often marginalize the presence of millions of Irish people. This committee will put you in the shoes of those Irish men and women who fought to liberate their people from a state of oppression that had lasted for hundreds of years, and encourage you to tackle issues such as guerilla warfare, religious tensions, economic hardship, and the dark side of colonialism. In the process, we hope you learn a lot about a unique culture and understand why, until very recently, Ireland was one of the most violent countries in the world. Each member of this cabinet will have a unique personality, along with unique understandings and ambitions for the Ireland's future. We advise you to take into account how your delegate might have felt when faced with the various and pressing concerns of fighting a world superpower on one hand while attempting to establish a legitimate government on the other. Likewise we expect you to respect one another's opinions and search for the common ground that will put us on a path toward success and prosperity. To that end, we also urge each of you to conduct your own research on the topic and to fully grasp the severity of this time in Irish history, and to truly understand the significance of what you will be doing this November. We hope that this background guide and dossier packet will serve as a sufficient base for you to begin acquiring knowledge of these complicated issues. As Chair of this committee and as speaker of the Dáil, I commission you all to come to Dublin at once to declare independence and begin the revolution! If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Until November, we wish you a successful Fall Semester and safe travels to Charlottesville, VA (by which we mean Dublin, Ireland of course)! Sincerely, Jesse Berman, Chair (jbb2ys@virginia.edu) Aran Teeling, Crisis Director (apt7kb@virginia.edu) Committee Overview

3 The Dáil Éireann ( DOY-le ER-in ) of the Irish Republic 1 refers to the three legislative bodies who met from 1919 to 1923 with the goal of forming an Irish government independent from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Prior to 1918, Ireland s status (including modern-day Northern Ireland), was similar to that of Scotland or Wales; that is, they elected members to the Westminster Parliament in London. But during the general election of 1918, the party Sinn Féin ( Shin FINE ), won 73 seats and chose to establish an independent Irish parliament. Their ultimate goal - an independent nation - led to a brutal conflict with Great Britain, who saw itself as the rightful ruler of the island (as it had for centuries). The Dáil presented itself as the legitimate governing body of Ireland, a sovereign nation resisting foreign occupation. The primary tasks of the Dáil included: establishing a government that would gain the allegiance of the Irish people and replace British rule; commanding the IRA; and conducting negotiations with the British government to form an Irish free state. The British Parliament considered this body an illegal and rebellious government, and as a result used harsher methods of suppression than would have been typically used in warfare against another sovereign nation. When war broke out in 1918, no other nation had recognized the Irish Republic as a free state, as it had to establish legitimacy within its own borders first before it could do so internationally. Members of the Dáil also appealed to the many Irish immigrants around the world, especially in America, to send aid and pressure the British government to seek a favorable resolution to their conflict. History of the Issue TO Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of Ireland, which did not become an official entity until 1949.

4 British and Irish history intertwined long before either nation existed in its modern form. William the Conqueror s great-grandson, Henry II defeated the last High King of Ireland, Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair (Rory O Connor) in In 1175 they negotiated the Treaty of Windsor, initiating the transfer of political power to Ireland s neighbor. 2 Until 1485, the Normans assimilated into Gaelic-Irish culture with minimal English oversight, but beginning with Henry VII, the Tudors established tighter political control over Ireland. Henry set the precedent for legal domination by giving the English Privy Council the ability to veto any future legislation from Irish governments with Poynings Law (1495): Wherefore all estatutes, late made within England... [will] be acceptyd, used, and executed within Ireland in all points at all times... And if any estatute or estatutes have been made within this said land, hereafter to the contrary, they and every of them be adnulled, revoked, voyd, and of none effect in the law. 3 His son, Henry VIII, declared himself King of Ireland in 1541, but it was Elizabeth I - typically portrayed as a more tolerant ruler - who adopted the most brutal method of assimilation. She oversaw the first planting of English subjects in Munster, following a scorched earth campaign to clear the countryside of the local Irish. 4 In protest, Gaels from Ulster, led by Hugh O Neill and Red Hugh O Donnell, led a guerilla rebellion from 1595 until 1603; eight days after Elizabeth s death, he signed the Treaty of Mellifont, essentially turning the old Gaelic landholdings into English estates. By 1607, England emerged from the tumultuous half-century as the recognized conqueror of Ireland. During the 17th century, English rulers began molding the Irish landscape into the plantation system that lasted into the 20th century. By about 1700, English immigrants had transferred over 80 percent of the productive farmland in Ireland to large landholdings, creating a Desmond, Ch. 6.

5 society deeply divided by class and religion. Poor, Catholic tenant farmers composed approximately 75 to 85 percent of the population, while the remaining Protestant landlords (including the absentee landlords: landlords who resided in England and entrusted their plantations to harsh overseers) profited immensely from high rents and exporting high-yield crops. 5 While the system allowed England to maintain its dominance, British monarchs constantly dealt with Irish social and military resistance. By this period a clear pattern of oppression had crystallized: the Irish, chafing under harsher social restrictions, would rebel, and the English, after putting down the rebellion, would enact still-harsher laws transferring more authority to the British parliament. From approximately 1690 to 1800, an Irish-Protestant Ascendancy (about 10 percent of the population) ruled the country with the anti-catholic Penal Laws, passed after William of Orange defeated rebellious Irish forces at Boyne and Aughrim. 6 In 1695, Parliament passed an act for the better securing of government, by disarming papists, ordering all Catholics to surrender their firearms. 7 Another declared that No papist shall inherit or take any other interests in land owned by a Protestant, unless the papist shall conform to the protestant religion within six months. - in other words, convert or remain landless. 8 Most importantly, though, many laws barred Catholics from becoming lawyers, judges, or elected officials, and others disenfranchised Catholics entirely. 9 Eventually, with England embroiled in the American Revolution, Irish Anglicans led by Henry Grattan gained a measure of autonomy for the Ascendancy. But the majority of the population - excluded Catholics and Presbyterians - continued to chafe under their domination. Looking to the radical American and French Revolutions, Theobald Wolfe Tone (actually an 5 Desmond, Ch. 7 6 Desmond, Ch

6 Irish-Anglican), formed the United Irishmen in 1791, a debating society advocating Protestant- Catholic cooperation that evolved into an armed resistance movement. With the help of French forces, Tone and the United Irishman revolted in 1798, the first attempt by the Irish to officially sever ties with England. 10 Although they quelled the insurrection, the threat of future colonial rebellion (as well as imminent war with France) convinced British Prime Minister William Pitt that Ireland should come under the direct control of the UK. In 1800, Parliament passed the Act of Union, officially incorporating Ireland into the United Kingdom TO 1918 After the Act of Union, Protestants like Wolfe Tone and Grattan had more to gain by supporting Great Britain, and no longer emerged from places of privilege to lead movements for independence. That task now fell to the nascent political movement among Catholics, and one man in particular emerged to transform the mass of poor Catholic Irish into a powerful political bloc. This man, whose influence reached into the 20th century and inspired both Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, was Daniel O Connell. Called the Liberator and the Emancipator, O Connell became the first major Catholic leader to organize poor, Catholic farmers and small-scale artisans into a political movement. He focused his political efforts primarily on achieving emancipation for Irish citizens, founding the Catholic Association in 1823 as a movement, in concert with Catholic priests, to solicit potential Irish voters. Although laws forbade Catholics from serving in the British Parliament, O Connell exploited a loophole in the 1828 election which allowed him to both register and run., winning decisively in County Clare over incumbent Vesey Fitzgerald (2,057 votes to 982). 12 To avoid the political and social ramifications of barring an elected official from office, Parliament instead 10 Lynch, LLoyd, Desmond, Ch. 9

7 passed legislation granting Catholic Emancipation and repealing almost all of the remaining Penal Laws, which had existed since the days of William and Mary. O Connell oversaw some reforms, but the Irish bloc in Parliament remained too insignificant to sway major votes; instead, by 1837 O Connell turned his attention to organizing a campaign to repeal the Act of Union. By organizing massive demonstrations - some of which drew hundreds of thousands of protesters - he hoped to bring international pressure to bear on Great Britain. But in 1843, just before what would likely have been the largest protest yet, the British government declared O Connell s protests illegal. An advocate of peaceful protest O Connell saw no choice but to call off the event; now 68, O Connell no longer had the energy to continue his political activities. 13 His defeat served an important lesson for future protesters: that, if peaceful demonstrations must always be legal to be valid, the government will always win. Thus, despite his wishes, O Connell s example helped drive the Irish independence movement toward violence. But just two years later, in 1845, almost all political agitation would cease in response to arguably the deadliest natural crisis in Ireland s history: the potato blight. Twenty-first century readers find it difficult to understand the misery and suffering faced by the Irish people during the Potato Famine, or properly, the Great Hunger (Górta Mor) due to both its scale and the fact that it occurred in such a modern era. The statistics alone remain staggering, particularly in a country of only 8 million people in 1841: by 1851, the population had decreased to approximately 6.5 million, with over 500,000 dead and the remainder immigrating (primarily to America). 14 Landowners continued to evict tenants from their land, even as crop failure made it impossible for them to pay their rents, which many recognized as already-exhorbitant. Additionally, production of other crops (such as wheat) continued, and land 13 Desmond, Ch Huttman, 182

8 holders exported the same amount of such crops during the famine as before, contributing to death by starvation and its associated diseases. 15 The consensus of modern research suggests that the British government could have alleviated this widespread suffering through more socially and economically responsible practices, but refused to reallocate exported food to feed the Irish, or subsidize imported food from abroad. Great Hunger effects on: Before After Population 8.5 million 6.5 million Primary Language Gaelic English (migration occurred primarily in Gaelic-speaking regions) Family Structure Early marriage/large family Late marriage/smaller family Religious Tendencies Less-rigid Catholicism Stricter adherence by a larger number of Irish to Catholic doctrines; increase in priests and nuns Agriculture Source: Desmond, Ch % of farms were 5 acres or less (very inefficient); only 7% were 30 acres or greater Less-than-5 acre farms dropped to 15%, 30-or-greater acre farms increased to 26% Population depletion in turn led to decreased political activity in Ireland, as throughout the 1850s the Irish remained focused on surviving both the blight and the land consolidation measures enacted by the English. The majority of tenant farmers - 97 percent of total Irish farm operators - submitted to measures transferring their land titles to commercial owners, as crop values fell 10 percent; many tried to make the difficult transition to livestock farming, but most did not have the capital for the expensive switch. 16 Such issues proved difficult to resolve 15 Desmond, Ch Huttman, 182

9 quickly, and the Irish, especially those in poor, rural areas, did not constitute a mobilized political unit until the end of the decade. As political issues surrounding land reform re-emerged during the 1860s, the Fenian movement promoted the re-emergence of Irish interests after the relative political apathy of the Great Hunger. The Fenians distinguished themselves from O Connell s independence movement by arguing that, the greater the delay involved in gaining independence, the stronger the force required to realize that goal, advocating immediate acts of violence rather than participation in prolonged non-violent political processes. 17 They also accused both Irish landlords and the Catholic Church of benefitting from British authority; although most tenant farmers felt a deep enmity toward the former, they maintained deep reservations about denouncing the Church, and this attitude prevented the Fenian movement from becoming as popular as O Connell s, which embraced Catholic support. The mid-19th century thus evolved into a battle between the British Parliament attempting to pacify the Irish with land legislation (which remained a divisive issue within the British Parliament itself), and the Fenians using British atrocities to support their case for political independence through violence. Under leader James Stephens, the Fenian Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) participated in numerous uprisings and other acts of terrorism during the 1860s, sponsored in part by Irish-American organizations like the Fenian Brotherhood. Although they did not achieve independence for Ireland, their activities pressured Britain s government, which came under control of the Liberal party in 1868, to introduce some measures to alleviate the suffering of the now-dramatically reduced Irish population Huttman, Desmond, Ch. 11

10 Land acts from 1840 to 1870 typically favored landowners over tenants. For example, the Landed Estates Act of 1858 simplified the transfer of land process for estate owners, while the Deasy Act of 1860 gave landlords more control over the eviction of their tenants. 19 The laws represented the economic ramifications of the Great Hunger: as livestock became more profitable than agriculture, estates with fewer tenants became more desirable. In this way, the agricultural crisis of the 1840s favored increased persecution of tenant farmers in following decades, which in turn fueled dissatisfaction with British rule and increased Irish political activism. Resisting adverse land reforms while using their distress as political capital, two unlikely allies emerged to forge a strong Irish coalition. Michael Davitt, a working-class Fenian Catholic, and Charles Stuart Parnell, a pro-independence Protestant landowner, pressured Gladstone s government to pass legislation during the 1880s and 1890s that alleviated some of the negative pressure on tenant farmers. Uniting under the banner of the Land League, the men organized a movement that brought both land reforms and Home Rule under serious consideration during the 1880s. But just when Home Rule seemed poised to pass Parliament, a court revealed in 1890 that Parnell had been pursuing an affair with the wife of another government official. His reputation ruined, Parnell died while trying to rally support for the bill, which failed to pass in The Liberal government under William Gladstone attempted to curb the rebellious spirit such acts inspired during the 1870s and 1880s. Legislation like The Land Law Act (1881), which focused on the three F s - fixity of tenure, fair rent, and freedom of sale of interest by tenants - supported tenants rights to become landowners. 21 Reacting to the Fenian uprisings in the 1860s, Gladstone relied on such acts to reduce tension, and succeeded in measureable degrees: from 1881 to 1916, legislation reduced tenancy rents by an average of 20 percent, and the Land 19 Huttman, Desmond, Ch Huttman, 186

11 League (a Fenian organization) worried increasingly that they were losing support of their tenant farmer constituency. 22 Although powerful Anglo-Irish landlords chafed under increased regulations, they maintained their power to evict. Evictions encompassed the lives of Irish farmers, and sporadic rural violence continued throughout the 1890s. Tensions slowly mounted during this 30 year period, but the kill-them-with-kindness attitude adopted by the British government toward Irish political interests prevented large-scale violence. 23 In 1898, a large-scale eviction from the De Freyne estate turned into a focal point for broader dissatisfaction with Irish living conditions. The United Irish League successfully pressured the British Parliament into easing the process of transferring land to tenant ownership, which calmed the political waters significantly from about (to the chagrin of remaining Fenians). Partially, they achieved their goals because of a continuous decline in the Irish population - from 6.5 million (1850) to 4.5 million (1915) - resulted in a higher demand for labor; additionally, both British and Irish politicians considered resolving land issues integral to their respective agendas. 24 But the onset of World War I disrupted progress toward solving these land problems, and what little progress occurred came too little and too late for many Irish farmers, the largest political constituency. Land rights remained one of the key issues influencing the movement toward Home Rule that occurred during the first decade of the 20th century. The Irish resisted union with Great Britain since it occurred in 1800, but by the late 1800s, many seemed to accept that, if they did achieve Home Rule, it would not necessarily mean complete independence. In fact, for most of the century, Home Rule took on a variety of connotations, ranging from increased land rights to substantial political independence. In 1886, William Gladstone introduced a bill which would have given Ireland something like the powers 22 Huttman, Desmond, Ch Huttman, 192

12 of a Canadian province within confederation [with some parliamentary differences], providing a working definition that remained through World War I. 25 Unfortunately for him, Home Rule remained extremely unpopular within Great Britain, and it never achieved enough support to pass Parliament before the war. Pro-independence Irish looked abroad, particularly to other states in Europe who were also gaining their independence, to bolster their arguments for home rule. In 1904, Arthur Griffith compared the Irish situation to Hungary (which achieved a position of relative autonomy within the Habsburg empire), but the Conservatives controlling Parliament at the time rejected the notion that they should be taking lessons from the rest of Europe, and derided Griffith s fledgling political party, Sinn Féin, as the Hungarians. 26 In 1910, though, Liberals regained their majority in Parliament and drafted a Home Rule Bill applying to all of Ireland, including land legislation and protections for Protestant minorities. By 1914, a bill guaranteeing Home Rule passed, only to be interrupted by World War I. To maintain their popularity, the Lloyd George administration agreed to defer the bill s passage until after the war, caving to pressure placed on their administration by Ulster Unionists. 27 Thus, during and by the end of the war, the Irish Question remained unsettled. The fight over Home Rule and the British government s mishandling of the issue, in the opinion of both Irish interests provided the immediate political impetus for Sinn Féin s separation. In 1886 and 1893, Liberals attempted to pass a Home Rule bill, which ultimately led to their party s extreme unpopularity. Prior to the bill, the term Home Rule had elicited some confusion, as the movement could have meant anything from improved systems of local and 25 Lloyd, Lloyd, Lynch, 606

13 municipal government to a substantial step towards independence 28. But Gladstone s bill solidified what Liberal politicians meant by Home Rule, and in doing so also crystallized the opposition. Protestant Unionists in Ulster, commonly referred to as Orangemen, increasingly feared that, if Liberals ever regained power, they would be able to pass a bill that would cut them off from Great Britain and subject them to Ireland s Catholic majority. By 1910, these were, broadly, the stances of each party; then, in 1910, the Liberal party finally regained their majority and reintroduced their Home Rule bill, hoping to settle the Irish Question as they had promised. The Home Rule bill, as critics saw it, would have virtually repealed the Act of Union. 29 John Redmond, who emerged as the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party after a great deal of infighting during the first decade of the 20 th century, accepted the bill which kept Ireland subordinate to the Imperial Parliament, but increased administrative decentralization. Opposition to the bill quickly formed, primarily in the four, primarily-protestant north-eastern counties of Ireland: Antrim, Armagh, Down, and Londonderry. Prominent citizens organized massive protests in Belfast and the surrounding region, threatening violence should they be separated from the UK against their will. 30 A Liberal coalition, led by Prime Minister Herbert H. Asquith, introduced the third Home Rule bill in 1912, which promised to extend it to all of Ireland. In doing so, he gambled that the Ulster Protestants threats of civil war were a bluff; this proved a mistake, as the Ulster Volunteer Force (Ulster s unofficial, Protestant army) became increasingly well-armed and militant. 31 Influential regional politicians including Sir Edward Carson and Bonar Law began 28 Lloyd, Shepard, Shepard, Jalland, 778

14 applying extreme pressure to Parliament, and after outbreaks of violence in Northern Ireland, the British government realized toward the end of 1913 that a compromise might be necessary. From the outbreak of World War I to the separation of the Dáil Éireann, the fight intensified between Unionists and Nationalists. Unionists, or Orangemen, consisted primarily of Protestants concentrated in northeast Ireland. Because of the Catholic majority in Ireland, many Protestants feared that Home Rule would lead to Rome rule, as Catholic politicians would marginalize Protestants on the orders of the Pope. 32 Both sides wanted Ireland to stay united; the issue thus remained whether Ireland as a whole should have limited autonomy or whether it should remain an integral part of the United Kingdom. 33 Ulster s inhabitants tended to prefer the latter because, in addition to maintaining protection from Rome rule, they could use their industrial advantage to create a favorable balance of trade with the rest of the UK, without being subject to tariffs placed on imports. Fearing that complete Home Rule would destroy their advantageous position, the UVF and other Orangemen bodies threatened violence should the bill pass, and backed up their promises with spasms of public violence directed at Catholics residing in the nine counties composing the historic province. On the opposing side, Catholics composed the majority of the Irish Nationalists who desired greater separation and independence from the UK, most whom would go on to establish the first Dáil. Seeing the British Parliament delay passage of the Home Rule bill (which had been introduced in 1912) due to unionist violence encouraged nationalists to also adopt a more radical and violent approach. 34 Led by John Redmond, the IPP became the primary advocates of a Home Rule bill. Notably, the IPP did not call for immediate and full independence, which is precisely 32 Lynch, Lynch, Lynch, 606

15 what unionists feared would occur, because the bill gave the Irish government a great deal of control over their affairs. A great deal of political maneuvering occurred before, during, and after the 1914 vote. Ultimately, the bill passed with an amendment declaring it would not be enacted until the end of the war 35. Unionists had championed ardently for an adjournment, or delay, while nationalists desired an early prorogation [end to the current Parliamentary session], with Home Rule on the statute book and an Amending Bill in the next session. 36 At the time, no one imagined the proportions of the war, and as time passed and the conflict escalated beyond all previous estimates, the British government felt pressured to enact a hasty resolution. A great deal of perceived pressure emanated from America, where a large immigrant Irish population strongly supported a resolution favoring the nationalists; as Britain wished to enlist America as an ally, Redmond and the IPP gained a great deal of leverage at the outbreak of the war. 37 The resulting bill proved similar to those advocated by Gladstone in the 1880s and 1890s: it delegated a great deal of autonomy to Ireland while keeping the country subject to the Imperial Parliament. However, Asquith ultimately caved to Carson s threats, that should the bill be passed without an amendment suspending it until the end of the war, Ulster would revolt and Britain would risk the losing of Ireland and her military and political strength. 38 Ideally, the British government would now have time to propose a solution that did not either alienate Irish Unionists or result in open revolt and the possible partition of Ireland (still an option neither side desired). With the 1914 decision to suspend Home Rule, Irish nationalists and British Liberals like Percy Illingworth declared that the hanging up of the Home Rule Bill would not only be 35 For the details, see the article by Jalland et al 36 Jalland, Jalland Jalland, 793

16 regarded as a great betrayal, but one of the greatest blunders any government could make at this time. 39 For their part, the nationalists feared that the suspensory measure would cause the British government to indefinitely postpone Home Rule. On the other side, Irish unionists appeared convinced that with the conclusion of war, they would be abandoned to Catholic rule and trade restrictions. Many Irish nationalists and unionists alike supported the British war effort (approximately 150,000 Irishmen voluntarily enlisted in the British army), but postponement of Home Rule hardened tensions, and violence between the Ulster Volunteers and the Irish Republican Brotherhood s militant wing, the Irish Volunteers. As British attention remained focused on the rest of Europe, the IRB began planning an insurrection that proved to be the spark in the Irish powder keg. Outside the political struggle over Home Rule and land reforms, a large number of Irish men and women began to focus on reviving old Gaelic culture. The Gaelic Athletic Association, which formed in 1884, promoted traditional Irish games like hurling and Irish football, while the Gaelic League, founded in 1893 by Douglas Hyde, focused on reviving Gaelic culture and language 40. Poets like W.B. Yeats produced works which glorified Irish culture, while Lady Augusta Gregory translated old Gaelic folk tales into English and founded the Irish Literary Theater 41. Emphasizing a unique Irish culture also contributed to more general foreign support for Irish independence among other countries, especially the United States. In 1916, Irish nationalists felt the time had come to cross the line from political agitation to explicit violence. The supreme council of the IRB, composed of Sean MacDermott and Thomas Clarke, worked with Padraic Pearse, Joseph Plunkett, Thomas MacDonagh, and Eamonn Ceannt of the Irish Volunteers to organize the uprising of 1916, also known as the 39 Jalland, Desmond, Ch Connolly, 240

17 Easter Rising. They also involved James Connolly, head of the Marxist Irish Citizen Army (who had been planning an independent uprising), and planned the uprising to begin on Easter Monday (April 24, 1916) and spread throughout Ireland (footnote here about confusion of orders). Due to confusion over orders, the movement remained confined to Dublin, where about 1,200 to 1,600 (estimates vary) volunteers seized the General Post Office and several other government buildings. Fighting lasted until April 29, when British auxiliaries finally overwhelmed the insurgents; total casualties included 64 insurgents, 132 British soldiers, and approximately 230 civilians, along with extensive destruction of downtown Dublin due to mortar fire. 42 Seen as a blatant attempt to galvanize sympathy for Irish independence through martyrdom, the uprising was initially highly unpopular. But in just a few short weeks, the British government succeeded in turning Irish public opinion 180 degrees through its heavy-handed use of flimsy military trials, executions, and imposition of martial law. 43 First, many of the insurgents (including Pearse, Connolly, and Roger Casement, who had not even been involved in the fighting) without proper trials succeeded in turning many of them into martyrs, exactly as they had hoped. 44 In addition, the shooting of Francis Skeffington merely for witnessing a British soldier shoot an unarmed boy, as well as blatant civilian executions during the fighting, turned many Irish against the British, and only reminded them of past British atrocities. 45 Additionally, several Members of Parliament (MP), including John Dillon, protested what they saw as a Draconian British response to the actions of a handful of radicals. 46 Within two months, the rebels who survived the uprising, including Eamon de Valera, Michael Collins, Cathal Brugha, and Constance Markievicz, gained great political capital among both long-time Irish nationalists 42 Connolly, Desmond, Ch Desmond, Ch Connolly, Desmond, Ch. 12

18 and those who became inspired by the Easter Rising to seek an extra-parliamentary solution to British Domination. By the time the Dáil declared independence in 1918, tensions over land reform, religious violence, and questions of political sovereignty had combined in such a way that all of Ireland would soon be engulfed in a maelstrom of violence. As the first popularly-recognized independent legal body, the Dáil now faces all of the challenges of establishing a new country, while simultaneously waging a guerrilla war against one of the largest and most powerful empires the world has ever seen. Current status of the issues: HOME RULE: The incoming members of the Dáil Éireann are in favor of Home Rule from the nationalist perspective: that is, their ultimate goal is an independent Ireland. Because Home Rule has had multiple meanings in the past, the best way to refer to the Dáil and its supporters is as nationalists. As of the start of 1919, the British government still officially considers Ireland a part of the United Kingdom. LEGAL INDEPENDENCE At the start of the committee, the only actions the Dáil has taken is to pass a declaration of independence. The delegates must continue the process of establishing a sovereign nation. Delegates should keep the breakup of other former conquests (for example, the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian empire) in mind. MILITARY

19 Currently the Irish Republican Army (IRA) is the military arm of the Dáil. More information will be provided in committee, and details can be found in the supplemental resources. FOREIGN RELATIONS AND ECONOMY One of the Dáil s additional duties is to run the day-to-day operations of the new country, and is the Irish equivalent of the U.S. Congress. Delegates whose characters have duties involving these areas should come with strategies in mind. ESPIONAGE Espionage plays a large role in the Irish independence movement; delegates should be prepared to work within and against different spy rings. Some background knowledge of espionage during this time period is recommended, but not required. Goals of Committee The committee s overriding goal is to achieve independence from the British Empire. Delegates will be expected to tactfully assess political (bearing in mind the desires of constituents), diplomatic (interacting with foreign nations), and military (operating the IRA) options that can be used to arrive at independence. These options should be the prime focus of debate within the committee. Questions of Committee

20 1. How will the tensions between the pro-british and pro-independence factions in the Dáil play out in the committee? 2. How will religious factions factor into decisions made in the committee? 3. How will geographical divisions factor into decisions made in the committee? 4. How will the goals and motivations of individual delegates change during the War of Independence and the subsequent Civil War? 5. How will delegates engage foreign nations and interest group as a means of achieving their goals? Guide to Research The following sources were cited in the body of the paper, and will be useful for finding more specific answers to questions you have that were not answered within the background guide. The Oxford Companion to Irish History is particularly useful; buying a copy (which can be found for about $2 on Amazon) is strongly recommended. Sources for other topics are listed after the Works Cited section, along with a few additional audio and video resources delegates are highly encouraged to view. The staff does not expect you to be familiar with all of the resources listed below; rather, we have provided a large variety for you to skim, and then read the sources you think will be the most helpful for your character s agenda. Works Cited Connolly, S.J. Oxford Companion to Irish History. New York: Oxford UP, Desmond, Jerry. Desmond s Concise History of Ireland. np, Huttman, John P. Fenians and Farmers: The Merger of the Home-Rule and Owner-Occupancy

21 Movements in Ireland, , Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies, 3, no. 4 (Winter, 1971): Jalland, Patricia and Stubbs, John. The Irish Question after the Outbreak of War in 1914: Some Unfinished Party Business, The English Historical Review, 96, no. 381 (1981): Lloyd, Trevor. Partition, within, Partition: The Irish Example, International Journal, 53, no. 3 (Summer, 1998): Lynch, John M. The Anglo-Irish Problem, Foreign Affairs 50, no. 4 (1972): Shepard, James. The Government of Ireland (Home Rule) Bill, The American Political Science Review, 6, no. 4 (1912): Additional Resources: Irish War of Independence: More background information about the events occurring during our committee s time frame, as well as some biographical information about some of the key political figures can be found by following these links: Some good overviews of Irish history: (This is a particularly good place to look for primary sources.)

22 Here are sources relating directly to the Home Rule crisis occurring during and immediately following World War I. These are helpful in understanding the divisions within Ireland (along religious and geographic boundaries) and the partition crisis that will occur in : More information on the 1916 Easter Rising (considered by some the start of the Irish War of Independence). The entry in the Oxford Companion to Irish History is also a good resource. aster_rising.html Information on the Irish Civil War (c.a ). These will give you a good idea of the events occurring toward the second half of the session.

23 Finally, the Chair and Crisis Director strongly recommend that all delegates who are permitted by their parents and faculty advisors should view the film Wind that Shakes the Barley, available on Netflix. The film is an excellent dramatic representation of Ireland during the time period this committee encompasses, and was also part of the inspiration for the committee. The current Irish national anthem is also linked below; it was written during this time period, and is a good example of some of the dramatic rhetoric of independence produced during this time. Irish National Anthem: Background:

24 1919 Irish War for Independence Map of Ireland: Cities Ma p of Ireland: Counties Source: Source: land#/media/file:ireland_rail_network_sb.svg Source: ps_of_ireland/administrative_map_of_ireland.jpg

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