Was the Irish Civil War a ‘natural’ conclusion to the events of previous years?
Some historians will say that the Civil War was a ‘natural’ conclusion to the activities of the previous year others will disagree. This essay will take the line that yes; the civil war was a natural and inevitable conclusion to the Anglo-Irish difficulties. In order to understand why the Civil War came about one must first understand how it came about by studying the actions of the previous years, the War of Independence and the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Then it is necessary to look at the feelings of the opposing sides of the Civil War. Finally one must look at history itself and compare the Irish War of Independence and the Civil War with similar cases. Once all steps have been taken the ultimate aim of this essay is to prove that the Civil War was a ‘natural’ conclusion to the previous years.
The War of Independence (WOI) was fought between the years 1918 and 1921 and ‘was mainly limited to Dublin and the province of Munster, and the IRA victories were few and far between’ . Ireland had forgotten about its aspirations for Home Rule and was now looking for a more drastic form of Independence. The war had its origins in the formation of unilaterally created independent Irish parliament, called Dáil Éireann, formed by the majority of MPs elected in Irish constituencies in the Irish (UK) general election, 1918. This parliament, known as the First Dáil, and its ministry, called the Aireacht declared Irish independence. The Dáil knew that ‘England’s difficulty (was) Ireland’s opportunity’ and ceized the day. After the failed rebelion of 1916 public sympathies slowly but surely swung to the millitant IRA (and Sinn Fein). By 1921 the WOI was a cause of British anxiety and embarressment and something had to be done. Once the Ulster province had been calmed by the Government of Ireland Act in 1920, the Lloyd George turned to its Nationalist neighbour. A Sinn Fein delegation, including Michael Collins and Arthur Grifith was sent to Westminster to negotiate the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It is important to note that President DeValera was not present. It is very possible that he knew there would have to be some comprimise made and he didn’t want to make it. After heated discusions and debates the delegation w...
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...jority of cases where there is Revolution there is Civil War.
As we see with history, it was almost inevitable that Ireland would experience civil war once she achieved ‘independence’. However, it was not just the history of other countries which dictated this, but also her own. When one person dies they leave behind a hundred mourners. As we can see by the strong words of Mary MacSweeny many of the families of Irish ‘martyrs’ wanted to see their deaths avenged. This was a strong force behind the Civil War and saw it as a ‘natural’ conclusion to previous years. There were also many rifts within the IRA prior to the Treaty and once they had no common enemy they were prone to fight themselves. With all this evidence pointing to the Civil War’s ‘natural’ occurrence it is hard to see how it could not have happened.
Bibliography
Litton, Helen, The Irish Civil War: An Illustrated History, (Dublin, 1995).
Purdon, Edward, The Civil War1922-1023, (Cork, 200).
Townshend, Charles, Ireland: The 20th Century, (London, 1998)
WEB: http://www.answers.com/topic/irish-civil-war http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_War_of_Independence
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Mackin, James A. (1997). ‘Sacrifice and Moral Hierarchy: The Rhetoric of Irish Republicans, 1916-23’, The American Communications Journal, Volume 1, Issue 3, September 1997. Article reproduced by The American Communications Journal, North Carolina, USA [Internet]. Available from: [18/3/05]
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