Dublin Ruins during the civil
war, National Library of
Ireland, 1922,
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From 1919-1921, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) wanted independence and fought a guerilla war in Ireland against British forces. This war ended with the proposed Anglo-Irish Treaty, which allowed for an independent Irish state, but would make Ireland a dominion of Great Britain, much like Canada or Australia. This effectively dissolved the Irish Republic formed in 1918 and caused major divisions among the newly free state. From June of 1922 to May 1923, more guerilla war broke out in Ireland, this time between the pro-treaty provisional government and anti-treaty IRA. In the end, the
Irish Republic lost to the Free Irish State in May of 1922 when both sides stopped warfare without official surrender or treaty. Today, Irish political parties are still largely defined and divided by these early opposing sides of the war. |
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