The Embers That Fed The Flame

A brief summary of the early days of conflict

Conflict in Ireland (Northern Ireland in particular) stems back as far as the early 1900s. Back then, Ireland was largely made up of 2 distinct groups of people; Catholics (Nationalists) who yearned for freedom of British rule and home rule (following Ireland’s formal union with Britain back in 1801), and the Protestants (Unionists), who’s ‘Old English’ descendants date back to Henry II’s Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland back in the 12th century. The protestants wanted to remain under British rule and were more prominent in the Ulster region of Ireland.

During 1912-1914, the Ulster Volunteers, or UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force), was formed to oppose any notion of home rule and threatened to fight for their cause. To prepare for what was ahead, they smuggled 25,000 rifles into Ulster from Imperial Germany. To combat the Ulster Volunteers, Nationalists formed a rival militia called the Irish Volunteers, or Irish Volunteer Force. It’s also reported that the Irish Volunteers were also made up of members of the Gaelic League, Ancient Order of Hibernians and even, secretly, the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB).

In April 1916, the Irish Republicans, led by Pádraig Pearse and supported by James Connolly’s Irish Citizen Army, fought against the British regime culminating in 6 days of conflict where 485 people lost their lives. Of which 143 were British soldiers. During the rising, strategically placed buildings in Dublin were seized and the Irish Republic was proclaimed. Although Pearce, Connolly et al fought a valiant fight and made some real progress, inevitably the British forces suppressed the rising given the shear gulf in resources. Following Pearse’s reluctant surrender, around 3,500 Irish citizens were taken prisoner, of which it’s reported that around 1,800 of them were sent to internment camps and prisons in Britain. As a show of strength, the British army ordered the leaders of the rising to be executed following courts martial.

Following the Easter Rising, the overwhelming desire of the Irish Nationalists was that of home rule, and subsequently this led to Sinn Féin winning the majority of seats in the 1918 general election. As part of their manifesto, elected members of Sinn Féin proceeded to shun British rule and set up a new Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann), and in turn declared the formation of an independent Republic of Ireland, which they had hoped would cover the whole island of Ireland.

Unionists, on the other hand, had a different idea, winning most of the seats in Ulster and declaring their loyalty to the United Kingdom. Shortly after, in 1919, the British outlawed the Dáil amid widespread disbelief amongst Nationalists. This then led to to the War of independence, where the Irish Republican Army (IRA) started to attack British forces between 1919 and 1922.

During May 1921 Unionists had a successful election campaign, winning most of the seats. This led to the creation of a devolved government, the partition of Ireland (Northern Ireland & Southern Ireland) and a subsequent ceasefire between Nationalist and Unionist militia groups.

Little did we know, this was just the beginning…