A Dílse-riffic Overview of the Irish Revolution, 1916-1921.



Background.
Ireland had been a part of the British Empire since 1541 (though it was dominated by England for centuries before that). In 1801 the Kingdom of Ireland officially merged with Great Britain and gave up its parliament. For the next hundred years there was a constant stream of groups who wanted to see Ireland independent again. The Sinn Fein political party was formed in 1905, and the more militant Irish Republican Army (IRA) about 10 years later. At the beginning of the 20th century, serious talk began to take place about restoring Irish home rule -- but for some it wasn't fast enough. The events we're concerned with in Dílse begin in the spring of 1916 with the great Easter Uprising in Dublin.


1916: The Rising.
An unsuccessful revolt lasting from April 24th - 30th, featuring some of the big names of Irish freedom fighting: James Connolly, Joseph Plunkett, etc. Be sure to read the Polbacht na H Eirann, the Irish Proclamation (equivalent to the US Declaration of Independence), which Connolly and crew published just beforehand.

The Rising had been in planning since the start of WWI, when the revolutionaries realized that the British government's concerns were elsewhere. The plan was to take over strategic buildings in Dublin and cordon off the city while London was distracted. Connolly figured they'd be safe because the Brits wouldn't blow up their own buildings. Wrong. The Brits quickly surrounded the barricades and the fighting lasted for a week. On April 29 the Brigade surrendered from within the post office, after they realized that Irish civilians were being killed. The 15 leaders of the rebellion were lined up and shot, in public, in early May. Hundreds of fighters and sympathizers were arrested.

In the story: Dom's older brother, Matthew, participated in the fighting outside the barricades and was lost in the final battle. Dom would have been 16 at the time.


1917-1918: Politics.
After the failure of the Rising, the revolutionaries start looking for non-violent options. In the space of two years they flooded the political system until, in the general elections in 1918, the Sinn Fein party won a huge number of seats in the Irish government -- not to mention almost every one of the Irish seats in British Parliament. London: "This can't be good."


1919: Rebellion.
The Irish members of Parliament promptly refused to attend sessions in London and declared Ireland a free Republic. The British government was less than pleased. The Irish government ratified the 1916 Proclamation and sent a delegation to the post-WWI Paris peace conference to push for Irish freedom. The more extreme military factions looked around and went, "Negotiation? WTF, mate, let's blow shit up." And then they did that. A lot. Fighting was mostly contained to Dublin and the surrounding Munster province, little more than guerilla skirmishes. It was basically the Irish managing - barely - to keep the Brits from administering affairs in the south and west of Ireland. They were kinda sorta successful.


1920: Government of Ireland Act.
After much wrangling, a compromise was reached with the Government of Ireland Act. It declared that Ireland would be seperated into two sections - essentially the two sections that exist now. Northern Ireland was to stay with the Empire, the rest to become a Free Irish State. In July 1921 a truce was declared, ending the Irish War of Independence which had lasted for over thirty months.

1921: The Anglo-Irish Treaty.
December 26th was the official signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty between Great Britain and the new Irish Free State. Some of its stipulations included:

-- Crown forces would withdraw from Ireland for the first time in eight hundred years.
-- The Irish Free State, or Saorstát Éireann (sair-staut air-inn), was to have the King as part of its internal system of governance, by way of a Representative of the Crown.
-- Members of parliament would be required to take an Oath of Allegiance to "the Free State". A secondary part of the Oath was fidelity to King George.
-- Britain would continue to control a limited number of ports, known as the 'Treaty Ports'.
-- The Treaty would have superior status in Irish law: in the event of a conflict between it and the new constitution of the Irish Free State, the Treaty would take precedence.

The Oath of Allegience thing really pissed off the Irish government, but they signed it anyway. There was, from the very beginning, a serious opposition to this within the Irish people.

Michael Collins and Eamon de Valera were both key players in the war and in the events leading up to the Treaty. Collins helped draft the Treaty and was given a position in the new Irish government; he used that position to try to negotiate for better terms. De Valera was appalled; he would only be satisfied with the IRA's original goal -- total Irish freedom -- and was not willing to negotiate with the government to get it. This led to a schism among the people - those who supported Collins and the Irish Free State, and those who supported de Valera and a whole Irish Republic. Over time this internal conflict would become more and more serious. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. :)



So, here's a recap of the situation in Dublin when Dílse begins.

British authority:
The English do not officially rule Ireland, but they do have authority to protect the interests of the Crown and enforce the Oath of Allegiance. The Brits know there is still plenty of shit going down, but they also know they have to tread lightly or risk another war. Lord McKellen works in the offices of the Crown Representative, but he is also the Director of the MI5 unit assigned to keep an eye on Dublin.

The MI5:
The MI5 was created in 1909. Besides the James Bond superspy stuff, the MI5's purpose in the early days was also to investigate threats to peace at home -- labor union strikes, anarchist movements, stuff like that. Often they would recruit ordinary men off the street to turn informer within these groups. This is exactly what happened to Bill. They would use these unofficial agents to gain enough evidence to send in the army and quell the opposition. Which means, in essence, that Bill is working for the people who killed his parents.

Division among the Irish people:
Many people are content with the new peace. Many people are not. They see the Irish Free State as a sham, a puppet government, and the Treaty as a betrayal of the ideals so many Irish died for. These are the followers of de Valera, not Collins -- the people who don't want to be a "sovereign dominion" of the British Empire but an entirely free Republic. Sinn Fein still thrives in politics and the IRA still thrives in the streets. But this is no longer just a fight against the British; now it's also Irish against Irish. (And it has been to this day.) Anyone could be in the IRA, and anyone could be an informer to the government.

Bernard and company are most definitely de Valera supporters. Bernard keeps a framed copy of the 1916 Proclamation hanging in the pub -- in itself a rather blatant (and risky) gesture. The Treaty was signed on December 26, 1921. Bill was sent into Dublin on January 12, 1922. McKellen was thinking ahead, and he was right to do so. Things are very fresh and emotions are running high.



I'm stopping this little history lesson here, in the first half of 1922. I hope it makes the context of things more clear -- wouldn't want to spoil the rest just yet. :D