If you’ve been following along, you know we’ve been winding our way through Ireland’s history. We’ve almost made it to the 20th century. This island is beautiful, but its history, not so much. Ireland’s 20th century would be rough going too, but at least there was a light at the end of the tunnel.
The Easter Rising
After the Great Famine of 1850, more Irish than ever refused to live under oppressive foreign rule. Things came to a head in 1916 with the Easter Rising. Irish rebel groups joined together, staging a take-over of Dublin. Rebels seized government buildings and proclaimed Ireland an independent republic.
The English had been busy with World War I. They got caught with their pants down, but they responded in force. They brought in troops and artillery and shelled Irish strongholds in the city. Dublin truly was a war zone.
The English artillery prevailed. British troops rounded up seven Irish rebel leaders and executed them. I bet nearly every Irishman still knows their names today.
The rebels lost the battle, but there was no going back to the way things were. Popular support for an Irish Republic was overwhelming. A few Irish leaders made progress politically, but not nearly enough. Violence increased until a full-scale Irish War of Independence was underway.
On the morning of November 21st, 1920, Irish rebels killed fourteen British intelligence officers. That afternoon, in retaliation, British troops opened fire on a crowd at a football match. They killed fourteen civilians and wounded sixty-five. That day is known as “Bloody Sunday.” Fighting continued for another year.
Split Into North and South
In December 1921, both sides signed a treaty splitting Ireland in two. Six counties making up “Northern Ireland” would remain part of the United Kingdom. The rest of Ireland would become the “Irish Free State,” finally free from British rule. Today the Irish Free State is the Republic of Ireland – a sovereign state and a member of the European Union.
Northern Ireland was a mix of Protestants and Catholics, but Protestants held all positions of power. It was no secret that discrimination against Catholics was more or less government policy. Just as in the previous century, an Irish Catholic majority was under the boot of an English Protestant minority. The island’s violent history was destined to repeat itself.
In the 1960’s, Catholics protested peacefully against Protestant discrimination. But the lack of results and brutal police action fueled support for groups like the Provisional Irish Republican Army – the IRA. The IRA preferred a more direct approach to achieve change.
The Troubles
Violence escalated. The town of Derry, (along with Belfast), was a particular hot spot. Gerrymandering in Derry allowed Protestants to remain in charge of an overwhelming Catholic majority.
In August 1971, British troops rounded up suspected IRA members. They put 342 people into a makeshift internment camp. Internees were worse off than prisoners of war.
On Sunday, January 30th, 1972, people marched in Derry to protest the internment. British troops opened fire, shooting 26 protesters. Fourteen died. Now Ireland had a second “Bloody Sunday.”
After Bloody Sunday, the gloves were off in Northern Ireland. Bombings, shootings, raids, and reprisals occurred routinely. People erected walls between neighborhoods. No one was safe. That nightmarish time is now called “The Troubles.”
In April 1998, the two sides agreed to a power-sharing arrangement. It took some time, but things eventually settled down. They’ve been stable ever since. The Republic of Ireland experienced an economic boom in the 90’s. The economy grew like crazy until the global financial crisis started in 2008.
Ireland is booming again now. Huge cranes stick up all over Dublin like candles on a birthday cake. It looks like the whole city is being transformed. I hope not too much!
To be continued…
Notes
Irish history notes leading up to the 20th century are buried in previous posts, starting here: A Visit to the Guinness Storehouse and a Wee Bit of History.
There’s a nice condensed history of Ireland here.
The pic at the top of this post is a photo of Derry today. Credit: Ardfern/Wikimedia Commons
