The IRA and the Irish War of Independence

What happened on the island of Ireland from the late 19th century to the formation of the creation of the Republic of Ireland? This paper will discuss the events of the Irish War of Independence which was caused by British imperial rule over the island. The British viewed themselves as being superior to the Irish and treated them with clear disrespect. This was a very tumultuous time on the island of Ireland which resulted in war and many casualties. It was an era of rebellion that included uprisings, imprisonments, and executions. One of the most famous incidences of this time period was the Easter Uprising. The uprising led to the deaths of many of the Irish people and the death of many of the leaders of the IRA (Irish Republican Army), formerly known as the IRB (Irish Republican Brotherhood). The fight did not end with the Easter Rising. This was a war that the IRA had to win in order for the Irish free state to be created. If the Irish did not meet the British with violence there was no chance that the Irish would ever gain independence. The IRA with its new leader, Michael Collins led the fight to the creation of the Irish free state. The IRA gained Irish independence in the only fashion possible because the treatment that the Irish people and resources received from the empire, the way that the leaders of the IRA/IRB were treated, and the plethora of resources that the British had in comparison to the Irish. The IRA utilized a near perfect strategy to gain independence. It was the only way in which they could accomplish their goal of an Irish free state.

The British treated the Irish people horribly and drained their land and resources dry. They would never have any intention to give the Irish independence because they did not view them as equals or deserving of basic rights that British people enjoyed. In an article that was written by John Redmond M.P. titled, “Ireland and the Coronation Why Ireland is Discontented.” Redmond discusses the reasons why the Irish representatives in parliament did not attend the coronation of King Edward VII. The reasons that they gave for not attending the coronation are identical to the reasons the IRA waged war against the British Empire. The British misgoverned and overused the land in Ireland which resulted in famine and as a result deaths and mass exodus from the island. In a poem that was written by John Redmond on this subject states, “They are dying, they are dying/ Where the golden corn is growing: /They are dying, they are dying/ Where the crowded herds are lowing. / They are gasping for existence / Where the streams of life are flowing, / And they perish of the plague / Where the breeze of health is blowing.” (Redmond 5) This poem shows the suffering of what occurred to the people of Ireland back during the time of the great famine. Redmond attributes this to the mismanagement of the British. The British drove a large chunk of the population off the island. They also left large portions of land unused which could have been utilized to feed the people of Ireland. Irish soil is very fertile and the British incompetence caused the mass exodus and deaths of the Irish people. (Redmond 5) The British grossly misused Ireland and are responsible for this travesty. With the knowledge that they drove Irish from their homeland and allowed Irish people to starve to death it is clear that they would never give the Irish people independence in a peaceful manner.

Redmond also shares a financial reason for disloyalty to the empire. The Irish are grossly over taxed. He shares that they have discussed this issue with the British and they came the decision that a tribunal should be appointed and make the decision. The problem was that the members of the tribunal were British, were appointed by the British, and came to the conclusion that the taxation was fair. Even if the verdict would have been in favor of the Irish the British would have never accepted that verdict and would have made sure that it was reversed immediately. Redmond states, “We pay for the navy, and we have no commerce for the navy to protect; we pay for the army, and we loathe and execrate the work upon which it has been engaged.” (Redmond 6) The British would never allow the Ireland leave under peaceful means because it would mean losing a major piece of finance that helped power the empire. The civilian population was greatly hurt by the actions of the British Empire that was placed upon the island of Ireland.

Britain stifled the leaders of the IRA and other leaders of the people of Ireland. One of the ways that they did this was by denying the Irish people their constitution. Ireland was a land without a constitution. The Irish constitution was destroyed when the British decided to in 1900. The British did not provide Ireland with their constitution or any constitution for that matter. They left Ireland as a land without a constitution. This left Ireland in a legal position that did not allow for movements to form, “Martial law, suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, suspension of trial by jury, suppression of free speech- these have been permanent blessings conferred on Ireland by the destruction of the Irish Constitution.” (Redmond 4) The destruction of the Irish Constitution shows that the British did not respect the Irish people and would never give Ireland independence if the IRA did not take it by violent means.

The British regularly executed and imprisoned leaders of the IRA and soldiers of the cause. One of the most memorable executions of a member of the IRA is the execution of Kevin Barry. Kevin Barry was a medical school student and an IRA member. He was convicted of the murder of 3 British soldiers and sentenced to death. He and his fellow IRA members were attempting to steal rifles from the military barracks. Barry was just over 18 and many challenged his execution on a couple of different grounds. First, he was just a kid barely over 18 years old. Second, he was a prisoner of war and should have been treated as such. He did not kill these soldiers out of cold blood. They were just casualties of war. He should have been considered a prisoner of war. After he was hung he became a hero of the Irish people because he did not show fear and remained calm in his last moments before death. “As one martyr is being carried to the grave the hangman is erecting the gallows to receive another.” (Doherty 224) The British in doing this was an attempt to stifle the IRA and show their might and power.

The British did not always go as far as executing IRA members they often just imprisoned them. Michael was one of the leaders of the IRA. Michael wrote a journal of his time in prison. Michael Collins was arrested for, “Having incited raiding for arms in a speech delivered at Legga, Co. Longford, on Sunday, March 3rd, 1918.” In his journal he stated, “I make you a present of that - (this to the R.M.). For that order I have been brought here and I know the intention (in remanding me to the Assizes) is to keep me in jail indefinitely so that I may be prevented carrying on the work I have been doing for Ireland.” (Collins 13) This, like what they did to Kevin Barry, was an attempt to stifle the IRA movement by taking away their leader.

Photo of Michael Collins

The IRA also lacked the resources that the British had. The IRA was almost entirely self-taught. They did not have the training that the British military or local police forces had. The IRA was just a group of volunteers who did not have a navy or a well trained army like the British had. (Townshend 322) They could not compete with the British in typical forms of military action. They also lacked weapons. They mostly had shotguns and revolvers but lacked the main military weapons, rifles. They had to resort to stealing them from the British and local police force. For example, at Collinstown airfield in March 1919 members of the IRA raided the airfield and got away with 75 rifles and 4,000 rounds of ammunition. (Townshend 324) They lacked the shear amount of weapons that the British possessed. No matter how many weapons the IRA was able to raid they never matched the British in available weapons. They also lacked financially. The IRA was split into local companies. Each company was responsible for their own financing, weapons, and training. The funding was raised through membership subscriptions. (Townshend 322) The Irish did not have the capital to match the British in funding for a war. The IRA did not have the ability to fight the British in a normal war.

In order to gain independence, the Irish used irregular forms of combat in propaganda and guerilla warfare. An example of the Irish utilizing propaganda was with the story of Kevin Barry. The IRA used the death of Kevin Barry, which I spoke about earlier as inspiration for Irish pride and willingness to fight. His story was part of a song that was used for purposes of propaganda, ‘a lad of eighteen summers’, ‘British soldiers tortured Barry’, ‘refused to turn informer’, ‘hanged him like dog’, ‘another martyr for old Ireland, another murder for the crown.’ (Doherty 217) This became a rallying cry for the Irish cause. Propaganda was a tool used by the IRA to further their cause of Irish independence.

The Irish also utilized guerrilla warfare after learning from the mistakes of the Easter Rising of 1916. The biggest issue that the leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916 made was using normal military methods. The members of the rising in Galway were waiting for some of the 20,000 weapons to arrive from the Germans (who were fighting the British in WW1 at the time). The weapons were never brought to the island. As a result of the weapons not arriving the 500 or so fighters only had 25 rifles, 60 revolvers, 300 shotguns, and 60 pikes. (Campbell 337) The lack of proper weapons and trying to fight in conventional ways ruined the chances of the Easter Rising being successful. After the Easter Rising the IRA resorted to Guerilla Warfare which is a strategy of having smaller groups of soldiers ambush or raid a larger less mobile army who more than likely uses more traditional military strategies. This is what the IRA did to the British. “We are carrying out a well-considered plan of campaign in which the object is to harass and demoralize the enemy without giving them an opportunity to strike back effectively. We realize that it is far more profitable to kill for Ireland than to die for her.” (Campbell 337) This was the formula that lead to the creation of the Irish free state.

In conclusion, the IRA fought the British through learning from past failures, propaganda, and the use of guerilla warfare. The process of Irish Independence had to be violent because the British would have never given up Ireland in a peaceful manner. The Irish tried peaceful attempts to gain their independence including by political means. This didn’t work. They then attempted to gain their independence by using typical military methods. Again, this didn’t work. The use of guerilla warfare was the only method in which the Irish could gain their independence. The War of Irish Independence not only gave the Irish people independence but also gave all dissatisfied parts of the empire a strategy of how to gain independence. The British were taking advantage of the Irish people and land while also attempting to stifle IRA movements in order to maintain power over Ireland.

Works Cited

Campbell, Fergus. “The Easter Rising in Galway.” History Ireland 4, no. 2 (2006) 22-25.

Doherty, M.A. “Kevin Barry and the Anglo-Irish Propaganda War.” Irish Historical Studies 32, no.126 (2000): 217-31.

O Deirg, Iosold, and Michael Collins. ‘“Oh! Lord the Unrest of Soul”: The Jail Journal of Michael Collins.” Studia Hibernica, no. 28 (1994): 7-34.

Redmon, John, M.P. “Ireland and the Coronation-Why Ireland is Discontented: The Case for Ireland Stated.” Empire Online - Adam Matthew Digital. Accessed April 04, 2018.

Townshend, Charles. “The Irish Republican Army and the Development of Guerilla Warfare, 1961-1921.” The English Historical Review 94, no. 371 (1979): 318-45.

Unknown. Michael Collins. 1919. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.