Irish Republic

:This article is about the historical Irish Republic. For the modern Irish state, see: Republic of Ireland1. The terms are not synonomous.

Establishment

In 1916 nationalist rebels participating in the Easter Rising issued the Proclamation of the Republic. By this declaration they claimed to establish an independent state called the "Irish Republic" and proclaimed that the leaders of the rebellion would serve as the "Provisional Government of the Irish Republic" until it became possible to elect a national parliament. The Easter Rising was short-lived, largely limited to Dublin and, at the time it occurred, enjoyed little support from the Irish general public.

Related Topics:
1916 - Easter Rising - Proclamation of the Republic - Provisional Government of the Irish Republic - Dublin

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In the UK general election of 1918 candidates of the radical Sinn Féin party, including many who had participated in the 1916 rebellion, stood on a manifesto that committed the party to boycott the British Parliament and instead unilaterally establish a new Irish assembly in Dublin. Sinn Féin candidates won a large majority of seats, many uncontested, and in January 1919 gathered in the Mansion House for the first meeting of Dáil Éireann. At this meeting the Dáil adopted the Irish Declaration of Independence. Because of the Easter Proclamation already adopted in 1916, the Dáil retrospectively ratified the establishment of the Irish Republic.

Related Topics:
UK general election of 1918 - Sinn Féin - British Parliament - Dublin - Mansion House - Dáil Éireann - Irish Declaration of Independence

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On the same day as the Declaration of Independence was issued two members of the Royal Irish Constabulary escorting a cartload of gelignite were killed at Soloheadbeg, in Tipperary, by members of the Irish Volunteers. This incident had not been ordered by the Dáil but the course of events soon drove the Dáil to recognise the Volunteers as the army of the Irish Republic, and so the Soloheadbeg incident became the opening incident of the Anglo-Irish War between the Irish Republic and Great Britain.

Related Topics:
Royal Irish Constabulary - Gelignite - Soloheadbeg - Tipperary - Irish Volunteers - Anglo-Irish War

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:The leaders of the Easter Rising had decided to proclaim a republic, though Pearse preferred a monarchy (see above). In the years following the Rising, Sinn Féin was split between monarchists, led by Arthur Griffith, who favoured the establishment of a form of dual monarchy between Ireland and Great Britain, and republicans, under Éamon de Valera. However a compromise was reached at the 1917 Ard Fheis (party conference), where it was agreed that the party would pursue the establishment of an independent republic in the short-term, until the Irish people could be given the opportunity to decide on the form of government they preferred. This agreement was subject to the condition that if the people chose monarchy, no member of the British royal family would be invited to serve as monarch.

Related Topics:
Arthur Griffith - Éamon de Valera - 1917 - Ard Fheis

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The decision to establish a republic in 1919, rather than any other form of government, was significant because it amounted to a complete repudiation of all constitutional ties with Great Britain, and set the party against any compromise that might involve initial all-Ireland self-government under the Home Rule Act 1914 or continued membership of the British Empire. The volatile question of the northeast having long indicated that it would never participate in any form of a republic was unfortunately left unresolved, which resulted in it remaining part of the United Kingdom under the Government of Ireland Act, 1920 and the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

Related Topics:
Home Rule Act 1914 - British Empire - United Kingdom - Government of Ireland Act, 1920 - Anglo-Irish Treaty

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