Irish Republic

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

Legacy

The goal of those who established the Irish Republic was to create a de facto independent republic comprising the whole island of Ireland. They failed in this goal, but the Irish Republic paved the way for the creation of the Irish Free State, a British Commonwealth dominion with self-government, and a territory that extended to the 26 counties originally foreseen in the 1914 Home Rule Act. By 1949 the Free State became a fully independent republic, the 'Republic of Ireland'.

Related Topics:
British Commonwealth - Dominion - 1914 Home Rule Act - Republic of Ireland

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Speaking in the Dáil on 29th April, 1997 leader of the once anti-Treaty Fianna Fáil party, Bertie Ahern, and the then Taoiseach (prime minister) John Bruton, leader of the pro-Treaty Fine Gael party, agreed that as a basis for inclusive commemoration, the date from which Irish independence should be measured was not the formation of the Irish Republic in 1919, but the 1922 establishment of the Irish Free State, the first modern Irish state to achieve de facto independence and international recognition.

Related Topics:
1997 - Fianna Fáil - Bertie Ahern - Taoiseach - John Bruton - Fine Gael

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Since the Civil War of 1922-1923 the Irish Republic has been an important symbol for radical republicans. The Civil War began in June 1922 when both Sinn Féin and the IRA split between those pragmatists, who supported the Treaty, and those hardline republicans who opposed the compromises it contained. In particular the anti-Treaty faction objected to the continued role in the Irish constitution that would be granted to the British monarch under the Irish Free State. When the Dáil ratified the Treaty its opponents of the agreement walked out, arguing that the Dáil was attempting to 'destroy' the Irish Republic, and that its members had no right to do so. After the Irish electorate voted in a majority of pro-Treaty candidates to the Dáil, Éamon de Valera declared that "the people have no right to do wrong."

Related Topics:
Civil War - 1922 - 1923

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Opponents of the Treaty refused to recognise either the Provisional Government or, when it was established, the Irish Free State, insisting that the Irish Republic continued to exist as a de jure entity. The anti-treaty faction also refused to recognise the Third Dáil, as it excluded representatives of Northern Ireland, and instead insisted that the Second Dáil, comprised only of deputies 'loyal' to the Irish Republic, was still legally in session.

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The anti-Treaty side was defeated in the Civil War. Most militant opposition to the Free State came to an end on May 24 1923 when Frank Aiken, chief-of-staff of the IRA issued the order to "dump arms" and Eamon de Valera issued his address "Legion of the Rearguard". Éamon de Valera continued as president of the Sinn Fein political party. In March 1926, Éamon de Valera, along with most anti-Treaty politicians, founded a new party called 'Fianna Fáil' and ended their boycott of the institutions of the Free State. Nonetheless a hard-line minority continued to reject the legitimacy of the Free State and its successor, the Republic of Ireland. Most importantly, the Provisional IRA (PIRA), which conducted a campaign of bombings and shootings in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s until 1998, and its political wing, the modern Sinn Féin party, used to insist that the Irish Republic was still legally in existence, with the IRA as its national army, and the IRA Army Council Ireland's sole legitimate government. These views are also held by other radical groups such as the Continuity IRA and the Real IRA. As of 2005, the Provisional IRA continue to use the title Oglaigh na hÉireann (lit. Volunteers of Ireland), the official Irish title for the Republic of Ireland's armed forces.

Related Topics:
May 24 - 1923 - Frank Aiken - Sinn Fein - Fianna Fáil - Republic of Ireland - Provisional IRA - IRA Army Council - Continuity IRA - Real IRA - As of 2005 - Irish - Armed forces

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