Anglo-Irish War, Civil War, and Northern Ireland History
The Anglo-Irish War (1919-1921)
- 1916: Reorganization of Irish republicans > Sinn Fein (Éamon de Valera).
- 1918 General election in the U.K.
- Overwhelming victory for Sinn Fein in Ireland (3/4 of seats).
- Dáil Éireann (Jan. 1919).
- Proclamation of an independent Irish Republic.
- The Black and Tans sent to Ireland (1920).
- The IRA rose in arms to defend the Irish Republic.
The Civil War (1922-1923)
- 1921 Partition Treaty (67 vs. 64 votes)
- Irish Free State (Dominion Status)
- Northern Ireland (6 Ulster counties)
- 1922-23 Civil War in the Irish Free State.
- Free Staters vs. Republicans.
- 1936 IRA declared illegal in the Free State.
- 1937: New constitution.
- Éire.
- No allegiance to the British Crown.
- Catholicism granted special status.
Northern Ireland After the Partition Treaty
- 1921 Creation of Northern Ireland with its own parliament at Stormont (near Belfast).
- For one day, N.I. was part of the Irish Free State (1922)
- 1922 Riots in Belfast.
- Unionism/Loyalism vs. Nationalism/Republicanism (revenge of the cradle)
Autonomous Northern Ireland, 1921-1972
Sir James Craig (Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, 1921-1940): “all I boast is that we are a Protestant parliament in a Protestant state.”
Craig was prouder of his post in the Orange Order than of his post in government!
Religion in Ireland
Suppression of the Catholic Church (1536).
Strict measures to introduce Anglican Church: Plantations, Penal Laws (1695)
Religion and patriotic resistance (but bishops allowed and orders allowed 1778, a seminary in 1795)
Emancipation Act of 1829.
Disestablishment of Anglican Church in 1869.
Birth control not fully legalized in the Republic until 1980.
Divorce was unconstitutional, 1937-1995.
Abortion remains illegal unless a woman’s life is at risk.
Homosexuality between consenting adults was illegal until 1993.
Scottish Parliament
Welsh Assembly
The British Parliament
The House of Lords: It has benches on either side and galleries above. At one end of the Chamber is the Throne from which the Queen speaks to both Houses at the State Opening of Parliament. There is seating for only about 250 members at one time.
The House of Commons: MPs hold most of their debates in The House of Commons Chamber. The Speaker sits on a raised chair at the end of the Chamber with the government party to the right and the opposition to the left. Government ministers sit on the benches either side of the table in front of the Speaker and are called frontbenchers. MPs who are not ministers are called backbenchers. There are only seats for 427 MPs.
Westminster Abbey: has been the venue for almost every Coronation since 1066.
Number 10 Downing Street: it is the residence and office of the Prime Minister.
Buckingham Palace: has served as the official London residence of Britain’s sovereigns since 1837.
State Opening of Parliament
is the most colourful ceremony in the parliamentary calendar. Every element is loaded with historical meaning, some of it dating back to 1536. But the ceremony serves a practical purpose too: no business can take place until the queen reads the speech.