Decade of commemorations

Tommy McKearney

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Decade of commemoration
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More than any other decade in modern history, the events that occurred between 1912 and 1922 shaped
the direction of politics and society here throughout the twentieth century.

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The political, social and cultural consequences of what happened during the decade of 1912 -1922
reverberate throughout Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to this day.

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Commemorating the events of the past can help bond a community or group and selective use of past
events can serve the political needs of the present.

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Times change and as they do people look back on the past and reinterpret events and ideas to explain
the present.

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People often look for patterns, for order, and for coherence in past events to comfort them in periods of
social, economic, political and cultural change


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1912 Ulster Covenant
1913 Dublin Lock Out
1914 Outbreak of World War 1
1916 Easter Rising
1916 Battle of the Somme
1918 General Election and First Dáil
1918 Voting Rights for Women / Suffragettes
1920 Formation of N.Ireland
1922 Anglo Irish Treaty and Civil War



ULSTER COVENANT 1912
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Signed by just under half a million people to oppose the
British Government’s 3rd Home Rule Bill in 1912.
Almost as many women as men signed the Covenant.
January 1913, Ulster Unionist Council formed the Ulster
Volunteer Force from among those who had signed the
Covenant.
Covenant stated that ‘Home Rule would be disastrous to
the material well being of Ulster as well as the whole of
Ireland’
‘Home Rule is Rome Rule’ – subversive of our civil and
religious freedom
Integrity of the Empire



Easter Rising
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Large numbers of Irishmen had joined Irish regiments
and divisions of the British Army at the outbreak of
war in 1914
However, likelihood of enforced conscription created
a backlash
The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the
aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing
the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire
was heavily engaged in the First World War.
The Rising was suppressed after seven days of
fighting, and its leaders were court-martialled and
executed, but it succeeded in bringing physical force
republicanism back to the forefront of Irish politics.



Battle of the Somme
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The Battle of the Somme fought from July - November 1916 was
the battle that symbolised the horrors of warfare in World War 1.
The British professional army had taken heavy losses and had to
be reinforced with volunteers straight from civilian life. 2,500,000
men enlisted in a torrent of patriotic enthusiasm.
Jack Christie born on the Shankill Road was only 16 years old at
the outbreak of war: ‘I enlisted because it was an escape route
out of the mill, for surely life holds more than the mill can offer.’
John O Reilly from Cavan was 18 years old when the war started:
‘I heard a Catholic priest preaching about how little Catholic
Belgium had been attacked by Germany and was suffering. I
joined the British Army after that.’
In mid-November the battle ended, with the Allies having
advanced only 8km. The British and its dominions suffered
around 420,000 casualties, the French 195,000 and the Germans
around 650,000.



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The 1918 general election was seen as a landslide victory for Sinn Féin – of
the 105 seats in Ireland, their candidates were elected in 73 constituencies
The success of Unionists who won 26 seats overall was largely limited to
Ulster.
The IPP won six seats in Ireland, all but one of which were in Ulster.
In accordance with Sinn Féin doctrine, their elected members refused to
attend Westminster having instead formed their own parliament – the First
Dáil.
However Unionists and members of the IPP refused to recognise the Dáil. At
its first meeting on 21 January 1919 the Dáil issued a Declaration of
Independence and proclaimed itself the parliament of a state called the "Irish
Republic".
On the same day, two local Irish members of the RlC were ambushed and
killed at Soloheadbeg, in Tipperary.
In this way the 1918 elections led to the outbreak of the Anglo-Irish War,
giving the impression that the election sanctioned the war.



Foundation of Northern Ireland state
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Guerrilla warfare raged across Ireland in the aftermath of the 1918
general election, leading to the Irish war of Independence. The conflict
was complicated by involving not only the Irish Republican Army (IRA)
and the British Army but the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) as well.
Fourth and final Home Rule Bill (the Government of Ireland Act 1920)
partitioned the island into Northern Ireland (six north-eastern counties)
and Southern Ireland .
The first years of the new autonomous region were marked by bitter
violence, particularly in Belfast. The IRA was determined to oppose
partition and the authorities created the (mainly ex-UVF) Ulster Special
Constabulary to aid the Royal Irish Constabulary and introduced
emergency powers to put down the IRA. Many died in violence from
1920, which petered out after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in
1922.
Some Unionists such as Sir Edward Carson opposed partition, seeing
it as a betrayal of Unionism



Partition of Ireland
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For three days from 6 December 1922 Northern Ireland stopped being part of the United Kingdom
and became part of the newly created Irish Free State.
This arose because of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the legislation introduced to give that Treaty legal
effect.
The Treaty was given effect in the United Kingdom through the Irish Free State Constitution Act
1922. That Act established a new Dominion for the whole island of Ireland but also allowed
Northern Ireland to opt out.
Under Article 12 of the Treaty, Northern Ireland could exercise its opt out by presenting an address
to the King requesting not to be part of the Irish Free State. Once the Treaty was ratified, the
Parliament of Northern Ireland had one month to exercise this opt out.
On 7 December 1922 (the day after the establishment of the Irish Free State) the Parliament of
Northern Ireland demonstrated its lack of hesitation by resolving to opt out of the Irish Free State.


Commemoration
•In the aftermath of every conflict there is a period of reflection, remembrance and renegotiation as society attempts
to deal with its past. Commemoration is an integral and inherent part of this process
•The ‘aftermath’ of the Troubles has instigated a wave of remembering and representation, not only of the very
recent past, but also of many other aspects of history which found new meanings in a post-conflict context. UlsterScots heritage, emigration, the Irish Famine, the Great War, etc
•Memory continues to be selectively inscribed onto urban and rural landscapes through a variety of different physical
forms, from monuments to street murals, from memorial plaques to gardens of remembrance, and from statues to
street names.
•Memorials help concretise the past in public spaces. Notions of power are also inherent to the commemorative
process. The dominant group usually dictates who or what is remembered and is influential in determining where
and when the commemoration will take place.
•Given the segregation of residential space in Northern Ireland, commemorations can also play a part in the ongoing marking of territory and division of space.



Thank You


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