Dublin Castle originally built as a defensive fortification during the Norman period, evolved into the seat of British power, housing the mechanisms of the British government in Ireland. The Lord Lieutenant or the Viceroy of Ireland, the representative of the British crown, resided in the Castle. Parliament and the royal courts also took place in […]
The Irish Constitution, accepted by national vote in July became law at midnight. The constitution echoed much of the thinking of Éamon de Valera. Much of the development and drafting of the constitution was done by John J. Hearne, Éamon de Valera’s confidante and advisor. Hearne went on to become first Irish ambassador to the […]
Ireland starts to tear itself apart as opposing forces debate the Treaty, setting the stage for a vicious Civil War. Following are some passionate speeches from Arthur Griffith, Éamon de Valera and Michael Collins. Arthur Griffith: “(I move) that Dáil Éireann approves of the Treaty between Great Britain and Ireland, signed in London on December […]
They are the remnants of a 5,000 strong garrison maintained up to that point in Dublin, commanded by Nevil Macready. Last British troops leave the twenty-six counties of the Irish Free State. It appears to have been a friendly farewell, even while Ireland was embroiled in its own Civil War. The Union Jack was lowered […]
In 1936, a constitutional crisis in the British Empire arose when King Edward VIII proposed to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who was divorced from her first husband and was pursuing a divorce of her second. Police detectives following Simpson reported back that, while involved with Edward, she was also involved with a married […]
Nationalist, Robert Erskine Childers, author of Riddle of the Sands, arms smuggler, father of the fourth president of Ireland Erskine Childers was executed by Free State government for carrying an unlawful weapon at 7am in Dublin (as well as eight other IRA members). Childers supported the Anti-Treaty forces in the vicious Irish civil war which […]
In the first use of the powers enacted under the Public Safety Act, five Anti-Treaty IRA fighters who had been captured with arms in Co Wicklow were shot by firing squad in Dublin. On 19 November, three more Anti-Treaty IRA men were executed, also in Dublin. On 24 November, Robert Erskine Childers, an acclaimed author […]
1814 – Joseph Finegan, a Confederate general in the American Civil War, is born in Clones, Co Monaghan. 1852 – Sligo-born Brigadier Michael Corcoran’s Irish Legion is mustered into the Federal service; it is involved in the defense of Washington D.C. 1869 – For nearly 150 years, the Suez Canal has played a vital role […]
‘On the base of the Pillar was a white poster. Gathered around were groups of men and women. Some looked at it with serious faces, others laughed and sniggered. I began to read it with a smile, but my smile ceased as I read, ‘Poblacht na h-Eireann, the Provisional government of the Irish Republic – […]
The Irish Free State constitution was adopted by an act of Dáil Éireann and given royal approval in December. It established many of the articles that had been set out in the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. Northern Ireland (Unionists) opted out of the Irish Free State, and under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, this […]
