Page 7 - Moravian Messenger May 2021

Part 4:
Partition becomes inevitable
seized upon by Sinn Féin and the old National Party led by Redmond was doomed. As the First World War progressed and manpower shortages grew, it was hoped to introduce conscription to Ireland, but this met with fierce opposition from the growing militancy of the Catholic Church. However, by the end of 1918, 100,000 men from Catholic backgrounds had served in the British armed forces.
The Khaki election in 1918 gave unexpected results in Ireland. The Unionists had 26 seats mainly concentrated in the North East. Redmond's National party gained two seats, but Sinn Féin had 77 seats. As Sinn Féin had campaigned for a Republic the political atmosphere was highly charged. It had been agreed that the 1912 Home Rule Act would be placed on the Statute Book when the war was over but following this election it was evident that it had little chance of being accepted by any party in the new political climate. Sinn Féin decided to set up their own parliament in Dublin and despatched 10 delegates to the Paris Peace Conference. What they hoped to achieve is unclear because despite the talk of 'the rights of small nations' the British, who dominated the proceedings had no time for them. The USA President Wilson declined to meet them saying it was an internal UK affair and he had no inclination to intervene. The new Sinn Féin 'parliament' in Dublin invited all the MPs from Ireland to a joint session but not surprisingly they sat alone. With the setting up of the body known as the Dáil, Sinn Féin effectively defined Southern Ireland from this point. There would and could be little contact between opposing opinions.
On the 21st January 1919 a group of National Volunteers killed two policemen guarding the movement of a quantity of dynamite. This action is generally regarded as the start of the War of Independence. Sinn Féin also began to set up the rudiments of a civil administration to replace that of the British government. Although it was sketchy, this administration was the start of a policy of encroachment on the
everyday life of the people of the Southern counties. The war of independence developed into attacks on the British Army posts, Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Barracks and the destruction of Protestant property especially that of the remaining landlords. A war of terror, inflicted by both sides, swept across the country and more troops had to be drafted in.
Ulster was the scene of much sectarian strife with people driven from their homes and the authorities had to strengthen the police with volunteers to try and curb the violence. Regular troops were unable to bring the country under control as the police had to abandon their stations and retreat into the larger towns. The government then recruited what became known as the 'Black and Tans'. These were military men with experience in the recent war. Their uniforms gave them their name, black RIC tunics and tan britches. They were hated and feared as they frequently acted outside any standard military rules. Murders and the destruction of property were hallmarks of their behaviour such as the burning of the centre of Cork in late 1920 and the destruction of Balbriggan.
The death toll steadily mounted. British public opinion, still reeling from the blood bath of Flanders was now forcing the government to come up with a solution as they felt this state of affairs just could not continue. The British Prime Minister, Lloyd George was not a free agent as he headed a coalition with a strong Conservative element who were pro- Unionist. As the situation became worse and rioting flaring across Ulster he proposed another Bill with Ireland separated into two states: 'Northern Ireland' and 'Southern Ireland', later given the title of the 'Irish Free State'.
Initially, all of the nine counties of the old Ulster were to be administered by the Northern parliament, but the Unionists rejected this as it would have meant an almost even balance between the religious/political factions. Ideas of exclusion had been floated in the past but with political deceit a prime consideration, the Nationalists had been
promised that it this would be only temporary, and the Unionists promised at the same time that it would be permanent! The Unionists rejected the nine-county offer but settled for a six- county mini-state where they had a 65% majority. The unionists of the other three counties, Donegal, Cavan and Monahan were quietly forgotten. A Bill was presented to Parliament with the provisions that the Viceroy in Dublin was to stay as the monarch's representative, some MPs would also be elected to the Imperial parliament and there would be a Council of Ireland to oversee common interests and it would come into effect on the 3rd of May 1921.
Sinn Féin ignored it but really did not try and seek any accommodation with the Protestant people of the North East. They took no account of a potent factor in unionist thinking which was the blood of Ulster men that had been spilt in defence of the Empire during the Great War. This debt was being repaid and effectively no UK administration could have envisaged a military solution in the north. 1920 had seen the revival of the Ulster Volunteer Force and again sectarian violence had torn Belfast into a battlefield with the army trying to hold the ring. 11,000 people were expelled from their jobs, houses and workplaces were burned and even when the city was under curfew 500 civilians died. 58 percent of these casualties were Catholic even though they were in the minority in the city.
An election to place in the May 1921 to confirm the two new states. In the north unionists took 40 seats with the Nationalists/Sinn Féin gaining 12 seats. In the early part of the life of the Northern Parliament the voting system was changed from PR
to a simple majority increasing the Unionist grip on the new Province of Northern Ireland.
Br Henry Wilson Ballinderry
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