The Anglo-irish War 1919-1921 Flashcards
Who did the IRA target?
- why did they do this?
- why was this bad in terms of support?
- how many policemen had been killed by the end of 1919?
They targeted the RIC (royal Irish constabulary)
- IRA saw RIC as representatives of British authority in Ireland
- 70% RIC were Catholics and were often key members of local community-members of the catholic Church and Sinn Fein objected
- 18
When did the IRA declare war on Britain?
-why did they do this?
31st January 1919
-this way they could claim their actions were not terror but legitimate acts of war
Who were the Black and Tans?
Ex-soldiers in Britain recruited to the RIC
What impact did the IRA’s campaign against the RIC have in the first half of 1920?
- What did RIC members do in response?
- Who replaced them?
Destruction of 16 defended barracks, damage to a further 29 and the burning down of 424 abandoned buildings
- Many RIC members lefts rather than endure the hatred of the local population
- In response to this, the British government recruited the Black and Tans
Who were the flying columns?
-What were they involved in?
Mobile IRA “active service units”
-they became involved in high profile ambushes and assassinations
Eg killed 18 auxiliary officers at kilmichael in November 1920
What was Bloody Sunday?
- when did it happen?
- how many were killed?
Conflict between the IRA’s flying columns and British forces
- 21st November 1920
- IRA gunmen killed 12 British intelligence officers plus 2 auxiliaries, in response auxiliaries killed 12 civilians at crime park later that day
Who died in October 1920?
- how did he die?
- how was this beneficial to Sinn Fein?
Lord Mayor of cork in Brixton prison
- died after going on hunger strike for 74 days
- great propaganda-> martyrdom, dying for his beliefs
What happened in December 1920?
-why was this done?
Auxiliary soldiers burned cork city centre
-done in response to IRA actions
What opened June 1921?
-who had got a clean sweep in the elections in May?
The parliament of Northern Ireland
-Sinn Fein, with counties outside those which would form Northern Ireland
When was a truce called?
-between whom?
11th July 1921
-Lloyd George and de Valera
