The Anglo-Irish War 1919-'21 Flashcards
In 1919, Britain was dealing with a “crisis of empire” with unrest in — and —-
India and Egypt
In the Dec 1918 GE, what % of the population of Ireland voted for SF
46.9%
Why was US President Harold Wilson reluctant. to give an audience to Irish representatives at the Irish Peace Conference
He considered Ireland to be a British problem
When did Richard Mulcahy become Chief of Staff of GHQ
March 1918
When was the Volunteer Convention
October 1917
Who became president of the Volunteers
De Valera
How many members on the Executive of the Volunteers won seats in the election
11 out of 20
Who became Director of Organisation of the Volunteers
Michael Collins
Thru’out 1917-‘18, certain districts were proclaimed as ‘Special Military Areas’ under what act
Defence of the Realm Act (DORA)
When and where were two RIC constables, who were carrying gelignite to a local quarry, shot dead by the Third Tipperary Brigade in the opening shots of the war
Soloheadbeg, Co. Tipperary
21 Jan 1919
When and where did Volunteer GHQ release a statement of policy on clashes with the RIC
23 January 1919
The Volunteer Journal
What did Volunteer GHQ’s statement of policy in the Volunteer Journal say (3 things)
- Volunteers are the legitimate army of the republic
- ‘state of war’ now existed between England and Ireland
- ‘Every volunteer is entitled, morally and legally…to use all legitimate methods of warfare against the soldiers and policemen of the English usurper, and to slay them if necessary.’
In —- the Daíl Eireann revived the old ——- tactic and passed a resolution calling on the Irish people to boycott the RIC
April 1919
Land League tactic
When and where was District Inspector Hunt assassinated
23 June 1919
Thurles
How was District Inspector Hunt killed
- crowded street in broad daylight
- public outcry and Church condemnation
- assailant never captured
In county Clare, how many troops scattered all over the county by the end of August 1919
7000
What happened on 7 Sep 1919 in Fermoy County Cork
Volunteers, led by Lynch, staged an assault on Shropshire Light Infantry to seize weapons, shooting a soldier in the process.
At the inquest, the jury refused to bring a verdict of murder, stating death was accidental.
That night, infuriated soldiers attacked property in Fermoy, particularly those belonging to members of the jury
When and where did the Volunteers fail to assassinate Viceroy Lord French
19 December 1919
Ashton County Dublin
After the attempted assassination of Viceroy Lord French, what did French do
issued orders for mass arrest of all known volunteer leaders and deportation of those who could not be legally convicted.
Only 57 arrested in total.
Collins formed an elite assassination unit called what
The ‘Squad’
Who was Collins’ elite assassination unit’s first victim
Detective sergeant Harry Smith
When did the ‘Squad’ kill their first victim
30 July 1919
In the first 6 months of the war, how many barracks were vacated and subsequently then destroyed by the Volunteers
400
How many policemen were killed during 1919
18
Throughout 1919, Lloyd George refused to recognise that there was a war in Ireland, referring to it as what
the ‘Troubles’
When did the British coalition partners finally agree on the formation of a cabinet committee to discuss the Irish question and recommend the details of a new policy
October 1919
When was the Daíl Eireann established
21 Jan 1919
When the Daíl Eireann was established by Sinn Fein, how many elected members were present and how many absent
27 present
34 in prison (incl DeV and Griffith)
The executive of the Daíl Eireann consisted of a PM and 4 other ministers. Collins was the minister of —
Finance
Cathal Brugha was a minister in the Daíl Eireann for —
Defence
Griffith was a minister in the Daíl Eireann for —–
Home Affairs
Plunkett was a minister in the Daíl Eireann for —–
Foreign Affairs
Sinn Fein had gained control of how many county councils by June 1920
29 out of 33
How much funding for the Daíl Eireann was gathered from Ireland and America through bonds
£500 000
Who was selected in the Daíl’s opening session to go to the Paris Peace Conference (3)
De Valera, Griffith and Plunkett
Who was chosen to act as Irish envoy in Paris as two of those selected by Daíl to go were in prison
O’Kelly (Speaker)
When did De Valera escape Lincoln Jail
3 Feb 1919
When did De Valera leave to campaign in the USA
June 1919
When did De Valera return from his trip to the USA
Christmas 1920
When did the authorities ban all Daíl meetings, declaring it a ‘dangerous association
September 1919
When did authorities ban SF, the Volunteers and the Gaelic League
July 1919
When did Brugha move to clarify the relationship between the Daíl and Volunteers by insisting that every Volunteer swear an oath of allegiance to the Daíl
August 1919
Why was Brugha jealous of Collins
Collins emerged as the dominant personality in the revolutionary struggle, as he had a dual role between Dail cabinet minister of finance and member of Volunteer GHQ
Who was then Chief of Staff of the Volunteers
Richard Mulcahy
In 1920, how many Black and Tans were sent from England
7000
Who were the Black and Tans
ex-soldiers with no police experience, sent in to act as police reinforcements
The actions of the RIC in Thurles was condemned by who
Lord Mayor Tomas MacCurtain
Who was Lord Mayor Tomas MacCurtain
Commandant of Cork Brigade
When was Lord Mayor Tomas MacCurtain shot by the RIC
20 March 1920
In Balbriggan, county Dublin, Sep 1920, a policeman was shot in town. What happened as a reprisal that evening.
Lorryloads of Tans swept into the town, They terrorised locals, burnt shops and homes and killed two civilians
When and where did the police, angered by a shooting of a distrct inspector in the county, damage property there and then kill one man
End August 1920, Limerick
What happened in Limerick late April 1920
Tans terrorised the city following a drinking spree, firing shots and assaulting citizens.
Later that mt, crowd of people in Co. Clare were gathered around a bonfire celebrating the release of SF prisoners when a joint police and military patrol arrived and began firing shots into the crowd, wounding 9 and killing 3
Who (not a historian) said that “It is not those who inflict the most but those who suffer the most who will triumph.”
Terence MacSwiney
Who was Terence MacSwiney
Lord Mayor of Cork and IRA Commandant
How many days was MacSwiney on hunger strike for
74 days
Where was MacSwiney arrested
Cork City Hall
What did the London Times say about MacSwiney’s death
“If he dies, his name will be with Emmet and Tone in Irish history.”
What happened the day after Terence MacSwiney’s funeral
Kevin Barry, an 18yo medical student, was hanged in Mountjoy prison for being a part of a group that had ambushed and killed some British soldiers, although there was no proof that he had fired a fatal shot
When was ‘Bloody Sunday’, the most infamous outrage of the war
21 Nov 1920
What happened on Bloody Sunday
Collins was responsible for the deaths of 11 British agents. That afternoon, a group of auxiliaries took revenge at Croke Park by killing 12, including Tipperary footballer Michael Hogan, and injuring 60
Other than Blood Sunday, what other atrocity occurred in the November of 1920
17 auxiliaries were killed in an ambush at Kilmichael in County Cork. In reprisal the Auxiliaries burned down the centre of Cork a few nights later
Which historian said that “the militarisation of the police in 1920 poured petrol into a flickering flame and guaranteed popular support of the IRA”
Rees
Who was in charge of the Army in Ireland (not IRA)
General MacCready (General Officer Commanding)
Who was in charge of the police in Ireland, including the Black and Tans and the Auxiliaries
Major-General Tudor
Tudor, with the connivance of who, allowed “unauthorised” reprisals to continue
Lloyd George
What theory of events in Ireland did Tudor subscribe to
Lloyd George’s ‘murder gang’ theory, the trouble was caused by a small criminal element so it was best to use the police, not the army, to deal with them
What theory of events in Ireland did MacCready subscribe to
the ‘Volunteer War’ theory where there was a coordinated military campaign with popular public support, which required proper military support from the British
When did the IRA develop ‘flying columns’
summer 1920
What were the IRA’s ‘flying columns’
groups of about 30 guerrilla fighters who moved around country they were familiar with carrying out ambushes
Who introduced the ‘Restoration of Order in Ireland Act’
Irish Secretary Greenwood
What was the ‘Restoration of Order in Ireland Act’
allowed most law cases to be tried by courts martial thus getting around the difficulty of finding a jury
Who were Sinn Fein’s Local government minister and deputy who were hard to develop a separate but parallel system of local government administration to the British
Cosgrave and deputy Kevin O’Higgins
When did the IRA form their own police force
June 1920
What did the IRA’s police force deal with
crime and illegal whiskey distilleries
What newspaper was successful in putting the Westminster government under pressure to justify its Irish policy
The Irish Bulletin
When De Valera returned from America, he favoured a switch in strategy to a small number of more spectacular raids which would have greater propaganda value. Give an example
the burning of Customs House in Dublin May 1921
The burning of Customs house led to –IRA dead, –wounded and — captured
6 IRA dead, 12 wounded and 70 captured
Which 2 people were infuriated by De Valera’s favour of a switch to more spectacular raids
Collins and Mulcahy
By the beginning of 1921, most of the — and —– were under martial law, putting pressure on the IRA
South and West
Coercion intensified as MacCready warned that what would happen to anyone found with arms and explosives
death penalty
Official reprisals occurred at the rate of one per day in 1921, and the IRA retaliated by doing what
burning two unionist houses for every house the crown forces destroyed
Street ambushes on soldiers and policemen in —— averaged one per day in the first 6 months of the year
Dublin
When did Lloyd George state that he had “murder by the throat” and that by meeting “terror with terror” the IRA would be quickly overcome
November 1920
It was decided by the British govt that martial law would be extended to all 26 counties when
mid July
Why did Bonar Law resign from the government
Ill health
When was the Government of Ireland Act due to come into force
easy summer 1921
MacCready informed the British government that his soldiers were suffering from ‘psychological fatigue’ and indicated he would need how many more men
250 000
Who urged Lloyd George to use the King’s speech at the state opening of the NI Parliament in May 1921 as a plea for peace
The South African prime minister Jan Smuts
Towards the end of 1920, the SF counter state was losing vitality , with Daíl meetings often attended by just over —– deputies
20
Which department of the Daíl was, by the end of 1920, suffering huge financial difficulties
Department of Local Government
Who, inside SF, condemned the brutality of Bloody Sunday
Roger Sweetman
Some within the Catholic hierarchy, such as — and —— denounced IRA activities
Cardinal Logue and Dr Cohalan
When did Dr Cohalan excommunicate all Catholics in his diocese who had been engaged in acts of murder
Dec 1920
By summer 1921, the IRA had an estimated —— men on active service
3000
By summer 1921, the IRA faced a combined police and military force of how many
40 000
Who said that the IRA were down to “counting bullets”
Michael Collins
Collins reckoned that the IRA could have only survived for how much longer after the truce
3 weeks
When did De Valera receive a letter from Lloyd George inviting him to London to explore the chances of a settlement
24 June 1921
When was a truce commenced between Lloyd George and De Valera
11 July 1921
How many people were killed during the Anglo-Irish War
751
Which historian said “Repression too weak to root out opposition, but provocative enough to nurture it.”
Townshend
Which historian said that “By matching its operation to its means, the IRA could ensure its survival for long enough achieve psychological victory out of military stalemate.”
Townshend
