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The Easter Rebellion, an uprising of Irish nationalists in Dublin on Easter Monday,1916, was doomed to failure, in part because of limited support from Irish people. Britain`s overreaction, however, including the execution of 15 Irish nationalist leaders, set the stage for Sinn Fein to replace Home Rule as the dominant political party. Founded in 1902 by Athur Griffith, a Dublin journalist, Sinn Fein called for Ireland to become a Republic independend of Britain, and for an end to the partition movements in the Protestant north. In 1918 election Sinn Fein canditates won 73 of the 106 seats allotted to Ireland in the British parliament.
In Jannuary 1919 the Sinn Fein members of parliament met in Dublin as the Dail Eireann or national assembly. They proglaimed Ireland`s independance, and formed the goverenment with Eamon De Valera as president. There followed guerilla attacks by Irish in surgents, later called the Irish Republican Army ( IRA), on British forces, paticulary the black and tans the much hated auxiliary force of the Royal Irish Constabulary. these attacks and British reprisals escaleted into an ugly war in wich hundreds of people were killed.
In december 1920 the British parliament enacted the goverenment of Ireland bill, providing one parliament for the six counties of Protestant "northern" Ireland and enother for the remaining twenty six counties forming "souther"Ireland. The Protestant majority in norther Ireland accepted this limited Home Rule, and elected a seperate parliament in Mai 1921.The partitation was, however, not accepted by the Roman Caatholic minority in the north, and majority in the south. Afforts to implement the new goverenment in the other 26 counties served only to solidify Sinn Fein`s position. The gurrila war ended with a truze on July 11th.Negations between representatives of the Dail and the British goverenmentof prime minister David Lloyd George produced a Treaty signed on december 19921. Under the traty the 26 counties of Saorstat Ireman would become the Irish freestate within the Commonwealth of Nations, with a status equal to that of Canada, and a modified oath of alligance to the British monarch. The Dail redefested the Traety on January 1922 by o vote of 64 to 25 De Valera who oposed the Treaty resigned as president of the Dail and was replaced by Sinn Fein founder Athur Griffits.Mikel Collins another Sinn Fein leader, became chairman of the provisional goverenment.
The Irish Freestate
Under the leadership of De Valera, the disident Sinn Fein Group known as the Republicans, called for a resumtion of the struggle against Britain and instituted a compain wich amounted to civil war, against the provisional gouverenment.With the question of the Treaty the chief issued an election for a provisional Dail was held in June 1922. Canditates supported the Treaty won a majority of the seats. The Republicans, refusing to recognize the autority of the new Dial, proclaimed a rival goverenment and intensivid their attacks on the Irish freestate. In the insuin the struggle hunderts were killed on both sides, including prominet Republican leaders such as Collins. Meanwhile the Dail, headed now by William Cosgrave, trafted a consitution providing for a picameral legislature: The Dail Eireann (House of Representives) and Seanat Eireann (senate) the constitution was adopted on October 1922. Following aproval by the British goverenment, it became operative on december 6. The official goverenment of the Irish freestate was instituted
In 1916, about 2 tousand people (Republicans) began an armed rebellion in Dublin. After a week the police and the army put it down. Yet the Republicans achieved great electural sucess. In 1919 there was a renewed rebellion (The Easter Rebellion) troughout the country.
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