Burning of Cork
Image of Sunner's Chemists after the Burning of Cork during the War of Independence.
Copyright Irish ExaminerBurning of Cork
Image of Sunner's Chemists after the Burning of Cork during the War of Independence.
Copyright Irish ExaminerIn 1919, a war began against the British forces in Ireland. This war was called the War of Independence. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) wanted to force the British out of Ireland. They began to attack the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), the police force in Ireland, because they were seen as supporting British rule and British law. The IRA burned their barracks and captured their arms. Many members of the police force were killed, and others resigned.
The IRA also fought British soldiers using guerrilla tactics. This meant that they attacked the British soldiers by surprise and then escaped quickly before they could be caught. The British government sent more forces to Ireland. One group was known as the Black and Tans because of their uniforms. The Black and Tans often punished the local population and because of this they were feared and hated by ordinary civilians. The IRA fought against them.
In 1921, a truce was called and treaty talks took place in London to try to find a way of ending the war. Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith were among the Irish representatives at the talks. In December 1921, a treaty was signed which soon brought about a new country called the Irish Free State. It was decided that the new state would be made up of twenty-six of the thirty-two Irish counties.
Michael Collins (1890 - 1922)
Born in Cork, Michael Collins was an Irish revolutionary. He took part in the 1916 Rising in Dublin. He was part of the delegation that negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, the terms of which led to the Irish Civil War in 1922. Collins became the commander in chief of the forces of the new Irish government. He was killed in an ambush by anti-Treaty republicans in his native Cork in 1922.
Image courtesy of the Michael Collins Centre, Clonakilty.Michael Collins (1890 - 1922)
Born in Cork, Michael Collins was an Irish revolutionary. He took part in the 1916 Rising in Dublin. He was part of the delegation that negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, the terms of which led to the Irish Civil War in 1922. Collins became the commander in chief of the forces of the new Irish government. He was killed in an ambush by anti-Treaty republicans in his native Cork in 1922.
Image courtesy of the Michael Collins Centre, Clonakilty.Arthur Griffith
Griffith, Arthur 1871 – 1922 was born in Dublin. He started his career as a printer, becoming a journalist and writer and finally a politician. Arthur Griffith was strongly influenced by Charles Stewart Parnell, Thomas Davis, and John Mitchel. He was a founding member of the Celtic Literary Society in 1893 and he was active in the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and the Gaelic League. He edited the weekly paper, the United Irishman in which he wrote editorials urging the Irish to work for self- government. In 1900, he founded Cumann na nGaedheal, a cultural and education association aimed at the promotion of Irish culture.
Arthur Griffith
Griffith, Arthur 1871 – 1922 was born in Dublin. He started his career as a printer, becoming a journalist and writer and finally a politician. Arthur Griffith was strongly influenced by Charles Stewart Parnell, Thomas Davis, and John Mitchel. He was a founding member of the Celtic Literary Society in 1893 and he was active in the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and the Gaelic League. He edited the weekly paper, the United Irishman in which he wrote editorials urging the Irish to work for self- government. In 1900, he founded Cumann na nGaedheal, a cultural and education association aimed at the promotion of Irish culture.