Civil War 1922 - 1923

• Sinn Féin


  Irish republican political party
• Sinn Féin split down the middle

  Over whether to accept the Anglo-Irish Treaty
• Provisional government


  Set up after the split in Sinn Féin
• Arthur Griffith


  Elected President of the Dáil
• Provisional government oversaw


  1. Withdrawal of British troops from Ireland

  2. Set up a new government
• After the Dáil debates and vote


  Divisions between pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty sides deepened
• Even families and friends were divided over the issue
• IRA


  Irish Republican Army
• IRA groups


  • Irish Free State Army or Regulars (IRA supporters of the Treaty)
  • Irregulars (IRA members against the Treaty)
• Both sides began to take over


  The now-empty British barracks around the country
• Irregulars led by Rory O'Connor occupied

  1. The Four Courts and other buildings in Dublin

  2. In protest against the Dáil's acceptance of the Treaty
• Michael Collins


  Commander-in-chief of the pro-Treaty Free State Army
• Michael Collins was reluctant to attack his former colleagues and friends and wanted to hold off until the general election in June 1922
• Sinn Féin put forward both pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty candidates
• General election results, June 1922


  • Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty): 58
  • Sinn Féin (Anti-Treaty): 36
  • The rest (including the Labour Party) Pro-Treaty: 34
  • Total Pro-Treaty: 92
  • Total Anti-Treaty: 36
• The results clearly showed that a large majority of the people supported the Treaty
• This put the government in a strong position
• Henry Wilson


  Leading British Unionist
• General O'Connell


  Free State Army
• Collins was forced to act

  1. On 28 June 1922, Collins began to attack the Four Courts with artillery borrowed from Britain

  2. The Civil War had officially begun
• Within two days, the Irregulars in the Four Courts had surrendered and within the week had yielded the other buildings in Dublin city
• Sixty-four people died in Dublin, including Cathal Brugha
• Rory O'Connor


  Replaced by Liam Lynch as the Chief-of-Staff of the Irregulars
• De Valera condemned the government's actions and supported the anti-Treaty side of the IRA
• The Irregulars retreated to Munster, where they had a lot of support
• They had control of many of the old RIC barracks and used guerrilla warfare tactics against the Free State Army
• South of the Limerick– Waterford line

  Became known as the Munster Republic
• A recruitment drive meant that the Free State Army grew to 60,000, greatly outnumbering the Irregulars
• They drove them out of the barracks they had taken over
• Cork fell to the Free State Army on 12 August
• The Irregulars retreated to the countryside
• Arthur Griffith died of a brain haemorrhage at just 51 years of age


  12 August 1922
• Arthur Griffith


  • He had founded Sinn Féin
  • He was one of the chief negotiators with the British
  • He had been instrumental in building the new Irish government
• Griffith's death was a shock and a great loss
• Collins was killed in an ambush in Béal na Bláth between Bandon and Cork city while inspecting the Free State Army


  Just ten days later
• Collins's body was transported to Dublin by ship
• Collins's funeral was a huge public event, with up to half a million attendees

  28 August
• Collins was buried in Glasnevin cemetery, like Griffith
• Griffith and Collins were mourned deeply by members of both the pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty sides
• Collins's death in particular had an effect on people who had once fought with him against the British