History UsefulNotes / TheIrishRevolution

In the aftermath of the event public opinion began to change. Anonymous pamphlets circulated emphasizing the Catholic piety of the rebels and particularly the leaders. Yet more pamphlets within Dublin emphasised their 'local-ness', and without, their 'Irish-ness'. Eventually both types openly called the rebel leaders 'martyrs', an apt religious appellation. Many pamphlets focused on the gory details of the rebels' suffering and the army's incompetence in dealing with the uprising, claiming that the Army's response had not been ''incompetent'' (which it undoubtedly was, and would remain so) so much as it had been brutal and expressly anti-Irish. Notoriously, the Irish Citizen Army leader James Connolly, who had a gut-wound and a shattered ankle and would have died within two or three days at most, was still found guilty by the tribunal and executed in accordance with military law - after being taken to the place of execution on a stretcher, then tied upright to a chair for the firing squad.

Fighting began the same day, with a (technically unauthorized) IRA ambush of RIC members transporting gelignite, at Soloheadbeg in Tipperary. The Irish Republican Army had been formed in 1918 under Michael Collins, which Dáil Eireann had no control over (the IRA did not officially swear loyalty to them until August 1920), and the Dáil was banned in August of 1919, with its entire cabinet being arrested save Collins (in fact only 27 of the 73 candidates elected were out of prison to attend when the Dáil first assembled). The IRA went on to fight British forces by guerrilla methods, with great success. Collins pioneered urban guerrilla tactics which later movements used from Israel to China. In 1920, British WW1 veterans were sent in as auxiliary troops and police reservists. Becoming known as "Black and Tans" due to the colour of their uniforms, they were notorious for brutality, and were disliked for it even by many British officers. Irish hatred for British forces on their soil was fuelled even more when, in the space of a week, Lord Mayor of Cork Terence MacSwiney died after a 74-day hunger strike that brought Britain international criticism, and an 18-year old medical student and member of the IRA, Kevin Barry, was sentenced to death and hanged on FelonyMurder charges, though he had not actually killed anyone. This served only to harden resistance, and the underground Irish government gained control of most rural areas, even setting up its own Republican courts that handled both civil and criminal cases. Although these were not empowered to pass death sentences on prisoners, IRA military tribunals that convicted people of collaborating with British forces could and did, along with with its mainly extrajudicial killings, especially of police officers, informants or intelligence agents. For its part, the British administration put to death 24 IRA members (including Kevin Barry) convicted of various offences, and Munster was under martial law. As Irish coroner's juries repeatedly found that British forces had committed crimes against civilians, inquests were transferred to the military courts of inquiry, which then whitewashed atrocities. Such abuses merely served to increase support for the Republicans.

!!The Irish Revolution contains tropes such as:

* CoolGuns: The IRA were some of the very earliest users of the Thompson submachine gun.
** They were also well known for using the Mauser (the original .43 caliber Model 1871). After the Easter Rising, British authorities were able to identify many of the shooters by the bruises on their shoulders.
* CombatPragmatist: The IRA mimicked the tactics of the Boers to great effect. Justified in that conventional warfare had [[CurbStompBattle turned out to be a disaster]].
** The British returned the favor in earnest with lesser success, and then [[EnemyMine both the Pro-Treaty government and the British united]] to crush the anti-Treaty IRA when it tried to keep it up.
* EpicFail: Early in the war the Divisional Police Commissioner for Munster, Gerald Smyth, gave a speech in Listowel to an assembled group of RIC officers intended both to stiffen morale and reassure the police they would not face penalty if they shot someone who turned out to be innocent. ''Thirteen'' RIC officers resigned outright after the speech and several of them actually defected to the IRA.
* EvilBrit: The Black and Tans and the Auxiliaries were well known to have caused many atrocities (see PoliceBrutality) (Though they weren't all from the British mainland. Some were actually recruited within Ireland itself.) The RIC would ''not'' be considered this, though, since regular RIC men were usually local career policemen.
** Ironically, the many nastier elements of both sides probably qualified (at least by political technicality) even if those on the Republican side did not want to be considered "Brits" and Ireland was not part of the geographic island of Great Britain.
* HeelFaceTurn: Both the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) saw several defections to the IRA. Ned Broy and David Neligan (both of DMP) in particular were incredibly valuable {{Reverse Mole}}s.
* ImprobableAge: Many of the Irish leaders were remarkably young, at least by the standards of the time. Michael Collins famously was only 31 when he died and many of his peers were not much older.
* InsistentTerminology: Rarely, if ever, called the "Irish Revolution" in Irish political and academic spheres, and instead referred to as "the struggle for independence" and similar, since the post-Independence period. Some academics have speculated that "revolution" [[RedScare sounded too left-wing]] to many, given the country traditionally being socially and fiscally conservative.
* LaResistance: The IRA.
* PoliceBrutality: The [[EliteMooks Black and Tans and the Auxiliaries]] were almost universally despised for their thuggery even by the RIC officers they were supposedly reinforcing, along with many in Britain who would not automatically have sympathised with the IRA. King George V himself told the wife of the Chief Secretary that he hated the idea of the Black and Tans.
** This was also enforced by the Republican government in the areas it was able to take over, and continued up into the Irish Civil War. Though to be fair, the IRA guerrillas could be pretty brutal themselves.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: The Irish Citizen Army numbered less than 300 people and during the Easter Rising they were outnumbered more than three to one by the non-socialist Irish Volunteers, yet to read some Irish writers like Seán O'Casey (a committed socialist himself) they did most of the fighting. In particular PopularHistory has it that most Dubliners in the fighting were in the Citizen Army ranks while the Volunteers represented rural Ireland, but in reality the Volunteers doing the actual shooting were mostly from Dublin.
* TokenGoodTeammate: Arguably, the Republican rebels were briefly this to the [[WorldWarOne Central Powers]].
* WorldWarOne: Overlapped with the early parts of it, and had a major influence on how it turned out. Both sides got huge amounts of experienced, hardened men and well-worn materials from the same side of the trenches. The result when they returned to a turbulent Ireland was [[CivilWar ugly.]]
----

In 1912, Westminster passed the Home Rule Bill (1914) for Ireland, meaning that Ireland would re-establish its own Parliament (something which it had lost in 1801 through the Act Of Union). Unionists, usually Protestants descended from those imported to replace the rebellious Earl of Tyrone's subjects (the 'Plantation of Ulster') under Elizabeth I and further immigration after the devastation of the EnglishCivilWar (which had hit eastern Ireland hardest of all), who desired continued rule of the country from Westminster, strongly opposed Home Rule as disloyalty to Britain (even though the Irish Parliamentary Party, or simply "Home Rule Party" were long-time MPs and mostly only moderate nationalists) and saw the bill as a threat that could lead to a nationalist and Catholic-dominated country. However, British intervention in the war between the German-led Central Powers and the French-led Entente Cordiale (on France's side, no less) afforded an opportunity for the Liberal-Unionist coalition government to suspend the bill (which the Home Rule Party had been pushing for since 1870) on a plea of "limited resources".

In 1912, the Westminster Parliament in London passed the Home Rule Bill for Ireland, meaning that Ireland would have its own parliament and could make its own political decisions, to a certain extent of course. Unionists, usually Protestants descended from those imported to replace the rebellious Earl of Tyrone's subjects (the 'Plantation of Ulster') under Queen Elizabeth I Tudor of England and Ireland and further immigration after the devastation of the EnglishCivilWar (which had hit eastern Ireland hardest of all), who desired continued rule of the country from Westminster, strongly opposed Home Rule as they were loyal to Britain and saw the bill as a threat that could lead to a nationalist and Catholic-dominated country. However, British intervention in the war between the German-led Central Powers and the French-led Entente Cordiale (on France's side, no less) afforded an opportunity for the Liberal-Unionist coalition government to suspend the bill on a plea of limited resources.

The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) was a paramilitary group formed by Unionist leaders Edward Carson and James Craig with the goal of defending British dominance in Ireland by the use of force if necessary. Within a year it was estimated the UVF had a force of over 100,000 men, half of whom were armed with rifles. The pro-independence paramilitaries such as the Irish National Volunteers (IVF) formed in response, also arming themselves.

Although the coalition had hoped, perhaps naively, that involvement in the World War would avert a British Civil War [[GoneHorriblyWrong in hindsight it actually made it inevitable]] (thanks to the suspension of the Home Rule bill). Unionists answered Britain’s call for the fight against Germany and the UVF merged into the 36th Ulster division of the British Army (much of the original UVF were killed fighting in the trenches - a revived loyalist terrorist organization named this formed in UsefulNotes/NorthernIreland later during UsefulNotes/TheTroubles.)

On Easter Monday of 1916 the '''Easter Rising''' (as it came to be known) began with Patrick Pearse reading the Proclamation of the Irish Republic out in Dublin.

The week-long 1916 Rising involved several hundred armed rebels, who attempted to seize control of Dublin. The Police backed out because they were so heavily out-gunned and didn't have the training or equipment to fight armed enemies, so the Army was called in instead. The rebels refused to surrender, so the Army used a division's worth (c.15k) of troops to clear the city in messy block-by-block urban fighting. Given the similar armament between both sides, artillery was (from a military standpoint, correctly) seen was the only way to root out the defenders with anything less than horrific losses for the attackers (in this case probably no more than a thousand dead and crippled, but still). Unfortunately, direct-fire [[note]] aiming over the field gun's barrel [[/note]] was not an option because of the rebels' heavy armament and the Army (let alone their reservists) was not renowned for the accuracy of their indirect-fire [[note]] accurately calculating the fall of shots aimed into the air based on timely relayed information, trusting in the reliability of the weapons and shells. British artillery pieces and shells had much the same reputation as the industry that churned them out - cheap, shoddy, and unreliable [[/note]] at this time. This lead to a disastrous amount of friendly fire upon soldiers and particularly civilians, with the artillery being the biggest cause of (fatal) wounds and collateral damage during the rebellion. More than two hundred civilians, and a hundred rebels and soldiers each, died and more than 2000 civilians were injured. That so many survived was thanks to the presence of major hospital facilities and an organised medical response. The weight of public opinion was on the army's side when the 14 leaders of the uprising were captured, tried before military tribunals in accordance with the state of martial law then in existence over the city as a result of the fighting, found guilty of high treason (armed rebellion against their own people), sentenced to death, and executed.

''However'', in the aftermath of the event public opinion began to change. Anonymous pamphlets circulated emphasizing the Catholic piety of the rebels and particularly the leaders. Yet more pamphlets within Dublin emphasised their 'local-ness', and without their 'Irish-ness'. Eventually both types openly called the rebel leaders 'martyrs', an apt religious apellation. Many pamphlets focused on the gory details of the rebels' suffering and the army's incompetence in dealing with the uprising, claiming that the Army's reponse had not been ''incompetent'' (which it undoubtedly was, and would remain so) so much as it had been brutal and expressly anti-Irish. For instance the rebel leader James Connolly, who had a gut-wound and would have died within a week, was still found guilty by the tribunal and executed in accordance with military law. In this case, apart from the usual stuff ('he was a good Catholic', 'he was one of us) the pamphlets focused on the amount of pain he was in and the pointlessness of executing him when he was going to die anyway.

The only surviving leader of the Rising was Sinn Féin Party leader Éamon de Valera. The Army didn't feel they could execute him because he was a US citizen, and ''anything'' that might inflame US public opinion could set back the United States' chances of entering World War I on the Entente Cordiale's side. De Valera went on to become president of the Irish Republic. After a slow start, the eventual effect of the rebellion was to increase support for Sinn Féin exponentially - once the rebellion came to be seen less as a madmen's attack upon their own people and more as a noble act of self-sacrifice resisting 'foreign' oppression.

De Valera and other captured Irish rebels were released in 1918 after an amnesty. Immediately they began to campaign against conscription into the British Army (which had just been introduced to Ireland) and for the fall general election. Due to wide-spread popular support stemming from outrage at conscription (a measure Unionists also opposed) and mass internment of Irish people suspected of aiding the rebellion, Sinn Féin won in a landslide, winning 73 seats out of 105. With this mandate, on 21 January 1919 the Sinn Féin delegates formed their own parliament, the Dáil Éireann (Irish Chamber), which elected a government including Éamon de Valera as President of the Irish Republic and Michael Collins as Minister for Finance, and reiterated their independence proclamation. This is regarded as the official beginning of the '''War Of Independence.'''

Fighting began the same day, with a (technically unauthorized) IRA ambush of RIC members transporting gelignite, at Soloheadbeg in Tipperary. The Irish Republican Army had been formed in 1918 under Michael Collins, which Dáil Eireann had no control over (the IRA did not swear loyalty to them until August 1920), and the Dáil was banned in August of 1919, with its entire cabinet being arrested save Collins (in fact only 27 of the 73 candidates elected were out of prison to attend when the Dáil first assembled). The IRA went on to fight British forces by guerrilla methods, with great success. Collins pioneered urban guerrilla tactics which later movements used from Israel to China. In 1920, British WW1 veterans were sent in as auxiliary troops and police reservists. Becoming known as "Black and Tans" due to the color of their uniforms, they were notorious for brutality, and were disliked for it even by many British officers. Irish hatred for British forces on their soil was fueled even more when an 18-year old member of the IRA, Kevin Barry, was sentenced to death and hanged on FelonyMurder charges, though he had not actually killed anyone. This served only to harden resistance, and the underground Irish government gained control of most rural areas, even setting up its own "Republican courts" that handled both civil and criminal cases. Although these were not empowered to pass death sentences on prisoners, IRA military tribunals that convicted people of collaborating with British forces could and did, along with with its mainly extrajudicial killings, especially of police officers, informants or intelligence agents. For its part, the British administration put to death 24 IRA members (including Kevin Barry) convicted of various offenses, and Munster was under martial law. As Irish coroner's juries repeatedly found that British forces had committed crimes against civilians, inquests were transferred to the military courts of inquiry, which then whitewashed atrocities. Such abuses merely served to increase support for the Republicans.

'''In June 1921, Britain called a Truce''', and peace talks began. British and Irish representatives in London met to discuss a treaty. After much wrangling in which full independence was rejected from Britain's side, a compromise was agreed - Ireland would become a self-governing Dominion like Canada or Australia, called the Irish Free State, with a British Governor-General and requiring oaths of loyalty by all government officials (later to become a major issue). However, the 6 Protestant-majority counties in the north were allowed to opt out if they wished and remain part of Britain, which they immediately did. Previously the Government of Ireland Act 1920 had been passed to divide Ireland into two territories, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. In 1921 the first Parliament of Northern Ireland was opened at Stormont, along with the Southern one in Dublin. Northern Ireland was thus also born. This has often been referred to, somewhat inaccurately, as "Ulster" particularly by Unionists, though the historic province contained 9 counties, but 3 Catholic-majority ones (Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan) became part of the Irish Free State.

The Treaty of Independence divided Irish Nationalists, including members of the IRA, with one half (led by Éamon de Valera) viewing it as a betrayal, leaving part of Ireland in British hands, with Catholics persecuted by loyalist violence. Michael Collins, on the other hand, led the Treaty delegation and viewed it merely as a stepping stone for an independent, united Ireland (he also smuggled arms to Northern Ireland so the people there could defend themselves). He became the Commander-In-Chief of the Irish Free State Army, formed of IRA troops who supported him. A tragic, bloody '''Civil War''' broke out, with former comrades fighting on both sides against each other. During an ambush in his native County Cork, Michael Collins was killed by anti-Treaty forces (intentionally or not, it is unclear). Early the next year, the anti-Treaty forces surrendered, although the IRA remained. After WW2, in '''1949 the Republic of Ireland was declared''', fully independent from the British Commonwealth. UsefulNotes/NorthernIreland remained a source of UsefulNotes/TheTroubles, with cross-border involvement, until 1998.

In 1912, the Westminster Parliament in London passed the Home Rule Bill for Ireland, meaning that Ireland would have its own parliament and could make its own political decisions, to a certain extent of course. Unionists, usually Protestants descended from those imported to replace the rebellious Earl of Tyrone's subjects (the 'Plantation of Ulster') under Queen Elizabeth I Tudor of England and Ireland and further immigration after the devastation of the EnglishCivilWar (which had hit eastern Ireland hardest of all), who desired continued rule of the country from Westminster, strongly opposed Home Rule as they were loyal to Britain and saw the bill as a threat that could lead to a nationalist and Catholic-dominated country. However, the Bill ended up being suspended from being put into action by the start of WW1 anyway.

The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) was formed by Unionist leaders Edward Carson and James Craig with the goal of defending British dominance in Ireland by the use of force if necessary. Within a year it was estimated the UVF had a force of over 100,000 men, half of whom were armed with rifles. The pro-independence Irish National Volunteers formed in response, also arming themselves.

As Ireland was heading fast towards civil war, the First World War helped lead Ireland more towards independence from Britain. Unionists answered Britain’s call for the fight against Germany and the UVF merged into the 36th Ulster division of the British Army (the original UVF were largely killed fighting in the trenches-a revived loyalist terrorist organization named this formed in UsefulNotes/NorthernIreland later during UsefulNotes/TheTroubles.)

As Britain concentrated all its efforts in the fight against Germany in WWI, Irish Nationalists saw a window of opportunity and by 1915 the Irish Republican Brotherhood, Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army started to plan a rebellion.

In 1912, the Westminster Parliament in London passed the Home Rule Bill for Ireland, meaning that Ireland would have its own parliament and could make its own political decisions, to a certain extent of course. Unionists, usually Protestants and many descendants of those who had invaded the country under Cromwell, who desired continued rule of the country from Westminster, strongly opposed Home Rule as they were loyal to Britain and saw the bill as a threat that could lead to a nationalist and Catholic-dominated country. However, the Bill ended up being suspended from being put into action by the start of WW1 anyway.

The only surviving leader of the Rising was Sinn Féin Party leader Éamon de Valera. The Army didn't feel they could execute him because he was a US citizen, and ''anything'' that might inflame US public opinion could set back the United States' chances of entering World War I on the Entente Cordiale's side. De Valera went on to become president of the Irish Republic. After a slow start, the eventual effect of the rebellion was to increase support for Sinn Féin exponentially - once the rebellion came to be seen less as a madmen's attack upon their people and more as a noble act of self-sacrifice on behalf of the Irish people.

''However'', in the aftermath of the event public opinion began to change. Anonymous pamphlets circulated emphasizing the Catholic piety of the rebels and particularly the leaders. Yet more pamphlets within Dublin emphasised their 'local-ness', and without their 'Irish-ness'. Eventually both types openly called the rebel leaders 'martyrs', an apt religious apellation. Many pamphlets focused on the gory details of the rebels' suffering and the army's incompetence in dealing with the uprising, attributing most of the civilian dead and wounded to actual malice and even anti-Irish sentiment on the Army's part. For instance the rebel leader James Connolly, who had a gut-wound and would have died within a week, was still found guilty by the tribunal and a shot in accordance with military law. In this case, apart from the usual stuff ('he was a good Catholic', 'he was one of us) the pamphlets focused on the amount of pain he was in and the pointlessness of executing him when he was going to die anyway.

The 1916 Rising involved several hundred armed rebels, who attempted to seize control of Dublin. The Police backed out because they were so heavily out-gunned and didn't have the training or equipment to fight armed enemies, so the Army was called in instead. The rebels refused to surrender, so the Army used a division's worth (c.15k) of troops to clear the city in messy block-by-block urban fighting. Given the similar armament between both sides and military doctrine of the time, artillery was necessary to suppress the defenders. However, direct-fire (aiming over the field gun's barrel) was not an option because of sniper-fire. And, worse, the British Army and its reservists were not renowed for the accuracy of their indirect-fire (calculating the trajectory and firing into the air based on relayed information). In the process lasted only a week, with the British Army successfully regaining control of Dublin after destroying much of the city. The 14 leaders of the uprising were captured, given quick show trials by military tribunals and executed by firing squad for high treason, an event that helped shaped Irish political opinions for years to follow. Most notoriously, James Connolly, who had been heavily injured in the fighting and was not expected to live out the week, was carried to the site of his execution on a stretcher, and was shot ''tied to a chair'' .

The only surviving leader of the Rising was Sinn Féin Party leader Éamon de Valera–whom the British did not want to shoot since he was a US citizen and angering the US could have jeopardized the chances the United States would come into World War I on the side of the Allies. De Valera went on to become president of the Irish Republic. Support for Sinn Féin dramatically increased due to the deaths of the Easter Rising leaders who fought for Irish independence.

The 1916 Rising lasted only a week, with the British Army successfully regaining control of Dublin after destroying much of the city. The 14 leaders of the uprising were captured, given quick show trials by military tribunals and executed by firing squad for high treason, an event that helped shaped Irish political opinions for years to follow. Most notoriously, James Connolly, who had been heavily injured in the fighting and was not expected to live out the week, was carried to the site of his execution on a stretcher, and was shot ''tied to a chair'' .

On Easter Sunday of 1916 the '''Easter Rising''' (as it came to be known) began with Patrick Pearse reading the Proclamation of the Irish Republic out in Dublin.

Fighting began the same day, with a (technically unauthorized) IRA ambush of RIC members transporting gelignite, at Soloheadbeg in Tipperary. The Irish Republican Army had been formed in 1918 under Michael Collins, which Dáil Eireann had no control over (the IRA did not swear loyalty to them until August 1920), and the Dáil was banned in August of 1919, with its entire cabinet being arrested save Collins (in fact only 27 of the 73 candidates elected were out of prison to attend when the Dáil first assembled). The IRA went on to fight British forces by guerrilla methods, with great success. Collins pioneered urban guerrilla tactics which later movements used from Israel to China. In 1920, British WW1 veterans were sent in as auxiliary troops and police reservists. Becoming known as "Black and Tans" due to the color of their uniforms, they were notorious for brutality, and were disliked for it even by many British officers. Irish hatred for British forces on their soil was fueled even more when an 18-year old member of the IRA, Kevin Barry, was sentenced to death and hanged on FelonyMurder charges, though he had not actually killed anyone. This served only to harden resistance, and the underground Irish government gained control of most rural areas, even setting up its own "Republican courts" that handled both civil and criminal cases. Although these were not empowered to pass death sentences on prisoners, IRA military tribunals that convicted people of collaborating with British forces could and did, along with with its mainly extrajudicial killings, especially of police officers, informants or intelligence agents. For its part, the British administration put to death 24 IRA members (including Kevin Berry) convicted of various offenses, and Munster was under martial law. As Irish coroner's juries repeatedly found that British forces had committed crimes against civilians, inquests were transferred to the military courts of inquiry, which then whitewashed atrocities. Such abuses merely served to increase support for the Republicans.

* LaResistance: The IRA.

* ''Series/PeakyBlinders'': Set in Birmingham in 1919 but several IRA characters appear. It is ''by far'' the least sympathetic portrait of the IRA on this list, portraying them as universally composed of AxCrazy murderers to the point the series can only be called enthusiastically Unionist.

De Valera and other captured Irish rebels were released in 1918 after an amnesty. Immediately they began to campaign against conscription into the British Army (which had just been introduced to Ireland) and for the fall general election. Due to wide-spread popular support stemming from outrage at conscription (a measure Unionists also opposed) and mass internment of Irish people suspected of aiding the rebellion, Sinn Féin won in a landslide, winning 73 seats out of 105. With this mandate, on 21 January 1919 the Sinn Féin delegates formed their own parliament, the Dáil Éireann (Irish Chamber), which elected a government including Éamon de Valera as President of the Irish Republic and Michael Collins and Minister for Finance, and reiterated their independence proclamation. This is regarded as the official beginning of the '''War Of Independence.'''

Fighting began the same day, with a (technically unauthorized) IRA ambush of RIC members transporting gelignite, at Soloheadbeg in Tipperary. The Irish Republican Army had been formed in 1918 under Michael Collins, which Dáil Eireann had no control over (the IRA did not swear loyalty to them until August 1920), and the Dáil was banned in August of 1919, with its entire cabinet being arrested save Collins (in fact only 27 of the 73 candidates elected were out of prison to attend when the Dáil first assembled). The IRA went on to fight British forces by guerrilla methods, with great success. Collins pioneered urban guerrilla tactics which later movements used from Israel to China. In 1920, British WW1 veterans were sent in as auxiliary troops and police reservists. Becoming known as "Black and Tans" due to the color of their uniforms, they were notorious for brutality, and were disliked for it even by many British officers. Irish hatred for British forces on their soil was fueled even more when an 18-year old member of the IRA, Kevin Barry, was sentenced to death and hanged on FelonyMurder charges, though he had not actually killed anyone. This served only to harden resistance, and the underground Irish government gained control of most rural areas, even setting up its own "Republican courts" that handled both civil and criminal cases. Although these were not empowered to pass death sentences on prisoners, IRA military tribunals that convicted people of collaborating with British forces could and did, along with with its mainly extrajudicial killings, especially of police officers, informants or intelligence agents. For its part, the British administration put to death 24 IRA members (including Kevin Berry) convicted of various offenses, and Munster was under martial law. As Irish coroner's juries repeatedly found that British forces had committed crimes against civilians, inquests were transferred to the military courts of inquiry, which whitewashed atrocities. Such abuses merely served to increase support for the Republicans.

* EvilBrit: The Black and Tans and the Auxiliaries were well known to have caused many atrocities (see PoliceBrutality), though they weren't all from the British mainland. Some were actually recruited within Ireland itself.

* ''Series/PeakyBlinders'': Set in Birmingham in 1919 but several IRA characters appear. It is ''by far'' the least sympathetic portrait of the IRA on this list, portraying them as universaly composed of AxCrazy murderers to the point the series can only be called enthusiastically Unionist.

The only surviving leader of the Rising was Sinn Fein Party leader Eamon de Valera–whom the British did not want to shoot since he was a US citizen and angering the US could have jeopardized the chances the United States would come into World War I on the side of the Allies. De Valera went on to become president of the Irish Republic. Support for Sein Fein dramatically increased due to the deaths of the Easter Rising leaders who fought for Irish independence.

De Valera and other captured Irish rebels were released in 1918 after an amnesty. Immediately they began to campaign against conscription into the British Army (which had just been introduced to Ireland) and for the fall general election. Due to wide-spread popular support stemming from outrage at conscription (a measure Unionists also opposed) and mass internment of Irish people suspected of aiding the rebellion, Sinn Fein won in a landslide, winning 73 seats out of 105. With this mandate, on 21 January 1919 the Sinn Fein delegates formed their own parliament, the Dáil Éireann (Irish Chamber), which elected a government including Eamonn de Valera as President of the Irish Republic and Michael Collins and Minister for Finance, and reiterated their independence proclamation. This is regarded as the official beginning of the '''War Of Independence.'''

The Treaty of Independence divided Irish Nationalists, including members of the IRA, with one half (led by Eamonn de Valera) viewing it as a betrayal, leaving part of Ireland in British hands, with Catholics persecuted by loyalist violence. Michael Collins, on the other hand, led the Treaty delegation and viewed it merely as a stepping stone for an independent, united Ireland (he also smuggled arms to Northern Ireland so the people there could defend themselves). He became the Commander-In-Chief of the Irish Free State Army, formed of IRA troops who supported him. A tragic, bloody '''Civil War''' broke out, with former comrades fighting on both sides against each other. During an ambush in his native County Cork, Michael Collins was killed by anti-Treaty forces (intentionally or not, it is unclear). Early the next year, the anti-Treaty forces surrendered, although the IRA remained. After WW2, in '''1949 the Republic of Ireland was declared''', fully independent from the British Commonwealth. UsefulNotes/NorthernIreland remained a source of UsefulNotes/TheTroubles, with cross-border involvement, until 1998.

* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'': Season 2 has Nucky dealing with the IRA, trading American firearms for Irish whisky. However John [=McGarrigle=] (the IRA leader Nucky conducts business with) is a CompositeCharacter of sorts, bearing a strong physical resemblance to Eamonn de Valera but being pro-treaty like Michael Collins [[spoiler: and getting assassinated as a result]].

* HeelFaceTurn: Both the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) saw several defections to the IRA. Eamon Broy and David Neligan (both of DMP) in particular were incredibly valuable {{Reverse Mole}}s.

* ''Series/PeakyBlinders'': Set in Birmingham in 1919 but several IRA characters appear. It is ''by far'' the least sympathetic portrayl of the IRA on this list, portraying them as AxCrazy murders to the point the series can only be called enthusiastically Unionist.

[[quoteright:237:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/easter_proclamation_of_1916_4367.jpg]][[caption-width:237:some text]]

[[quoteright:237:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/easter_proclamation_of_1916_4367.jpg]]

[[caption-width:-237:The Proclamation of the Irish Republic]]

''In June 1921, Britain called a Truce'', and peace talks began. British and Irish representatives in London met to discuss a treaty. After much wrangling in which full independence was rejected from Britain's side, a compromise was agreed - Ireland would become a self-governing Dominion like Canada or Australia, called the Irish Free State, with a British Governor-General and requiring oaths of loyalty by all government officials (later to become a major issue). However, the 6 Protestant-majority counties in the north were allowed to opt out if they wished and remain part of Britain, which they immediately did. Previously the Government of Ireland Act 1920 had been passed to divide Ireland into two territories, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. In 1921 the first Parliament of Northern Ireland was opened at Stormont, along with the Southern one in Dublin. Northern Ireland was thus also born. This has often been referred to, somewhat inaccurately, as "Ulster" particularly by Unionists, though the historic province contained 9 counties, but 3 Catholic-majority ones (Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan) became part of the Irish Free State.

The Treaty of Independence divided Irish Nationalists, including members of the IRA, with one half (led by Eamonn de Valera) viewing it as a betrayal, leaving part of Ireland in British hands, with Catholics persecuted by loyalist violence. Michael Collins, on the other hand, led the Treaty delegation and viewed it merely as a stepping stone for an independent, united Ireland (he also smuggled arms to Northern Ireland so the people there could defend themselves). He became the Commander-In-Chief of the Irish Free State Army, formed of IRA troops who supported him. A tragic, bloody ''civil war'' broke out, with former comrades fighting on both sides against each other. During an ambush in his native County Cork, Michael Collins was killed by anti-Treaty forces (intentionally or not, it is unclear). Early the next year, the anti-Treaty forces surrendered, although the IRA remained. After WW2, in ''1949 the Republic of Ireland was declared'', fully independent from the British Commonwealth. UsefulNotes/NorthernIreland remained a source of UsefulNotes/TheTroubles, with cross-border involvement, until 1998.

De Valera and other captured Irish rebels were released in 1918 after an amnesty. Immediately they began to campaign against conscription into the British Army (which had just been introduced to Ireland) and for the fall general election. Due to wide-spread popular support stemming from outrage at conscription (a measure Unionists also opposed) and mass internment of Irish people suspected of aiding the rebellion, Sinn Fein won in a landslide, winning 73 seats out of 105. With this mandate, on 21 January 1919 the Sinn Fein delegates formed their own parliament, the Dáil Éireann (Irish Chamber), which elected a government including Eamonn de Valera as President of the Irish Republic and reiterated their independence proclamation. This is regarded as the official beginning of the '''War Of Independence.'''

In June 1921, Britain called a truce, and peace talks began. British and Irish representatives in London met to discuss a treaty. After much wrangling in which full independence was rejected from Britain's side, a compromise was agreed-Ireland would become a self-governing dominion like Canada or Australia, called the Irish Free State, with a British Governor-General and requiring oaths of loyalty by all government officials (later to become a major issue). However, the 6 Protestant-majority counties in the north were allowed to opt out if they wished and remain part of Britain, which they immediately did. Previously the Government of Ireland Act 1920 had been passed to divide Ireland into two territories, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. In 1921 the first Parliament of Northern Ireland was opened at Stormont, along with the Southern one in Dublin. Northern Ireland was thus also born. This has often been referred to, somewhat inaccurately, as "Ulster" particularly by Unionists, though the historic province contained 9 counties, but 3 Catholic-majority ones (Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan) became part of the Irish Free State.

The Treaty of Independence divided Irish Nationalists, including members of the IRA, with one half (led by Eamonn de Valera) viewing it as a betrayal, leaving part of Ireland in British hands, with Catholics persecuted by loyalist violence. Michael Collins, on the other hand, led the Treaty delegation and viewed it merely as a stepping stone for an independent, united Ireland (he also smuggled arms to Northern Ireland so the people there could defend themselves). He became the commander-in-chief of the Irish Free State Army, formed of IRA troops who supported him. A tragic, bloody civil war broke out, with former comrades fighting on both sides against each other. During an ambush in his native County Cork, Michael Collins was killed by anti-Treaty forces (intentionally or not, it is unclear). Early the next year, the anti-Treaty forces surrendered, although the IRA remained. After WW2, in 1949 the Republic of Ireland was declared, fully independent from the British Commonwealth. UsefulNotes/NorthernIreland remained a source of UsefulNotes/TheTroubles, with cross-border involvement, until 1998.

[[caption-width:4376:The Proclamation of the Irish Republic]]

[[caption-width:237:The Proclamation of the Irish Republic]]