| 1916, April 24-29- The Easter Rebellion- Extreme discontent arose after a bill which guaranteed a measure of political autonomy to Ireland was suspended in 1914 because of the outbreak of World War I. On April 24 about 2000 men took over the Dublin post office and other strategic points in the city; their main objectives were to attain political freedom and establish an Irish republic. By April 29 Britain was able to force the leaders of the revolt to surrender and regained control. The rebellion was the first of a series of events that would lead to the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1921. |
| 1990- First woman was elected President- Mary Robinson was the first woman to be elected President. Robinson was originally a Dublin lawyer. This is important, because it opens more opportunity for women. Women will now have more courage to run for president in Ireland. |
| 1949, April 18- Irish independence- The Parliament approved the Republic of Ireland Bill in November 1948. On Easter Monday, April 19,1949, Eire became the Republic of Ireland. According to the terms of the bill, the republic was free of allegiance to the British crown and the Commonwealth of Nations. Northern Ireland remained a part of Britain. To this day the Republic of Ireland still exists. |
| 1920, December- Government of Ireland Act passed/ The Home Rule Bill- This act divided Ireland into two. The north was dominated by protestants, the south dominated by the Catholics. Each had its own separate parliament. This bill did not satisfy some of the Irish because Great Britain still retained control of Ireland. This and the Irish Free State will eventually lead to a civil war. |
| 1922, June-1923 - Civil War- The people of Ireland were split into two factions; the Irish who were satisfied with their dominion status and the Irish who wanted a republic. Allies who had fought against Britain together were now enemies. The civil war was even more damaging than the actual war for independence. Roughly 600-4,000 people had died. The Free State government had to pay about 17 million pounds to fund the war, which dug into other important funds. |
| 1921, December 6- Irish Free State- The peace treaty ending the war was signed on this date. The terms of this treaty led to the making of the Irish Free State. The Irish Free State included all of Ireland except for the six Protestant-dominant counties that are known as North Ireland. The Irish Free State was given a dominion status such as that of Canada and Australia. The Parliament of Ireland ratified the treaty on January 15, 1922 by a vote of 57 to 64. |
| 1937- Eire- In June 1937 the Parliament's five-year term was over. There was a new election which resulted in the republicans winning most of the seats. They adopted a new constitution which abolished the Irish Free State and established Eire as a "Sovereign independent democratic state." The new constitution had no references to Britain or the Commonwealth of Nations. This gave the people of Ireland even more independence. |
| 1881- Land Law Act- A three-member commission was created to review rent charges and determine if they were fair, fix rentals for fifteen years, and ensure compensation for improvements made by tenants. Tenants were also able to receive government loans of up to three-fourths of the purchase prices of their holdings so they could buy them. Unfortunately, the act did not cover one-third of Irish tenant farmers whose payments were in arrears. Irish leaders still were not satisfied. |
| 1920, March 25- Blacks and Tans- The Blacks and Tans arrive in Ireland. They were men employed by the English police force in Ireland who were willing to help British forces keep down rebellion. They were nasty people with a wretched reputation told to kill all the rebels they could. Their job was to make Ireland a living hell for rebels. Eventually, over 2000 people were hired as Blacks and Tans to help strengthen the British police force in Ireland. |
| 1928, July 30- Olympics- Pat O'Callaghan won the Olympic gold medal in Amsterdam. He was the first to win a gold medal for Ireland. Other Irishman have competed before, but not for their country. His event was the hammer throw. He won again in the Olympics in Los Angeles in 1932. Irish people now have the freedom to compete with their own country. |
| History continued |
| 1919-1922- Revolution- The Irish wanted independence from Britain. A war began. Ireland's army used guerrilla tactics against the British. The Home Rule Bill was passed. There was a truce on July 10, 1921 and the fighting was stopped. The war ended when the peace treaty was ratified by Ireland's Parliment in 1922. |
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| 1939, September- WWII- UK went to war with Germany. Ireland, Eire at the time, remained neutral. They were scared Hitler would invade because he had already invaded eight neutral countries. There were plans by the Germans to invade Ireland but, fortunately, there were too many distractions in the USSR. About 40,000 Irishmen joined the British army and over 150,000 worked for the war effort because they sympathized with the British. |
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| Song playing: Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2 |
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