Partition of Ireland
The
Partition of Ireland took place in May
1921, following the enactment of the
Government of Ireland Act 1920 and ratification of the
Anglo-Irish Treaty that ended the
Anglo-Irish War.
The partition created two territories on the island of
Ireland —
Northern Ireland (which remained part of the
United Kingdom) and the
Irish Free State (at that stage a Crown Dominion, later to become a republic).
The Government of Ireland Act had created two
Home Rule parliaments: a
Parliament of Northern Ireland which functioned and a
Parliament of Southern Ireland which did not. The Anglo-Irish Treaty laid the basis of the Irish Free State, but allowed the Parliament of Northern Ireland to opt out, a power it used immediately.
While the Partition of Ireland came to be one of the most contentious issues in Anglo-Irish relations and in the internal politics of both Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State and its successor states, it was not the most controversial aspect of the Anglo-Irish treaty in the Irish Free State in 1921. Anti-Treaty opposition was mostly focused on the retention of the British monarch as the Irish head of state and the
Oath of Alliegience, which included a pledge of fidelity to him and his heirs. The Anglo-Irish Treaty contained a provision that would establish a
boundary commission that could adjust the border as drawn up in 1920. Most leaders in the south of Ireland, both pro- and anti-Treaty, assumed that the commission would award largely nationalist areas such as
County Fermanagh,
County Tyrone, and the City of
Derry to the Free State, and that the remnant of Northern Ireland would not be economically viable and would eventually opt for union with the rest of the island as well. In the event, the commission's decision was delayed until 1925 by the
Irish Civil War, and opted to retain the status quo.
Later, the new
Constitution of Ireland in
1937 and the declaration of the
Republic of Ireland in
1949, when combined with the UK responses, tended to reinforce the feeling of partition. The impact was reduced when both countries joined the
European Economic Community in
1973.
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History of Ireland*
History of the Republic of Ireland*
History of Northern Ireland*
Irish Civil War*
Repartition of Ireland*
Boundary Commission (Ireland)*
Republic of Ireland-United Kingdom border*
Common Travel Area*
Partition and the Birth of Northern Ireland (BBC History)
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The Partition of Ireland (Workers Solidarity Movement -An anarchist organisation which supports the IRA)
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Ireland, Partition of (MSN Encarta)
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James Connolly: Labour and the Proposed Partition of Ireland (Marxists Internet Archive)
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The Socialist Environmental Alliance: The SWP and Partition of Ireland (The Blanket)
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PARTITION--WHAT IT MEANS FOR IRISH WORKERS By Sean O Mearthaile (The ETEXT Archives)
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Northern Ireland Timeline: Partition: Civil war 1922 - 1923 (BBC History)
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Home rule for Ireland, Scotland and Wales (LSE Library)
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Towards a Lasting Peace in Ireland (
(Provisional) Sinn Féin)
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HISTORY OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (History World)
