Later Developments

Reflections on the political climate of 1921 from The Catholic Bulletin Vol. XI No. 3, March 1921.

Elections to the Northern and Southern parliaments established under the 1920 Government of Ireland Act took place in May. 128 candidates were returned unopposed to the southern assembly. All were from Sinn Féin, save for four independent Unionist representatives for Dublin University. When this parliament eventually met in June, the Sinn Féin members did not attend and it was adjourned after fifteen minutes with no arrangements for a reconvening.  In the northern assembly, 40 of the 52 elected were Unionists. The remaining 12 were split evenly between Sinn Féin and the remnants of the Home Rule Party, now operating as The Nationalist Party, in an electoral pact to avoid the splitting of the Nationalist vote.

At this time British involvement in Northern Ireland was arousing much criticism domestically from the King in private, the Anglican Church in public, the press, the opposition Labour Party and a large section of public opinion meaning that the enormous extra deployment of forces necessary to defeat the IRA in Ireland was not feasible. Another obstacle to sending more troops to Ireland was the increasing need for them to curb unrest in India and other parts of the British Empire. The British side were also losing the propaganda war internationally, especially after the martyrdoms of Terence Mac Swiney and Kevin Barry in late 1920.  Furthermore, there were elements on the Irish side who felt that the military campaign was close to peaking and that driving Crown forces from Ireland was a far more formidable challenge than driving them from buildings. Both factors strengthened moves towards a truce but without any great momentum.

It was felt by some, including De Valera, that the IRA should attempt one final push which came in late May with the burning of Dublin’s Custom House. This was one of that city’s most imposing buildings, which was occupied by the Local Government Board.  In an inferno that lasted for five days there was great destruction of local government records as the staff on the fire engines that had been called acquiesced in the burning. Hopes of a truce were raised in June with the official opening of the Northern Ireland parliament at Stormont in June by King George V who called for reconciliation between the communities. The swift release of De Valera after he was arrested the following day added to feelings that change was afoot.