Early 1921

Commentary on the political situation in Ireland from the weekly Irish Nationalist newspaper Old Ireland Vol II. No. 14, Saturday 2nd April 1921.

1921 was from the outset characterised by engagements between republicans and Crown forces of great intensity. No one could possibly have predicted the Treaty that would be in place by the end of the year after a six-month truce, but there were already significant straws in the wind. At the end of 1920 Archbishop Clune of Australia, at the behest of the British premier Lloyd George, had taken soundings from Arthur Griffith and other Irish leaders about ways of ending the conflict.  There were elements in both camps who felt that there could be no outright winner and that losses could be cut with an early settlement to the conflict, but much convincing had yet to be done.

The brunt of the early fighting took place in Cork where there were five significant encounters on both sides, as soldiers were motivated by the loss of comrades in action. At Upton Railway Station an attack on a train carrying British troops resulted in IRA fatalities, the wounding of some British soldiers and the deaths of some civilian passengers. Twelve IRA members died at Clonmult, as did four British soldiers at Clonbannin. Four IRA men were killed at Nadd. At Crossbarry, 10 British soldiers were killed by Tom Barry's Flying Column.

In February, Edward Carson was replaced as Unionist leader by Sir James Craig who became Prime Minister of the newly established Northern Ireland state. Unlike his predecessor, Craig favoured the partitioning of Ireland even though it meant the estrangement of southern Unionists. There would be sectarian riots later in the year, including Belfast’s “Bloody Sunday” in July with 16 deaths and much attendant destruction followed by more carnage in the same city in November with 27 deaths.

Cork continued to be a major focal point in early spring with the execution of six republican prisoners around the same time that six British soldiers were killed in the city. The same number of executions took place in Dublin in March. Also, in that month Limerick acquired, as Cork had in the previous year, two martyred mayors with the shooting dead of the incumbent George Clancy and his predecessor Michael O’Callaghan. However, at this time Lord Derby was having a secret meeting with Eamon de Valera in Dublin who shortly afterwards had an unproductive meeting in Dublin with Craig.