How Did Ireland Contribute To The Irish War Of Independence

Before the fight for independence, Ireland had been a part of England for nearly half a millennium. However, for more than 400 of those years the Irish were discriminated against for their religion and culture. In fact, in the Statutes of Kilkenny, English colonists were prohibited from becoming “too Irish.” The Irish were viewed as uncivilized and were forced into serfdom with the arrival of English colonists. Catholics also faced extreme discrimination and lacked the most basic rights. This caused a permanent state of unease between the Irish and the British, which eventually lead to the Irish War of Independence.
The Irish War of Independence lasted for about three years from 1919 to 1921. It all began shortly after the 1916 Easter Rising, when nearly 1,300 Irish Volunteers and 219 members of the Irish Citizen Army took control of several buildings in
Negotiations began soon after and the unity and independence of Ireland and its relations with Britain were discussed. The Irish wanted to see the union of the Northern and Southern Isles; however, this was deemed unlikely. The South was vastly Catholic with a strong Irish culture, while the majority of the North was Protestant with British leanings. In the end it was decided that Northern Ireland would have the choice of joining either country after a year. Next, the British made it clear that they would not allow the Irish to be a fully independent or a republic. They insisted that government officials in Ireland were to swear loyalty to the Crown. Likewise, the British refused to give up three of their deep-water ports. On December 5th, 1921 Ireland’s elected officials were presented with the Anglo-Irish Treaty. They were told that if they did not sign by the following day the war would continue where it had left off. The Irish compiled, but knew that signing the Treaty would create a huge political divide and likely cause a civil war. Unfortunately, they were