Why Britain Lost The Irish War of Independence (4K Documentary)
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00:00In January 1919, Great Britain had just emerged victorious from the First World War and ruled
00:05over an even larger empire than before.
00:08But many in Ireland were unhappy with British rule, and over the next two years Irish Republicans
00:13won their independence.
00:15So how did the mighty British Empire lose the Anglo-Irish War?
00:24The Irish War of Independence, or Anglo-Irish War that raged from 1919 to 1921, was rooted
00:30in Irish desire for independence from Great Britain.
00:33The so-called Irish Question had marked UK politics since Ireland became part of the
00:38UK in 1800, and was still a difficult topic in 1914.
00:42That year the British Parliament passed a Home Rule Act giving Ireland more autonomy
00:47within the UK, but the government delayed implementing it when the Great War broke out.
00:52Many Irishmen, though, felt that British rule was foreign and unjust, and wanted a
00:56fully independent republic.
00:59Some radical armed groups launched the Easter Rising in 1916 and declared a free Irish government,
01:05but British troops crushed them.
01:07London tried to find a political solution with an all-party Irish convention, but it
01:12failed.
01:13Then in the December 1918 election, the Republican Sinn Féin party with links to the Easter
01:18Rising won three quarters of the Irish seats in the UK Parliament with support from Ireland's
01:23Catholic majority.
01:25The mostly Protestant Ulster region, though, supported the pro-UK Irish Unionist party.
01:30Sinn Féin did not send its representatives to sit in the London Parliament.
01:34Instead, leader Éamon de Valera announced an Irish-only parliament called the Dáil.
01:40Preparing for conflict, Sinn Féin worked closely with the armed group known as the
01:44Irish Republican Army, or IRA.
01:47So in early 1919, a self-declared Irish parliament allied with the independent IRA, and the Anglo-Irish
01:54War soon began.
01:57The Dáil sat for the first time on January 21st, 1919, and declared independence.
02:03"...we solemnly declare foreign government in Ireland to be an invasion of our national
02:09right which we will never tolerate, and we demand the evacuation of our country by the
02:14English garrison."
02:15The British, though, still controlled Ireland through the Dublin Castle administration and
02:21the police, the Royal Irish Constabulary, or RIC.
02:25To Republicans, they were an occupying force, even though most police were fellow Catholics.
02:30So on the same day the Dáil declared independence, the IRA ambushed and killed two policemen
02:35at Solo Headbank.
02:37Sinn Féin had not approved the attack, but it's still often seen as the start of the
02:41war, even though London considered it a police matter at first.
02:45The IRA now began a guerrilla campaign against the IRC and British officials.
02:50They avoided pitched battles, and instead ambushed police patrols or barracks with whatever
02:55weapons they had, even homemade bombs.
02:58The IRA also organized itself into county brigades or parish companies and recruited
03:03unit leaders.
03:05They also used flying columns of mobile attack groups that could quickly form up, attack,
03:10and disappear.
03:11This was a tricky process and there were struggles, but a decentralized structure had advantages.
03:18The democratic organization of the volunteers and the impossibility in the circumstances
03:23of any tight control by the headquarters staff permitted and encouraged the development of
03:28local initiative on a scale quite abnormal in a regular army.
03:34To the RIC, the attacks seemed to come out of nowhere, and the attackers melted away
03:39into the civilian population.
03:41IRA fighter Seamus Conway described a typical ambush.
03:47In a brief space of time, two lorries approached.
03:50The mine on being exploded blew the front part off the first lorry, bringing it to a
03:54standstill and throwing out the occupants.
03:56The second lorry pulled up behind this, and concentrated rifle fire was brought to bear
04:01on it.
04:02Its occupants jumped and dived for cover, a good many of them knocked out as they did
04:06so.
04:07Cover at this point was scarce.
04:09They got their Lewis gun into operation immediately, but after a few bursts, the gunner was knocked
04:13out and the guns did not get into action anymore.
04:18The IRA attacks were small – they killed 15 policemen in all of 1919 – but they had
04:23a big political impact.
04:26Even when the IRC repelled IRA assaults on better defended police barracks, which they
04:30usually did, these improved republican morale and forced the British onto the defensive.
04:36The IRA usually chose the time and place of any combat which overwhelmed the IRC, which
04:42suffered more casualties than the attackers.
04:44So in March 1920, the British created the RIC Special Reserve, better known as the Black
04:50and Tans, since they used some army khaki in their dark uniforms.
04:54Most were English or Irish Protestants who'd fought in the Great War, although 20% were
04:59Catholic.
05:00But contrary to popular belief, very few were criminals before joining.
05:04Poor training and the pressures of counter-insurgency combat meant that the Black and Tans would
05:09commit more crimes than other British soldiers while in uniform.
05:13The IRA's guerrilla campaign against the police accelerated in 1920, which also saw
05:18escalation from the British side.
05:21IRA ambushes became more frequent and more deadly in the second year of the war, killing
05:26143 police.
05:29The embattled IRC spent more time in barracks and towns for safety, leaving rural Ireland
05:34in the hands of the IRA.
05:36The IRA also began an arson campaign that summer, burning over 400 abandoned police
05:41barracks and 50 courthouses.
05:43Sinn Féin set up a parallel state in the countryside, including Republican courts, police patrols,
05:49and taxes.
05:50They also brought the British court system to a virtual halt, as witnesses, juries, and
05:55even judges refused to participate.
05:58This was partly due to Republican sympathies among most Catholics, but also IRA intimidation.
06:04One magistrate wrote,
06:05"...everybody is yielding to Sinn Féin, whether they approve of it or not.
06:10They say they can do nothing else, and that the UK government cannot or will not protect
06:15them, and the police can barely protect themselves."
06:18– Sir John Riddell London underestimated the Republican movement,
06:22but British officers in Ireland took it seriously.
06:25Lord George Riddell recorded a conversation with General Lord French.
06:31It was absurd to think that the British army could not quell such an insurrection if given
06:36proper powers.
06:37French said it was an underground conspiracy.
06:40You might pass from one end of Ireland to the other and not see anything abnormal, but
06:44the rebel organization was there.
06:48British strategy was failing, so they created a new force in July 1920 – the Auxiliary
06:54Division of the RIC, or Auxies.
06:56They are often confused with the Black and Tans, but they were a separate paramilitary
07:00force of ex-Great War British officers.
07:03Their task was to take the fight to the IRA in the southern counties, and while they were
07:07well-armed and well-paid, they were poorly housed, poorly fed, and poorly organized.
07:13The Auxies had some success against the IRA, like capturing 40 prisoners at Kilmarshow
07:17in September, but morale was bad and turnover was high.
07:22Auxie Ernest Lissett explained the stresses.
07:26We were on dangerous duty, which was to keep the highways and roads open to traffic.
07:30Every morning the patrols would leave the castle, all in battle order and ready for
07:34trouble on the way.
07:35It was very interesting, passing through the most beautiful country, but we never knew
07:40what was just around the bend.
07:44The Auxies and Black and Tans became more known for violence against civilians than
07:48for fighting the IRA.
07:49They often couldn't find the IRA after an ambush, and many shopkeepers refused to sell
07:54to police.
07:55So under constant threat of attack, the Auxies and Black and Tans turned to violent reprisals
08:00as punishment.
08:02After an IRA attack, or simply for perceived Republican sympathies, they shot into homes,
08:07looted shops, and burned buildings.
08:09Between July and September, there were notable reprisals in Toulouse, Upperchurch, Limerick,
08:14Templemore, Balbriggan, and Tubbercurry.
08:17Local resident Mrs. Murraycane recounted her experience.
08:23They all seemed to me to speak with an Irish accent.
08:26The swearing was awful.
08:28The men asked me where my husband was, and I asked him what they wanted him for.
08:32They replied, to shoot him.
08:37The British officially banned reprisals in August, but officers turned a blind eye and
08:41some encouraged them.
08:45The more you shoot, the better I will like you, and no policeman will get into trouble
08:50for shooting a man.
08:52The reprisals turned more Irishmen against Britain, but also frightened some into giving
08:57the police information.
08:59The IRA also pressured civilians to cooperate with them, and killed suspected police informants.
09:04In general, the Republican side benefited politically from the violence, except in Ulster.
09:09There, an attempted Republican economic boycott led to the revival of a unionist paramilitary
09:14organization the Ulster Volunteer Force.
09:18Many northern towns became divided on sectarian lines as Protestants and Catholics fought
09:22in the streets and forced each other into separate neighbourhoods.
09:27So by Fall 1920, violence had spread to all parts of Ireland.
09:31British police morale was low, but the Oxys had gained some control over Republican areas.
09:37In early November, British authorities reported on their progress.
09:42Much of the moral and material support lent to Sinn Féin is due to fear, and with the
09:47growth of the realization that the government is beginning to get a grip of the situation,
09:52there are indications of a return to sanity and revulsion against Sinn Féin on the part
09:56of more responsible persons.
09:59But the IRA was about to launch its most ambitious attack yet.
10:04One strength of the IRA was intelligence.
10:06Sinn Féin's secretive Minister for Home Affairs and Director of Intelligence Michael
10:10Collins had become a legendary figure.
10:13He built a network of informers in the British administration and police, using the information
10:18to carry out targeted assassinations of British officials.
10:21British intelligence, on the other hand, consistently failed in Ireland.
10:25They once arrested Collins, but only realized it after they'd already released him.
10:30IRA intelligence operative Florence O'Donoghue explained British troubles.
10:37One thing the British lacked, which the IRA had in generous measure, was the cooperation
10:41of the people, and without it, they were blind and impotent.
10:47The British relied on paid informants, a problematic system but one that did bring some results.
10:53Collins decided a dramatic action was needed.
10:56The Dial approved his plan for an IRA group known as the Squad to kill 12 members of British
11:01intelligence known as the Cairo Gang in their own homes.
11:05On the morning of Sunday, November 21, 1920, the Squad killed 14 men, including the first
11:11two oxys of the war, in an unplanned clash.
11:14It's not clear how many of the dead were actually in the Cairo Gang.
11:19That afternoon, the British responded, surrounding a crowd watching a Gaelic football match at
11:23Croke Park.
11:25The police said they wanted to search for IRA agents, but claimed that someone fired
11:29at them from the stands, a claim that has never been verified.
11:33The oxys and RIC fired into the crowd, killing 14, including three children.
11:38At Dublin Castle, British officers executed three prominent IRA prisoners.
11:43Publicly, the IRA trumpeted Bloody Sunday as a victory.
11:49My one intention was the destruction of the undesirables who continued to make miserable
11:54the lives of ordinary decent citizens.
11:57If I had a second motive, it was not more than a feeling such as I would have had for
12:01a dangerous reptile.
12:03By their destruction, the very air is made sweeter.
12:06They have destroyed without trial.
12:08I have paid them back in their own coin."
12:11Privately, though, Collins had doubts as he'd not expected the harsh British response.
12:19The events of Bloody Sunday sent a shockwave across Ireland and Britain, but the violence
12:23continued even as diplomacy began.
12:27Even before Bloody Sunday, the British had been divided about Ireland.
12:31General Neville MacReady wanted to impose martial law, but Lloyd George refused, saying
12:35that one did not declare war on rebels.
12:38Instead, in December 1920 London passed the Government of Ireland Act, which foresaw two
12:43Home Rule systems and two Irish Parliaments, one for Ulster and one for the rest.
12:48But the Act didn't satisfy Republicans or Unionists.
12:51Lloyd George started secret talks with Sinn Féin's Arthur Griffith, but IRA commanders
12:56were planning more ambushes.
12:58In County Cork, the Oxys had become complacent.
13:03There was always careless talk in the town, and it was easy for the enemy to find out
13:07which section we would be patrolling on any day some days ahead, and make any plans they
13:12thought fit.
13:15On November 28th, Tom Barry's IRA unit ambushed a convoy of two police lorries, killing 16
13:21of 18 Oxys on the spot and one later.
13:24The IRA accused the police of pretending to surrender before opening fire, a claim
13:29that is still debated a century later.
13:32The lone surviving policeman, on the other hand, insisted the IRA executed the police
13:36after they'd surrendered.
13:38The Auxiliary Division had suffered its bloodiest defeat of the war, and the British declared
13:43martial law in four counties, including this public warning.
13:50Note well that a state of armed insurrection exists, that any person taking part therein,
13:55or harbouring any person who has taken part therein, or procuring, inviting, aiding, or
14:00abetting any person to take part therein, is guilty of levying war against His Majesty
14:06the King, and is liable on conviction by a military court to suffer death."
14:11– Tom Barry, The Auxiliary Division, 1918.
14:14After another IRA ambush in Cork City, British troops and police torched the city centre
14:18in reprisal.
14:20Foreign governments condemned the British action, and London paid residents £3 million
14:24in compensation.
14:26Some Oxys, though, saw it as payback and wore burnt pieces of cork on their caps.
14:31The British decided they needed to channel the violence of their forces, so they introduced
14:35a system of official, limited reprisals in January 1921.
14:41But imposing martial law in part of Ireland did not solve London's problems, like poor
14:46morale, complicated British command structure, and infighting between various police, administration,
14:52and military services.
14:53With Irish elections planned for May 1921, Lloyd George proposed a truce, which the IRA
14:59rejected since they would have had to disarm.
15:02So both the British and the IRA were facing serious challenges to achieving their aims
15:06in the war, but the fighting would be more intense than ever in 1921.
15:12Both sides went on the offensive.
15:14Britain sent reinforcements and soldiers, and police patrolled aggressively into IRA-controlled
15:19territory.
15:20The IRA also adapted, with better training and replacing the flying columns with smaller
15:25active service units.
15:27The Dial also took responsibility for the IRA to smooth tensions and improve ammunition
15:32and weapons procurement.
15:34At first, the spike in violence in 1921 led to British success.
15:39Political IRA raids went badly, and at Clonemult, the British killed 8 and arrested 12.
15:44Police and soldiers also seized IRA weapons, leading to a critical shortage.
15:49But politically, the violence still benefited the Republican cause.
15:53In March, they planned an ambush to kill British Lieutenant General Strickland.
15:5770 IRA men under Sean Moyland and Paddy O'Brien attacked the British convoy with mines and
16:03machine guns.
16:06Our men opened fire on the leading lorry and stopped it by killing the driver.
16:10The second lorry pulled up, and the touring car and armoured car almost dashed into it.
16:15The rear lorry came on until stopped by our rifle fire.
16:19There must have been a big roll of casualties in this car, as a very effective fire was
16:23poured into it from the north and west.
16:26After a two-hour fight, in which the enemy machine guns searched the whole countryside
16:30and which finally developed into a series of skirmishes over a large area, we retreated
16:35in good order after inflicting heavy casualties and without suffering any on our side.
16:42The IRA had killed a British officer, but it wasn't Strickland – it was Brigadier
16:46General Hanway Robert Cumming, along with four others.
16:49It was not as successful as the IRA made it out to be, but it was another blow against
16:54the British army.
16:56Such countryside attacks were important, but Republicans knew the political centre was
17:00Dublin.
17:01The IRA's new Dublin Active Service unit stepped up small-scale attacks, striking more
17:06than 200 times between March and May.
17:09de Valera wanted a larger operation, and so on May 25 IRA units stormed the Dublin Custom
17:15House.
17:16120 IRA men set the building on fire, but auxiliaries in an armoured car arrived, killing
17:226 IRA men and forcing 80 to surrender.
17:26Sinn Féin publicly celebrated a victory, but internally members worried about such
17:31heavy losses.
17:33The escalation in 1921 left both sides exhausted.
17:37The Republicans were militarily weak but politically strong, while the British had the opposite
17:41problem.
17:42Something had to give.
17:45By July, the British had arrested 4,500 IRA men, leaving only 2,000 active IRA fighters
17:51in the field.
17:53The British even narrowly missed capturing Michael Collins himself, again.
17:57Lloyd George, however, acknowledged the reality of majority Republican support outside of
18:02Ulster and offered more talks.
18:04In July 1921, a fragile truce began.
18:08Hardliners on both sides grumbled since they thought their side was winning, but for Collins
18:12at least it was a necessity.
18:15"...we had not, when these truce terms were offered, an average of one round of ammunition
18:21for each weapon we had.
18:23The fighting area in Cork was becoming daily more circumscribed, and they could not have
18:28carried on much longer."
18:29– Lloyd George, London wanted an autonomous Ireland to remain part of the Empire.
18:34Sinn Féin leaders were divided between those willing to compromise and those who felt that
18:39anything short of a fully independent republic was a betrayal of the cause.
18:43Talks bogged down on two questions – the status of Ulster and whether an Irish government
18:48would have to swear an oath to the crown.
18:51Most Republican politicians eventually accepted that Ulster would remain in the UK, and de
18:56Valera proposed an oath that recognized an association with the crown rather than loyalty.
19:02But de Valera went back on his own draft oath and refused to participate directly in the
19:06talks.
19:08On December 5, Britain gave the divided Irish Peace Delegation in London an ultimatum – accept
19:13the latest deal or face renewed war.
19:16The delegates thought they had the authority to sign without consulting de Valera, and
19:21did.
19:22The final terms represented major compromises by both sides.
19:26An Irish Free State would have its own parliament for domestic affairs, enjoy financial independence,
19:31and have its own small military.
19:33British troops would leave the country except for Ulster, which chose to remain in the UK.
19:39The Irish Free State was still a part of the British Empire, and the parliament had to
19:43swear an oath to the crown.
19:47The Irish War of Independence took the lives of around 260 British soldiers, 360 police,
19:53550 IRA fighters, and 200 civilians.
19:57But the peace caused a political crisis in the Free State.
20:01De Valera and other hardliners bitterly opposed the treaty, and Republicans split into pro-
20:06and anti-treaty factions.
20:09Just before the dial ratified the treaty in January 1922, de Valera made an ominous prediction
20:15If the treaty was accepted, the fight for freedom would still go on, and the Irish people,
20:22instead of fighting foreign soldiers, would have to fight the Irish soldiers of an Irish
20:27government set up by Irishmen.
20:29They would have to wade through Irish blood, through the blood of the soldiers of the Irish
20:34government, and through perhaps the blood of some of the members of the government,
20:38in order to get Irish freedom.
20:43Parliament had just won partial independence, but the Irish Free State was on the brink
20:47of civil war.
20:50We here at Real Time History love learning about history, and everyone on our team has
20:54sat down with family members to learn more about family history.
20:58Our producer Flo, though, had a very annoying problem that kept him and a loved one from
21:03spending that quality history time together and caused serious financial problems.
21:08Data brokers had illegally collected personal data on said family member and likely added
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21:17Fake legal threats, made up subscriptions, and telephone scams became a serious problem
21:22that took a lot of time and energy to solve, and even then Flo can't be certain that
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21:28This problem is global, and it's increasing.
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22:20As usual, you can find all the sources for this episode in the video description below.
22:24And don't forget to check out our previous detailed videos about the Anglo-Irish War
22:28and the Irish Civil War.
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22:36I'm Jesse Alexander and this is a production of Real Time History – the only history
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