Latest / The History of Ireland: Rebellion, Empire, and Independence — Fexingo History / The Irish War of Independence: Michael Collins and the Black and Tans
Transcript
- Lucas: So by early 1919, the Easter Rising of 1916 had transformed Irish nationalism. The executed leaders were martyrs, and Sinn Féin—under Eamon de Valera—had won a landslide in the 1918 general election. But Britain refused to recognise the mandate. So the Irish MPs set up their own parliament in Dublin: Dáil Éireann. And that’s where the War of Independence really begins. Luna: Right, because the Rising itself was put down quickly, but the political fallout kept building. Lucas: Exactly. The Dáil met on 21 January 1919 in the Mansion House. They issued a Declaration of Independence and a Democratic Programme. But on that very same day, a group of Irish Volunteers—soon to be called the Irish Republican Army—ambushed a cartload of gelignite at Soloheadbeg in County Tipperary. Two Royal Irish Constabulary officers were killed. So the war started with a bang. Lucas: The man who orchestrated that ambush was Dan Breen, and the real architect of the IRA’s strategy was Michael Collins. Collins was the IRA’s Director of Intelligence, and he was ruthless. He built a network of spies inside Dublin Castle itself. He created an elite assassination unit called ‘the Squad.’ They systematically killed British intelligence officers. Luna: So the IRA was using guerrilla tactics against a much more powerful army. Lucas: Yes. Collins knew the IRA couldn’t win a conventional war. So they struck fast—ambushes, raids for arms, attacks on RIC barracks—then melted back into the civilian population. The British response was to send in two paramilitary forces: the Black and Tans—so called because their mismatched khaki and dark green uniforms looked like a famous pack of hounds—and the Auxiliaries, former British Army officers. They were meant to ‘restore order,’ but they were poorly trained and often brutal. Lucas: They burned homes, looted, and shot civilians indiscriminately. The most infamous reprisal came on 21 November 1920—Bloody Sunday. That morning, Collins’ Squad assassinated fourteen British intelligence officers—the so-called Cairo Gang—in their beds around Dublin. In retaliation, the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries opened fire on a crowd at a Gaelic football match in Croke Park, killing fourteen civilians. That afternoon, two prominent IRA prisoners, Dick McKee and Peadar Clancy, were tortured and killed in Dublin Castle. Luna: Bloody Sunday really escalated the conflict. Lucas: It did. And the violence spread. In December 1920, the British burned the centre of Cork city after an IRA ambush. They also imposed curfews, interned suspects, and executed IRA men. But Collins’ intelligence network kept the pressure on. The IRA ambushed a train full of soldiers at the Milltown ambush in County Kerry, and they attacked the Custom House in Dublin—the centre of British local government. That raid destroyed records, but Collins called it his greatest failure because so many volunteers were captured. Lucas: Meanwhile, the British government was trying a political solution. The Government of Ireland Act 1920 created two Home Rule parliaments—one for the six counties of the north-east, one for the rest. That established partition in law, even though no one in the south accepted it. The IRA in the north fought back, but they were outnumbered. The unionist government in Belfast, led by James Craig, formed the Ulster Special Constabulary—the B-Specials—who were even more sectarian than the Black and Tans. Luna: So the war had a grim cycle—attack and reprisal. Lucas: Yes. And by mid-1921, both sides were exhausted. The British public was horrified by the Black and Tans’ violence. The IRA was running out of ammunition and men. In July 1921, a truce was agreed. That led to negotiations for a treaty. But the treaty, signed in December 1921, created the Irish Free State—a dominion within the British Empire, not a republic. It also accepted partition. And that set the stage for a civil war among the Irish themselves. Luna: So the War of Independence was a victory of sorts, but a compromised one. Lucas: Exactly. Collins himself said: ‘You gave us the treaty, but you gave us the war.’ He knew the treaty wasn’t perfect, but he believed it was a stepping stone. Others, like de Valera, saw it as a betrayal. And within a year, Collins would be dead, killed in an ambush by his former comrades during the Irish Civil War. The War of Independence created a new Ireland, but it also created deep divisions that lasted for generations. Luna: It’s a tragic story of brilliant strategy and terrible cost. Lucas: It is. And it’s a reminder that independence is never clean. The violence didn’t end in 1921—it just changed form. But the determination of people like Collins, and the ordinary volunteers who risked everything, forced the British to the negotiating table. They didn’t get everything they wanted, but they got a state of their own.