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Born in blood: the Irish Free State
After years of unrest and escalating violence, the Irish Free State came into being on 6 December 1922. To mark its centenary, Patrick Mercer looks at the grisly events that led to its creation.
Dip into almost any part of modern British history and the issue of Ireland will probably bob to the surface. So it is appropriate to mark the centenary of the establishment of the Irish Free State on 6 December 1922 with a closer look at the uproar into which Dublin – then the second most important capital of the Empire – and the counties that surround it were plunged. Right on England’s doorstep, a cultural and economic jewel – and the birthplace of so many of the King-Emperor’s generals, admirals and air marshals – bloodily wrenched most of herself away from the Union.
Rather than attempt a wide-ranging examination of the events leading up to December 1922 (for more on the
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