29 Jul 1911

Carson opposes Home Rule

Sir Edward Carson, the political and spiritual leader of Irish Unionism from 1910–21, indicates his militant stance for the maintenance of the Union in a letter to Ulster Unionist Sir James Craig:

‘I am not for a mere game of bluff, and, unless Ulster men are prepared to make great sacrifices ... the talk of resistance is no use.’

08 Feb 1912

Churchill supports Home Rule

Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty in H.H. Asquith’s Liberal government, addresses a meeting held in Belfast’s Celtic Park in support of Home Rule for Ireland. Due to Unionist demonstrations and increasing tensions in the city, Churchill (who was denied the use of the Ulster Hall for his address) is forced to undertake a circuitous route back to his ferry at Larne.

09 Apr 1912

Bonar Law pledges ‘unconditional support’

On Easter Tuesday, a mass Unionist gathering is held at the Balmoral Showgrounds, Belfast. The new Conservative leader, Andrew Bonar Law (left), addresses the meeting and pledges unconditional support for Ulster Unionist resistance to Home Rule. Over 100,000 men march past Bonar Law’s platform in an imposing display of Unionist strength.

11 Apr 1912

New Home Rule Bill

Two days after the Unionist demonstration at Balmoral, a Home Rule Bill is presented to the House of Commons by Liberal Prime Minister, Herbert H. Asquith (left). It is the third attempt by a Liberal government to introduce Home Rule for Ireland since 1886.

11 Jun 1912

Ulster excluded

Liberal MP Thomas Agar-Robartes (left) proposes an amendment to exclude the northern Protestant-majority counties of Antrim, Armagh, Derry, and Down from Home Rule Bill, the first formal parliamentary proposal to exclude part of Ulster. The motion is defeated, but causes anxiety among northern Nationalists.

28 Sep 1912

Ulster Day

Unionists declare this day ‘Ulster Day’. Edward Carson addresses a religious service in the Ulster Hall before walking to Belfast City Hall, where he is the first to sign the Solemn League and Covenant. Those who signed the Covenant, which drew its name from the 1643 treaty signed by Scottish Presbyterians and English parliamentarians, pledged to oppose Home Rule by ‘all means which may be found necessary’. 237,368 men signed the Covenant, and 234,046 women signed the Women’s Declaration.

28 Sep 1912

Signing in blood

It has been claimed that many signed the Covenant in their own blood, particularly Frederick Hugh Crawford. Tests conducted in 2012 make it highly unlikely that Crawford signed the Covenant in his own blood, casting doubt on whether anyone else had. It has been suggested, however, that signing the Covenant ‘in blood’ was meant metaphorically and not literally.

31 Jan 1913

Ulster Volunteer Force

The Ulster Unionist Council formally establishes the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) to oppose Home Rule, by force if necessary. Later in the year the Irish Volunteers, a rival Nationalist militia, is formed.

23 Sep 1913

Ulster provisional government

The Ulster Unionist Council endorses the proclamation of a provisional government for Ulster, planned to take effect as soon as the Home Rule Bill becomes law before a new parliament is established in Dublin.

09 Mar 1914

Carson says no

Edward Carson rejects Asquith’s proposal for Ulster counties to opt out of Home Rule for six years.

20 Mar 1914

The Curragh Incident

The Curragh Incident or ‘mutiny’ takes place, as senior British military officers including Sir Anthony Paget (left) refuse to deploy the British Army against Ulster loyalists.

24 Apr 1914

Unionist gunrunning

The UVF, under the organisation of Frederick Hugh Crawford and Wilfrid Spender, stage a massive gunrunning operation in Larne, Donaghadee and Bangor. Approximately 20,000 rifles and 3 million rounds of ammunition are smuggled from Germany.

25 May 1914

Home Rule Bill passed

An unamended Home Rule Bill passes its third and final reading in the House of Commons with no agreement over Ulster.

21 Jul 1914

Buckingham Palace conference

At the king’s request, a four-day conference is held at Buckingham Palace in an attempt to secure agreement on Ulster’s status in relation to Home Rule. The Conference fails.

26 Apr 1907

Belfast on strike

James Larkin, of the National Union of Dock Labourers, helps to organise dock workers in Belfast. Employers lock out union members and precipitate a bitter strike, which lasts until November 1907. During the strike there is sectarian violence, anti-sectarian actions by workers, and police mutiny in Belfast while British Army troops are deployed to quell unrest. James Sexton, leader of the NUDL, settles the strike without consulting Larkin, causing Larkin to feel dissatisfied at the role of British trade unions in Ireland.

01 Jan 1911

Larkin mobilises workers

After moving to Dublin, Larkin starts to organise workers within the city. His combination of strident trade unionism, passion for his members and organisational skill spawns a new description for his strategy: ‘Larkinism’. Employers across Ireland become increasingly alarmed at this new form of trade unionism.

01 Jul 1911

Larkin draws huge support

Jim Larkin addresses a rally as thousands turn out to hear from the popular trade unionist.

28 Jun 1912

Irish Labour Party

Larkin combines forces with James Connolly, another important figure in the workers’ movement of the time, and who became the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union’s Belfast organiser in 1911. Together they help to form the Irish Labour Party in June 1912.

15 Aug 1913

Dublin workers sacked

Industrial unrest in Dublin forces William Martin Murphy (left), leader of Dublin Employers’ Federation, to demand that Irish Independent and Dublin United Tram Company employees choose between membership of the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union (ITGWU) or their jobs. The Union is led by James Larkin. 100 tramway members are sacked for their refusal.

26 Aug 1913

Dublin Lock-Out begins

Larkin and the ITGWU respond to William Martin Murphy's decision by going on general strike, initiating the Dublin ‘Lock-Out’ which lasts until early 1914. Approximately 20,000 workers go on strike against 400 employers.

31 Aug 1913

Larkin’s address

Larkin, wearing make-up and disguise, addresses a rally from a balcony of the Imperial Hotel on O’Connell Street. Larkin is arrested and police storm the crowd, killing two people. This becomes the most notorious day of the Lock-Out.

19 Nov 1913

Irish Citizen Army

James Larkin, James Connolly and Jack White form the Irish Citizen Army to defend workers’ demonstrations from the police.

01 Jan 1914

Lock-Out ends

The Dublin Lock-Out comes to an end when Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union members are forced back to work to avoid starvation. Many also agree to sign pledges not to join the ITGWU. The ITGWU is badly damaged, but not defeated. A dispirited Larkin departs for America later that year. In the aftermath, he declares:

‘We are beaten, we will make no bones about it, but we are not too badly beaten still to fight.’

28 Jun 1914

Franz Ferdinand assassinated

Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife are shot dead in Sarajevo by members of the Serbian Nationalist group ‘The Black Hand’. On 28 July Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. As Austria-Hungary is backed by the German Empire, while Serbia is backed by the Russian Empire, allied to France and Britain, a localised Balkan conflict threatens to become a general European war.

03 Aug 1914

Germany declares war

Germany declares war on France. The next day it invades neutral Belgium. John Redmond commits Irish Volunteers to defence of Ireland, and suggests that the Irish Volunteers and Ulster Volunteer Force could jointly defend Ireland.

04 Aug 1914

Britain declares war

The German invasion of Belgium and France in August 1914 threatens the British government’s strategic interests. On 4 August 1914 Britain declares war on the German Empire and, publicly, the British government declares its aim as the defence of the rights of small nations.

04 Aug 1914

War fever grips

In August and September 1914 ‘war fever’ grips large numbers of people who rush to sign up and fight.

18 Aug 1914

Government of Ireland Act

The Government of Ireland Act receives Royal Assent but is suspended for one year or until the end of European hostilities, pending the resolution of the Ulster question.

21 Aug 1914

10th (Irish) Division Formed

British Government issues orders to raise New Army of six divisions. Formation of 10th (Irish) Division, the first of three New Army divisions raised in Ireland. Within a month, Irish reservists experience their first engagements in the Belgian city of Mons and at the Battle of the Marne.

20 Sep 1914

The Woodenbridge speech

John Redmond makes a famous speech at Woodenbridge, Co. Wicklow, committing the Irish Volunteers to go ‘wherever the firing line extends’. His speech causes a split in the movement: the majority follow Redmond and take the new name of the National Volunteers. The minority Irish Volunteers, who disagree with his declaration, retain the name and are soon planning rebellion at home.

31 Oct 1914

Casement arrives in Berlin

Roger Casement arrives in Berlin. By the end of year, he agrees to establish an ‘Irish Brigade’ in Germany’s service, formed of Irish prisoners of war captured from the British Forces.

01 Dec 1914

Willie Redmond signs up

Willie Redmond, brother of IPP leader John Redmond, declares his intention to fight in the war, as ‘I can't stand asking fellows to go and not offer myself’. He signs up to fight for the British Army in 1915, becoming an inspiring figure on the battlefield, revered by his fellow troops.

01 Aug 1914

Irish men sign up

Men from across Ireland enlisted to take part in the First World War. Members of both the Ulster Volunteer Force and the National Volunteers joined as part of Earl Kitchener’s call to Britain and Ireland for voluntary enlistment in the British Army.

01 Jan 1916

Reality of war

The romantic image of war that so many young recruits had envisaged was cruelly shattered by the grim reality of trench warfare. For most, rival soldiers confronted each other from the relative safety of fortified trenches across a strip of earth known as no-man’s-land. By 1916, Kitchener’s Volunteer armies were trained and prepared for battle. The 36th (Ulster) Division was part of the first offensive use of the newly created mass British Army during the Battle of the Somme in the summer of 1916.

01 Jul 1916

Going over the top

On 1 July 1916 at 7:30am, the 36th (Ulster) Division are one of the first groups to go over the top of their trenches following an allied bombardment of the German lines. The consequence for the British Army is horrific. Of the 120,000 who advanced, 57,470 suffer casualties in the single greatest loss of men by the British Army in one day. The 36th (Ulster) Division is hit particularly hard with 5,500 dead, wounded or taken prisoner.

01 Jul 1916

McFadzean’s bravery

On the morning of July 1st, 1916, Lurgan man Billy McFadzean was distributing bombs in preparation for the attack. The box slipped and two of the safety pins fell out as a result. Sensing the carnage it would cause his fellow comrades, McFadzean sacrificed his life and dived on the grenades. Only one other person was injured due to the action taken by McFadzean, who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery.

02 Jul 1916

Rather be an Ulsterman

Following their attack, Captain Wilfred Spender, a correspondent for The Times, writes:

‘I am not an Ulsterman but yesterday, the 1st July, as I followed their amazing attack, I felt that I would rather be an Ulsterman than anything else in the world.’

03 Jul 1916

Footage from the front

Footage from the Somme battlefield shows the harsh brutality of war.

03 Jul 1916

In the end

The 36th (Ulster) Division is able to capture their objective on the first day of the Somme, while suffering great casualties. The failure of other divisions of the British Army to be similarly successful leaves the 36th isolated and forced to retreat from their captured objective. They are eventually relieved from the front line on 5 July 1916.

01 May 1916

‘The Irish Question’

In the aftermath of the Easter Rising, David Lloyd George, Secretary of State for War, resumes negotiations with both the Irish Parliamentary Party and the Ulster Unionists on the basis of implementing Home Rule and excluding Ulster from the settlement.

06 Dec 1916

New Prime Minister

Lloyd George takes over from Asquith as Prime Minister and forms a War Cabinet.

05 Feb 1917

Republican gains

Count Plunkett (left), father of executed rebel, Joseph, wins Roscommon North by-election, the first of several by-election nationalist swings away from the IPP.

17 May 1917

Home Rule proposed again

Lloyd George proposes Home Rule for 26 counties (excluding Ulster) or a convention of Irishmen to resolve impasse. Speaking in the House of Commons he declares that ‘Ireland should try her hand at hammering out an instrument of government for her own people’. Redmond declines Home Rule.

01 Jun 1917

De Valera has other ideas

The separatist party Sinn Féin, which is rapidly gaining momentum under the leadership of Eamon de Valera, refuses to attend the convention, held at Regent House in Dublin, weakening its authority and the chances of arriving at a widely accepted solution.

22 Jun 2021

De Valera wins at ballot box

Eamon de Valera (Sinn Féin) wins East Clare by-election following death of Willie Redmond MP (brother of IPP leader John) at Battle of Messines Ridge, Belgium.

25 Jul 1917

Convention gets underway

First meeting of Irish Convention, made up of 95 representatives from Redmond’s Irish Parliamentary Party, Irish Unionists, members of local government authorities, clergymen from the Roman Catholic Church and Church of Ireland, and prominent members of Irish society. All of these groups have different assumptions and expectations of what the convention can achieve.

25 Oct 1917

De Valera becomes president of Sinn Féin

Eamon de Valera is elected president of Sinn Féin at party’s first ard-fheis (convention). Griffith does not contest election. De Valera also becomes president of Irish Volunteers.

06 Mar 1918

John Redmond dies

John Redmond, leader of the Irish Parliamentary party, dies in London. In Redmond’s last speech to the convention in January 1918, he warned: ‘Far better for us and the [British] Empire never to have met, than to have met and failed of an agreement.’

05 Apr 1918

Final Convention meeting

Final meeting of the Irish Convention begins, with a final report delivered on 12 April. The German spring offensive of 1918 is sorely testing the Allies on the Western Front. Lloyd George is determined to introduce conscription in Ireland (in effect in Britain from 1916) and simultaneously to introduce Home Rule. Nothing comes of the convention’s report, which is out of date within weeks of its publication.

18 Apr 1918

Conscription for Ireland

Military Service Bill introduced in Westminster on 9 April, and Irish Convention proposal rejected by government. The bill receives Royal Assent on 18 April, expanding the age of compulsion to include all males aged 18–51. Representative gathering of Nationalists (including Irish Labour, the Catholic Church, and all Nationalist parties) at Mansion House, Dublin coordinate opposition to conscription.

21 Apr 1918

Conscription opposed

Crowds emerge in force on the streets of Dublin in a rally and protest against conscription, with many signing an anti-conscription pledge.

06 Feb 1918

Representation of the People Act

The 1918 Representation of the People Act receives Royal Assent, giving the vast majority of men over the age of 21 the right to vote. For the first time, female property owners aged over 30 also receive the franchise. The legislation trebles the electorate in both Britain and Ireland, increasing in Britain from 8 million to 21 million, and from 800,000 to 2 million eligible voters in Ireland.

21 Mar 1918

Spring Offensive begins

The German Spring Offensive begins. The Allies are fighting ‘with our backs to the wall’.

11 Nov 1918

Armistice

Armistice signed between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany. Hostilities on Western Front cease at 11am.

14 Dec 1918

Sinn Féin’s power increases

At the UK general election Sinn Féin wins 73 seats on an abstentionist platform. The IPP wins 6, but its leader John Dillon fails to be re-elected. Unionists win 26. Constance Markievicz (Sinn Féin) is the first female MP to be elected in UK.

14 Dec 1918

Markievicz makes history

In a monumental year for women’s rights, Constance Markievicz becomes the first woman elected to the British House of Commons, winning in the constituency of Dublin St Patrick’s.

18 Jan 1919

Paris Peace Conference

The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France.

21 Jan 1919

Dáil Éireann established

Eamon de Valera and other Sinn Féin MPs refuse to take their seats at Westminster. Instead they set up their own parliament in Dublin, known as Dáil Éireann, which declares Irish independence at its first meeting in Mansion House on 21 January 1919.

21 Jan 1919

A new declaration

At its first meeting Dáil Éireann adopts a Declaration of Independence, deliberately borrowing the title of the American Declaration of Independence of 1776. The Declaration states:

‘We solemnly declare foreign government in Ireland to be an invasion of our national right which we will never tolerate, and we demand the evacuation of our country by the English Garrison.’

02 Apr 1919

First female cabinet minister

Constance Markievicz is appointed Minister for Labour, the first Irish female Cabinet Minister (the only one for sixty years) and first in Western Europe.

28 Jun 1919

Treaty of Versailles

Treaty of Versailles is signed, formally ending the First World War.

21 Jan 1919

Beginning of the war

The first meeting of Dail Eireann takes place in Dublin. Sinn Féin declares Ireland independent. On the same day the War of Independence begins, when two Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) men are killed in Tipperary by IRA volunteers.

01 Apr 1919

De Valera elected President of Dáil Éireann

The second meeting of Dáil Éireann takes place and Eamon De Valera is elected President. In September Dáil Éireann is proscribed by British authorities.

25 Mar 1920

Black and Tans deployed

The British government recruits temporary forces to support the RIC in the war. The first, known as the ‘Black and Tans’ due to their improvised uniforms, arrive in Ireland in March 1920. Roughly 10,000 men are recruited. A further 2,300 former British Army Officers are recruited as ‘Auxiliaries’ from August 1920.

23 Jul 1920

Belfast Riots begin

14 die and 100 are injured in fierce rioting in Belfast. The riots are sparked by the loyalist expulsion two days earlier of Catholic workers from the city’s shipyards, engineering works, and textile mills.

19 Aug 1920

Hunger strikes

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney (left), embarks on hunger strike in Brixton Prison following his conviction by court martial for sedition. He dies on 25 October. Arthur Griffith delivers his graveside oration in Cork on 31 October.

22 Oct 1920

Ulster Special Constabulary formed

The Ulster Special Constabulary is formed, an armed (and predominantly northern Protestant) police reserve.

01 Sep 1920

Patrolling Dublin’s streets

Black and Tans patrol the streets of Dublin among large crowds.

21 Nov 1920

Bloody Sunday

Michael Collins masterminds the assassination of 13 British intelligence officers and two civilians living in Dublin. In retaliation, later that day British Auxiliary forces attack a football crowd at Croke Park, killing 14 and wounding 65. A total of 41 people are killed across Ireland on this day. ‘Bloody Sunday’ is one of the most brutal days in the War of Independence.

28 Nov 1920

Kilmichael ambush

Two lorries carrying Auxiliaries are ambushed by the IRA at Kilmichael, killing 17. Three IRA men are also killed in the fighting.

10 Dec 1920

Martial law

Martial law is declared in counties Cork, Limerick, Kerry, and Tipperary.

11 Dec 1920

Burning of Cork

Cork city centre is burned in reprisal attacks by Crown forces.

04 Nov 1919

The Long Committee

The British Cabinet’s Irish Committee, led by southern Unionist Walter Long (left), proposes the repeal of the 1914 Government of Ireland Act. He proposes two Home Rule parliaments for Ireland: one in Belfast, covering the nine counties of Ulster, and one in Dublin, which would preside over the remaining 23 counties. Long’s recommendations also include the establishment of a Council of Ireland to address matters of common interest, and to provide a potential framework for reunification.

25 Feb 1920

A new bill

A New Government of Ireland Bill, based on Walter Long’s proposals, is introduced to the House of Commons.

10 Mar 1920

Unionist Council accepts Home Rule

The Ulster Unionist Council accepts Long’s proposals and a parliament for Northern Ireland, which will hold jurisdiction over six of the nine counties of Ulster, excluding Cavan, Monaghan, and Donegal. While defending the decision to opt for a six-county parliament rather than a nine-county one, Edward Carson expresses regret at the ‘men abandoned’, both ‘in this province … and in the southern and western parts of Ireland’.

31 Mar 1920

Carson voices his feelings

Edward Carson calls the partition of Ireland a betrayal of Unionists in the south and west. Nevertheless, he refuses to vote against the legislation, believing it was a better solution than that provided by the 1914 Home Rule Act, which would have seen Ulster governed from Dublin.

23 Dec 1920

Government of Ireland Act

The Government of Ireland Act partitions Ireland, creating two Home Rule states of 'Northern' and 'Southern' Ireland within the United Kingdom. Ulster Unionists are now prepared to accept this outcome, but the proposal falls far short of what the Republican administration, Dáil Éireann, is prepared to accept.

03 May 1921

Partition enacted

Northern Ireland is formally created under Government of Ireland Act 1920, and the island of Ireland is officially partitioned.

13 May 1921

Southern elections

Elections are held in the 26 counties of the South, under the terms of the Government of Ireland Act. Sinn Féin refuses to recognise the Southern Ireland parliament and view the elections as a contest for the second Dáil Éireann. As Labour and what remained of the Irish Parliamentary Party did not contest the election, all 128 candidates are returned unopposed, including 124 Sinn Féin members, who form the Second Dáil. The remaining four seats, comprising the Dublin University (Trinity College) constituency, are taken by independent southern Unionists.

24 May 1921

Northern elections

Northern elections are held under the terms of the Act. Unionists win 40 out of 52 seats, including two women, Julia McMordie and Dehra Chichester (left). Six seats are won by the Nationalist Party, and six are taken by Sinn Féin, including Eamon de Valera, Michael Collins, and Arthur Griffith. Sinn Féin, who stood on an anti-partition platform, are disappointed by the Unionist landslide.

07 Jun 1921

First Northern parliament

The first meeting of the Northern parliament takes place at Belfast City Hall. James Craig (left) is elected as the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. Both Sinn Féin and the Nationalist party refuse to take their seats. Due to their absence, all 24 nominations for the new parliament’s upper chamber, the Senate, are made by the Unionist party whip. On 15th June, the Cabinet meets for the first time and selects Northern Ireland’s 20 representatives on the Council of Ireland.

22 Jun 1921

Parliament formally opened

King George V formally opens the new Parliament of Northern Ireland. He describes the event as ‘a profoundly moving occasion in Irish history’. He also appeals to all Irishmen ‘to stretch out the hand of forbearance and conciliation, to forgive and to forget, and to join in making for the land which they love a new era of peace, contentment, and goodwill’.

28 Jun 1921

Southern parliament meets

The new Parliament of Southern Ireland meets at the Royal College of Science, Dublin. It is opened by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (left) and only the four Unionist MPs, representing the University of Dublin, attend. This is its only formal meeting.

08 Jul 1921

Moves towards peace

De Valera accepts an invitation to meet the UK Prime Minister David Lloyd George in London. A day later a truce is signed between the IRA and Crown Forces, coming into effect on 11 July.

10 Jul 1921

Bloody Sunday

Catholics and Protestants clash in Belfast, following an IRA ambush of a police raiding party in the city’s Catholic and republican enclaves. Loyalists retaliate, attacking Catholics homes and businesses. 16 are killed on 10 July, and 23 in total are killed over a four-day period. Over 200 – mostly Catholic – homes are destroyed in the violence.

11 Jul 1921

Truce

The truce signed by IRA and Crown forces comes into effect, ending the War of Independence.

08 Sep 1921

Final offer

Lloyd George makes his final proposal to de Valera, offering limited sovereignty within British Empire. Between October and December, negotiations for a bilateral agreement begin between representatives of Dáil Éireann and the British government in London. Dáil Éireann selects the five delegates to negotiate the agreement, including Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith. Critically, De Valera does not attend.

06 Dec 1921

Anglo-Irish Treaty

Agreement is reached between Irish and British representatives, creating the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Key points include the creation of an Irish Free State within the Commonwealth, an Oath of Allegiance to the Crown, and retention by the British naval services of certain ports. The treaty also includes a provision for a boundary commission to determine the final border between the two Irish jurisdictions. De Valera accuses the Irish delegation of agreeing to demands which fall short of a Republic.

19 Dec 1921

Freedom to achieve freedom

As one of the signatories of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, Michael Collins defends it during a sitting of Dáil Éireann in December 1921:

‘In my opinion, it gives us freedom, not the ultimate freedom that all nations desire and develop to, but the freedom to achieve it.’

10 Feb 1922

Irish Free State (Agreement) Act

The Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922 is introduced in the British House of Commons by Winston Churchill. The Act provides for dissolution of the Parliament of Southern Ireland and the election of a parliament to which the Provisional Government will be responsible.

17 Aug 1922

Handover of power

Dublin Castle formally handed to National Army. British Army leaves.

05 Dec 1922

Irish Free State Constitution Act

On 5 December 1922, the UK Parliament enacts the Irish Free State Constitution Act, legally sanctioning Constitution of the Irish Free State. A day later, the Irish Free State formally comes into existence.

07 Dec 1922

The North opts out

The Parliament of Northern Ireland enacts its ability to opt of the new Irish Free State, established under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, and votes to remain part of the United Kingdom.