History: Ireland

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

1. 1.

   Claim: The Irish Republican Army waged a guerrilla war against British Crown forces from January 1919 until a truce in July 1921. Published casualty figures vary by source and by the exact period counted: one tally cites roughly 491 IRA and 506 Crown Force deaths, while the University College Cork "Dead of the Irish Revolution" research project has logged 919 civilian deaths across the wider 1917-1921 period, most falling within the 1919-21 war itself; no single consolidated total is treated as authoritative.

   • Irish War of Independence (Wikipedia) link, Casualties section. Source record
2. 2.

   Claim: The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in London on 6 December 1921 by British and Irish delegations, ending the Irish War of Independence. Article 1 provided: "Ireland shall have the same constitutional status in the Community of Nations known as the British Empire as the Dominion of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of New Zealand and the Union of South Africa, with a Parliament having powers to make laws for the peace, order and good government of Ireland and an Executive responsible to that Parliament, and shall be styled and known as the Irish Free State."

   • United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Delegation of Dáil Éireann, Articles of Agreement for a Treaty between Great Britain and Ireland (6 December 1921) link, Article 1. Government perspective or primary official source Source record
3. 3.

   Claim: A civil war between forces supporting and opposing the Anglo-Irish Treaty lasted from 28 June 1922 to 24 May 1923. The Irish Civil War Fatalities Project at University College Cork has documented 1,426 violent deaths in the twenty-six counties of the Free State during that period — 648 pro-Treaty, 438 anti-Treaty, 336 civilians and four Crown forces — rising to 1,485 when deaths north of the new border are included.

   • University College Cork, Irish Civil War Fatalities Project — Research Findings (University College Cork) link, Research findings. Source record
4. 4.

   Claim: The Constitution of the Irish Free State, ratified by Dáil Éireann on 25 October 1922 and approved at Westminster on 5 December 1922, came into legal effect on 6 December 1922, one year after the Treaty was signed; it declared that "all powers of government and all authority legislative, executive and judicial, in Ireland are derived from the people of Ireland."

   • RTÉ Century Ireland, 6 December 1922: The Irish Free State Constitution Becomes Law (RTÉ) link, article text. Source record
5. 5.

   Claim: The Republic of Ireland Act, 1948, enacted 21 December 1948, repealed the Executive Authority (External Relations) Act, 1936 (Section 1) and declared: "It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland" (Section 2). Its commencement (Section 4) was left to a later government order rather than fixed in the Act itself.

   • Oireachtas of Ireland, The Republic of Ireland Act, 1948 (No. 22 of 1948) (21 December 1948) link, Sections 1, 2 and 4. Government perspective or primary official source Source record
6. 6.

   Claim: The Republic of Ireland Act, 1948 came into operation on 18 April 1949, Easter Monday, the anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising.

   • Encyclopaedia Britannica, Republic of Ireland Act (Encyclopaedia Britannica) link, article text. Source record Consulted via citation, not a copy of the commencement order itself.