What was the main reason for conflict in Ireland in 1916?
The plan for revolt was realised in the Easter Rising of 1916, in which the Volunteers launched an insurrection whose aim was to end British rule. The insurgents issued the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, proclaiming Ireland’s independence as a republic.
Why were the Irish fighting the British?
Unionists and loyalists, who for historical reasons were mostly Ulster Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists and republicans, who were mostly Irish Catholics, wanted Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland.
What started the Irish Troubles?
Tensions Leading to the Troubles The origins of the Troubles date back to centuries of warfare in which the predominantly Catholic people of Ireland attempted to break free of British (overwhelmingly Protestant) rule.
What did the IRA believe in?
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic free from British rule.
What sparked the Irish revolution?
Irish War of Independence On the same day as the reaffirmation of the republic on 19 January 1919, a small number of IRA members shot two Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) members at Soloheadbeg in Tipperary. This incident began the Irish War of Independence (although the Dail did not declare war until April).
Who were the IRA against?
In 1969, the more traditionalist republican members split off into the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin. The Provisional IRA operated mostly in Northern Ireland, using violence against the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the British Army, and British institutions and economic targets.
Who won the Irish Civil War?
The Civil War was won by the pro-treaty Free State forces, who benefited from substantial quantities of weapons provided by the British Government. The conflict may have claimed more lives than the War of Independence that preceded it, and left Irish society divided and embittered for generations.
Why is Northern Ireland part of the UK but not Great Britain?
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (to give its full name) refers to the political union between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The UK is a sovereign state, but the nations that make it up are also countries in their own right. From 1801 to 1922 the UK also included all of Ireland.