Ireland: From Treaty to Civil War Quiz

Answer: Eamon de Valera, Austin Stack, Cathal Brugha

The motion was passed by four votes to three. The four cabinet ministers who voted for the motion were W.T. Cosgrave, Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins and Robert Barton. Stack and Brugha were die-hard republicans who rejected the treaty on principle and de Valera was also opposed to the references to the British monarch. Furthermore, he was annoyed with Collins and Griffith for not referring back to him in Dublin before signing the Treaty.

This exacerbated the personal enmity between de Valera and Collins, and their rivalry was to prove detrimental to Irish peace in the coming months.

Answer: 7 votes

The treaty was passed by 64 votes to 57, after prolonged and bitter debates in the Dáil, which did nothing to lessen the ill-feeling between the two sides. After the results of the vote were made public, de Valera and the anti-Treaty T.D.s rejected the result and left the Dáil in protest.

This move was a major step on the road to civil war, especially given the inflammatory speeches de Valera made after his withdrawal, in which he stated that "the majority has no right to do wrong" and that to get an Irish republic, it might be necessary to "wade through rivers of Irish blood".

A direct allusion to civil war? Possibly, though we will never know for certain if de Valera meant it as such.

Answer: All female T.D.s

While there were not many female T.D.s in the Dáil, all of them voted against the treaty as they felt that it betrayed the memories of the martyrs of the 1916 Rising. Some of them had very personal feelings regarding the 1916 martyrs; for example, the Countess Markiewicz had actually participated in the Rising.

Many of the other women suffered losses during the War of Independence, for example, Mary MacSwiney's brother Terence (the Lord Mayor of Cork at the time) died on hunger strike in protest at the British occupation in Ireland.

The previous Lord Mayor of Cork was murdered by British troops in his own home.

Answer: All of these reasons are correct.

All of these factors contributed to the criticism which was heaped on de Valera after he left the Dáil. For a start, it was a very undemocratic move. Ireland had just gained independence from Britain and was supposed to be establishing itself as a democratic power.

Instead, when things did not go the way de Valera wanted, he backed out of government, instead of staying as the opposition party (as would have happened in a true democracy). Furthermore, de Valera's decision to leave the Dáil gave political credibility to the anti-treaty I.R.A. members. Without this, it is entirely possible that public opinion (which was far more in favour of the treaty than the tight vote in the Dáil showed) would have quashed these rebels into submission, but with de Valera's backing, the anti-treaty republicans were given an endorsement which enabled them to sway followers in the general public. Would the I.R.A. have split if de Valera had stayed in the Dáil? We will never know, but it is certain that his withdrawal added to the rising tension between the rival factions.

Answer: Arthur Griffith

Arthur Griffith was elected President of the Cabinet, a position which would be equivalent to Taoiseach in modern Irish politics. Michael Collins was the Minister for Finance, though he felt he would have been better suited to defence. The Minister for Defence was in fact Richard Mulcahy, a staunch I.R.A. leader. Mulcahy survived the Civil War to become a prominent figure in Irish politics, at one point becoming the leader of the Fine Gael party, the direct descendant of Cumann na Gaedhal (the pro-treaty section of what was formerly Sinn Féin). W.T. Cosgrave was the Minister for Local Government.

Another Civil War survivor, Cosgrave was also a prominent figure in Irish politics, his most notable achievement being the manner in which he conducted himself during his tenure as President of the Cabinet from 1922 to 1932, during which time he attempted to bring stability back to the Irish people.

Answer: It became apparent that most I.R.A. members were opposed to the treaty.

This convention was a last ditch effort to halt the inevitable. However, Mulcahy realised soon after arranging the convention that it was futile to attempt to prevent the split going ahead, and he was afraid that violence might erupt if pro and anti-treaty sides were brought together in the same location.

However, despite the fact that Mulcahy cancelled the meeting, anti-treaty members of the I.R.A. met anyway under the leadership of Rory O' Connor and Liam Mellows. They made a vow never to accept the treaty, and at the same time, the government were busy forming an Irish Free State army from the ranks of the pro-treaty I.R.A. Thus the split in the organisation was complete and irreversible.

Answer: The Four Courts

The occupation of the Four Courts by anti-treaty I.R.A. forces took place on the 14th April 1922. As the government were occupied with building the Free State army at the time, they mostly ignored the move, though they did keep tabs on the actions of the forces within the building.

The occupation of the Four Courts lasted approximately two months, and is regarded as a major factor in the build up to the civil war: if it had never happened, it is possible that the British government would not have forced the Irish government to make a move against the rebels.

Answer: Collins.

The general election was due to take place soon after the treaty was ratified in the Dáil. However, due to the growing tension between the two sides, it was decided that the election should be postponed until the summer. This move has been widely criticised by historians since, as it is felt that if the general election had taken place straight away and the feelings of the general public had been made known immediately, it might have averted the Civil War.

As it was, tension continued to build between the opposing factions - and in particular between Collins and de Valera - until they decided to make the pact to avoid swaying the decision of the public. De Valera kept the pact, but Collins broke it two days before the June election, urging the people to vote for pro-treaty candidates.

The results of the election were decisive: Pro-treaty Sinn Féin won 58 seats, anti-treaty won 35, and all the other parties and the independents won 35 seats between them. All parties (bar the anti-treaty forces) supported the treaty, and it was obvious that the Irish public in general supported the treaty.

However, it was too little, too late, and the start of the Civil War a mere 10 days later was inevitable.

Answer: Field Marshall Henry Hughes Wilson

Field Marshall Sir Henry Hughes Wilson had been an important member of the British army during World War I, after which he made a brief foray into politics, eventually becoming an advisor to the Northern Irish government. He was fully against Irish independence and was very outspoken in his views. On the 22nd June 1922, he was gunned down in the street by two anti-treaty I.R.A. members (a number of policemen and bystanders were also shot as the men attempted to escape). Later, theories emerged that perhaps the order to kill him had in fact come from Michael Collins himself, but that seems unlikely, and certainly at the time, the British government assumed that the anti-treaty forces were responsible.

On a totally unrelated side note, fans of the TV series 'Dad's Army' might notice that the incorrect answers were the three highest ranking officers from the BBC show.

Answer: June

After the murder of Field Marshall Wilson, the British government made it clear to the leaders of the Irish Free State that they considered the anti-treaty forces to be a danger to the British Empire, and that if the Irish would not take action, the British government would. This threat spurred Michael Collins to action, and on the 27th of June, he ordered the immediate surrender of the anti-treaty garrison occupying the Four Courts. When they refused, he gave the order to open fire, and so the Irish Civil War started.

The Civil War was a defining period of Irish history: relationships built up during the War of Independence were shredded, it divided the country politically and locally (there are many records of family members fighting on opposite sides of the war) and atrocities were committed by both sides. However, in the end, the government had the support of the people and superior firepower (which the British government provided them with) and their victory was inevitable. However, the Civil War is still a sensitive subject today, and remains a divisive factor in Irish politics.

Thank you for taking my quiz, I hope you found it informative and that you enjoyed taking it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Don't forget to rate before you go! Thanks. : )