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  • Ireland
    1920
    Irish War of Independence

    The IRP had a presence in 21 of Ireland's 32 counties

    Ireland
    1920

    By 1920, the IRP had a presence in 21 of Ireland's 32 counties.




  • Ireland
    1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Government of Ireland Act 1920

    Ireland
    1920

    The treaty allowed Northern Ireland, which had been created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920.




  • Ireland
    1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Republicans won control of most county councils

    Ireland
    1920

    In mid-1920, Republicans won control of most county councils, and British authority collapsed in most of the south and west, forcing the British government to introduce emergency powers.




  • Ireland
    1920
    Irish War of Independence

    The Irish Republic was a reality in the lives of many people

    Ireland
    1920

    By mid-1920, the Irish Republic was a reality in the lives of many people, enforcing its own law, maintaining its own armed forces and collecting its own taxes.




  • Ireland
    Mar, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Black and Tans

    Ireland
    Mar, 1920

    The British increased the use of force; reluctant to deploy the regular British Army into the country in greater numbers, they set up two paramilitary police units to aid the RIC. The Black and Tans were seven thousand strong, mainly ex-British soldiers demobilized after World War I. Deployed to Ireland in March 1920, most came from English and Scottish cities. While officially they were part of the RIC, in reality, they were a paramilitary force.




  • Cork, Ireland
    Saturday Mar 20, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork Death

    Cork, Ireland
    Saturday Mar 20, 1920

    In March 1920, Tomás Mac Curtain, the Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork, was shot dead in front of his wife at his home, by men with blackened faces who were seen returning to the local police barracks. The jury at the inquest into his death returned a verdict of wilful murder against David Lloyd George (the British Prime Minister) and District Inspector Swanzy, among others. Swanzy was later tracked down and killed in Lisburn, County Antrim. This pattern of killings and reprisals escalated in the second half of 1920 and in 1921.




  • Ireland
    Apr, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    The Irish Republican Police (IRP) was founded

    Ireland
    Apr, 1920

    The Irish Republican Police (IRP) was founded between April and June 1920, under the authority of Dáil Éireann and the former IRA Chief of Staff Cathal Brugha to replace the RIC and to enforce the ruling of the Dáil Courts, set up under the Irish Republic.


  • Ireland
    Apr, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    400 abandoned RIC barracks were burned to the ground to prevent them being used again

    Ireland
    Apr, 1920

    In early April 1920, 400 abandoned RIC barracks were burned to the ground to prevent them being used again, along with almost one hundred income tax offices. The RIC withdrew from much of the countryside, leaving it in the hands of the IRA.


  • Ireland
    May, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Dublin dockers refused to handle any war matériel and were soon joined by the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union

    Ireland
    May, 1920

    In May 1920, Dublin dockers refused to handle any war matériel and were soon joined by the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union, who banned railway drivers from carrying members of the British forces. Blackleg train drivers were brought over from England, after drivers refused to carry British troops. The strike badly hampered British troop movements until December 1920, when it was called off.


  • Ireland
    Jun, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Assizes failed all across the south and west of Ireland

    Ireland
    Jun, 1920

    In June–July 1920, assizes failed all across the south and west of Ireland; trials by jury could not be held because jurors would not attend. The collapse of the court system demoralised the RIC and many police resigned or retired.


  • Ireland
    Jul, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    The Auxiliaries arrived in Ireland

    Ireland
    Jul, 1920

    In July 1920, another quasi-military police body, the Auxiliaries, consisting of 2,215 former British army officers, arrived in Ireland. The Auxiliary Division had a reputation just as bad as the Tans for their mistreatment of the civilian population but tended to be more effective and more willing to take on the IRA. The policy of reprisals, which involved public denunciation or denial and private approval, was famously satirised by Lord Hugh Cecil when he said: "It seems to be agreed that there is no such thing as reprisals but they are having a good effect".


  • Cork, Ireland
    Saturday Jul 17, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    British Colonel Gerald Smyth was assassinated by the IRA in the County Club in Cork city

    Cork, Ireland
    Saturday Jul 17, 1920

    On 17 July 1920, a British Colonel Gerald Smyth was assassinated by the IRA in the County Club in Cork city in response to a speech that was made to police officers of Listowel who had refused orders to move into the more urban areas, in which he stated "you may make mistakes occasionally, and innocent persons may be shot, but that cannot be helped.


  • Ireland
    Aug, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    The Central fact of the present situation in Ireland is that the Irish Republic exists

    Ireland
    Aug, 1920

    The British Liberal journal, The Nation, wrote in August 1920 that "the central fact of the present situation in Ireland is that the Irish Republic exists".


  • Ireland
    Monday Aug 9, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    British Parliament passed the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act

    Ireland
    Monday Aug 9, 1920

    On 9 August 1920, the British Parliament passed the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act. It replaced the trial by jury by courts-martial by regulation for those areas where IRA activity was prevalent.


  • Ireland
    Monday Nov 1, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Twenty-four men were executed by the British

    Ireland
    Monday Nov 1, 1920

    Between 1 November 1920 and 7 June 1921 twenty-four men were executed by the British.


  • Ireland
    Nov, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Violence escalated steadily from that summer and sharply

    Ireland
    Nov, 1920

    Violence escalated steadily from that summer and sharply after November 1920 until July 1921. (It was in this period that a mutiny broke out among the Connaught Rangers, stationed in India. Two were killed whilst trying to storm an armory and one was later executed).


  • Dublin, Ireland
    Sunday Nov 21, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    There was a day of dramatic bloodshed in Dublin

    Dublin, Ireland
    Sunday Nov 21, 1920

    Then, on 21 November 1920, there was a day of dramatic bloodshed in Dublin. In the early morning, Collins' Squad attempted to wipe out the leading British intelligence operatives in the capital. The Squad shot 19 people, killing 14 and wounding 5. These consisted of British Army officers, police officers and civilians. The dead included members of the Cairo Gang and a courts-martial officer, and were killed at different places around Dublin.


  • Cork, Ireland
    Sunday Nov 21, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Bloody Sunday

    Cork, Ireland
    Sunday Nov 21, 1920

    About 300 people had been killed by late 1920, but the conflict escalated in November. On Bloody Sunday in Dublin, 21 November 1920, fourteen British intelligence operatives were assassinated in the morning; then in the afternoon the RIC opened fire on a crowd at a Gaelic football match, killing fourteen civilians and wounding 65. A week later, seventeen Auxiliaries were killed by the IRA in the Kilmichael Ambush in County Cork.


  • Cork, Ireland
    Sunday Nov 28, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Ambushed a patrol of Auxiliaries

    Cork, Ireland
    Sunday Nov 28, 1920

    On 28 November 1920, only a week after Bloody Sunday in Dublin, the west Cork unit of the IRA, under Tom Barry, ambushed a patrol of Auxiliaries at Kilmichael in County Cork, killing all but one of the 18-man patrol.


  • Ireland
    Dec, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Government of Ireland Act 1920

    Ireland
    Dec, 1920

    In the Government of Ireland Act 1920 (enacted in December 1920), the British government attempted to solve the conflict by creating two Home Rule parliaments in Ireland: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. While Dáil Éireann ignored this, deeming the Irish Republic to be already in existence, Unionists in the north-east accepted it and prepared to form their own government.


  • Cork, Ireland
    Friday Dec 10, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Martial law was proclaimed in Counties Cork

    Cork, Ireland
    Friday Dec 10, 1920

    On 10 December 1920, martial law was proclaimed in Counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary in Munster; in January 1921 martial law was extended to the rest of Munster in Counties Clare and Waterford, as well as Counties Kilkenny and Wexford in Leinster.


  • Cork, Ireland
    Saturday Dec 11, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    IRA ambush in the city

    Cork, Ireland
    Saturday Dec 11, 1920

    On 11 December, the centre of Cork City was burnt out by the Black and Tans, who then shot at firefighters trying to tackle the blaze, in reprisal for an IRA ambush in the city on 11 December 1920 which killed one Auxiliary and wounded eleven.


  • Ireland
    1920
    Irish War of Independence

    The IRP had a presence in 21 of Ireland's 32 counties

    Ireland
    1920

    By 1920, the IRP had a presence in 21 of Ireland's 32 counties.


  • Ireland
    1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Government of Ireland Act 1920

    Ireland
    1920

    The treaty allowed Northern Ireland, which had been created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920.


  • Ireland
    1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Republicans won control of most county councils

    Ireland
    1920

    In mid-1920, Republicans won control of most county councils, and British authority collapsed in most of the south and west, forcing the British government to introduce emergency powers.


  • Ireland
    1920
    Irish War of Independence

    The Irish Republic was a reality in the lives of many people

    Ireland
    1920

    By mid-1920, the Irish Republic was a reality in the lives of many people, enforcing its own law, maintaining its own armed forces and collecting its own taxes.


  • Ireland
    Mar, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Black and Tans

    Ireland
    Mar, 1920

    The British increased the use of force; reluctant to deploy the regular British Army into the country in greater numbers, they set up two paramilitary police units to aid the RIC. The Black and Tans were seven thousand strong, mainly ex-British soldiers demobilized after World War I. Deployed to Ireland in March 1920, most came from English and Scottish cities. While officially they were part of the RIC, in reality, they were a paramilitary force.


  • Cork, Ireland
    Saturday Mar 20, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork Death

    Cork, Ireland
    Saturday Mar 20, 1920

    In March 1920, Tomás Mac Curtain, the Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork, was shot dead in front of his wife at his home, by men with blackened faces who were seen returning to the local police barracks. The jury at the inquest into his death returned a verdict of wilful murder against David Lloyd George (the British Prime Minister) and District Inspector Swanzy, among others. Swanzy was later tracked down and killed in Lisburn, County Antrim. This pattern of killings and reprisals escalated in the second half of 1920 and in 1921.


  • Ireland
    Apr, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    The Irish Republican Police (IRP) was founded

    Ireland
    Apr, 1920

    The Irish Republican Police (IRP) was founded between April and June 1920, under the authority of Dáil Éireann and the former IRA Chief of Staff Cathal Brugha to replace the RIC and to enforce the ruling of the Dáil Courts, set up under the Irish Republic.


  • Ireland
    Apr, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    400 abandoned RIC barracks were burned to the ground to prevent them being used again

    Ireland
    Apr, 1920

    In early April 1920, 400 abandoned RIC barracks were burned to the ground to prevent them being used again, along with almost one hundred income tax offices. The RIC withdrew from much of the countryside, leaving it in the hands of the IRA.


  • Ireland
    May, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Dublin dockers refused to handle any war matériel and were soon joined by the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union

    Ireland
    May, 1920

    In May 1920, Dublin dockers refused to handle any war matériel and were soon joined by the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union, who banned railway drivers from carrying members of the British forces. Blackleg train drivers were brought over from England, after drivers refused to carry British troops. The strike badly hampered British troop movements until December 1920, when it was called off.


  • Ireland
    Jun, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Assizes failed all across the south and west of Ireland

    Ireland
    Jun, 1920

    In June–July 1920, assizes failed all across the south and west of Ireland; trials by jury could not be held because jurors would not attend. The collapse of the court system demoralised the RIC and many police resigned or retired.


  • Ireland
    Jul, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    The Auxiliaries arrived in Ireland

    Ireland
    Jul, 1920

    In July 1920, another quasi-military police body, the Auxiliaries, consisting of 2,215 former British army officers, arrived in Ireland. The Auxiliary Division had a reputation just as bad as the Tans for their mistreatment of the civilian population but tended to be more effective and more willing to take on the IRA. The policy of reprisals, which involved public denunciation or denial and private approval, was famously satirised by Lord Hugh Cecil when he said: "It seems to be agreed that there is no such thing as reprisals but they are having a good effect".


  • Cork, Ireland
    Saturday Jul 17, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    British Colonel Gerald Smyth was assassinated by the IRA in the County Club in Cork city

    Cork, Ireland
    Saturday Jul 17, 1920

    On 17 July 1920, a British Colonel Gerald Smyth was assassinated by the IRA in the County Club in Cork city in response to a speech that was made to police officers of Listowel who had refused orders to move into the more urban areas, in which he stated "you may make mistakes occasionally, and innocent persons may be shot, but that cannot be helped.


  • Ireland
    Aug, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    The Central fact of the present situation in Ireland is that the Irish Republic exists

    Ireland
    Aug, 1920

    The British Liberal journal, The Nation, wrote in August 1920 that "the central fact of the present situation in Ireland is that the Irish Republic exists".


  • Ireland
    Monday Aug 9, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    British Parliament passed the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act

    Ireland
    Monday Aug 9, 1920

    On 9 August 1920, the British Parliament passed the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act. It replaced the trial by jury by courts-martial by regulation for those areas where IRA activity was prevalent.


  • Ireland
    Monday Nov 1, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Twenty-four men were executed by the British

    Ireland
    Monday Nov 1, 1920

    Between 1 November 1920 and 7 June 1921 twenty-four men were executed by the British.


  • Ireland
    Nov, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Violence escalated steadily from that summer and sharply

    Ireland
    Nov, 1920

    Violence escalated steadily from that summer and sharply after November 1920 until July 1921. (It was in this period that a mutiny broke out among the Connaught Rangers, stationed in India. Two were killed whilst trying to storm an armory and one was later executed).


  • Dublin, Ireland
    Sunday Nov 21, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    There was a day of dramatic bloodshed in Dublin

    Dublin, Ireland
    Sunday Nov 21, 1920

    Then, on 21 November 1920, there was a day of dramatic bloodshed in Dublin. In the early morning, Collins' Squad attempted to wipe out the leading British intelligence operatives in the capital. The Squad shot 19 people, killing 14 and wounding 5. These consisted of British Army officers, police officers and civilians. The dead included members of the Cairo Gang and a courts-martial officer, and were killed at different places around Dublin.


  • Cork, Ireland
    Sunday Nov 21, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Bloody Sunday

    Cork, Ireland
    Sunday Nov 21, 1920

    About 300 people had been killed by late 1920, but the conflict escalated in November. On Bloody Sunday in Dublin, 21 November 1920, fourteen British intelligence operatives were assassinated in the morning; then in the afternoon the RIC opened fire on a crowd at a Gaelic football match, killing fourteen civilians and wounding 65. A week later, seventeen Auxiliaries were killed by the IRA in the Kilmichael Ambush in County Cork.


  • Cork, Ireland
    Sunday Nov 28, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Ambushed a patrol of Auxiliaries

    Cork, Ireland
    Sunday Nov 28, 1920

    On 28 November 1920, only a week after Bloody Sunday in Dublin, the west Cork unit of the IRA, under Tom Barry, ambushed a patrol of Auxiliaries at Kilmichael in County Cork, killing all but one of the 18-man patrol.


  • Ireland
    Dec, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Government of Ireland Act 1920

    Ireland
    Dec, 1920

    In the Government of Ireland Act 1920 (enacted in December 1920), the British government attempted to solve the conflict by creating two Home Rule parliaments in Ireland: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. While Dáil Éireann ignored this, deeming the Irish Republic to be already in existence, Unionists in the north-east accepted it and prepared to form their own government.


  • Cork, Ireland
    Friday Dec 10, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    Martial law was proclaimed in Counties Cork

    Cork, Ireland
    Friday Dec 10, 1920

    On 10 December 1920, martial law was proclaimed in Counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary in Munster; in January 1921 martial law was extended to the rest of Munster in Counties Clare and Waterford, as well as Counties Kilkenny and Wexford in Leinster.


  • Cork, Ireland
    Saturday Dec 11, 1920
    Irish War of Independence

    IRA ambush in the city

    Cork, Ireland
    Saturday Dec 11, 1920

    On 11 December, the centre of Cork City was burnt out by the Black and Tans, who then shot at firefighters trying to tackle the blaze, in reprisal for an IRA ambush in the city on 11 December 1920 which killed one Auxiliary and wounded eleven.


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