Editing Government of Ireland Act 1920 (section)

== Developments in Ireland ==
During the Great War, Irish politics moved decisively in a different direction. Several events, including the [[Easter Rising]] of 1916, the subsequent reaction of the British Government and the [[Conscription Crisis of 1918]], had altered the state of Irish politics and contributed to [[Sinn Féin]] becoming the dominant voice of [[Irish nationalism]]. Sinn Féin, standing for 'an independent sovereign Ireland', won 73 of the 105 parliamentary seats on the island in the [[1918 United Kingdom general election|1918 general election]].<ref>Moore, Cormac, (2019), ''Birth of the Border'', Merrion Press, Newbridge, pg 14, ISBN 9781785372933</ref> Its elected members established their own parliament, [[Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic)|Dáil Éireann]], which [[Irish Declaration of Independence|declared the country's independence]] as the [[Irish Republic]]. Dáil Éireann, after a number of meetings, was declared illegal in September 1919 by the [[Lord Lieutenant of Ireland]], [[John French, 1st Earl of Ypres|Viscount French]].

When the Act became law on 23 December 1920 it was already out of touch with realities in Ireland. The long-standing demand for home rule had been replaced among nationalists by a demand for complete independence (an [[Irish Republic]]).<ref>McCluskey, pg 15.</ref> The Republic's [[Irish Republican Army|army]] was waging the [[Irish War of Independence]] against British rule, which had reached a nadir in late 1920.