Editing Irish War of Independence (section)

==North-east==
{{Main|The Troubles in Ulster (1920–1922)}}
[[File:Conflict deaths of the Troubles 1920-1922 in Belfast.jpg|thumb|Conflict deaths in Belfast 1920–1922.
{{Legend|#FDCDCB|50–100 deaths per km<sup>2</sup>}}
{{Legend|#FFA3A2|100–150 deaths per km<sup>2</sup>}}
{{Legend|#FE8282|over 150 deaths per km<sup>2</sup>}}]]

The conflict in the north-east had a sectarian aspect. While Ireland as a whole had an Irish nationalist and Catholic majority, Unionists and [[Ulster Protestants|Protestants]] were a majority in the north-east, largely due to [[Plantation of Ulster|17th century British colonization]]. These Ulster Unionists wanted to maintain ties to Britain and did not want to be part of an independent Ireland. They had threatened to oppose Irish home rule with violence. The British government proposed to solve this by partitioning Ireland on roughly political and religious lines, creating two self-governing territories of the UK: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. Irish nationalists opposed this, most of them supporting the all-island Irish Republic.

The IRA carried out attacks on British forces in the north-east, but was less active than in the south. Protestant [[Ulster loyalism|loyalists]] attacked the Catholic community in reprisal. There were outbreaks of sectarian violence from June 1920 to June 1922, influenced by political and military events. Most of it was in the city of [[Belfast]], which saw "savage and unprecedented" [[communal violence]] between Protestants and Catholics.<ref>Lynch, Robert. ''The Partition of Ireland: 1918–1925''. Cambridge University Press, 2019. pp. 11, 100–101</ref> In the Belfast violence, [[Ancient Order of Hibernians|Hibernians]] were more involved on the Catholic/nationalist side than the IRA,<ref>Wilson, Tim. ''Frontiers of Violence: Conflict and Identity in Ulster and Upper Silesia 1918–1922''. Oxford University Press, 2010. pp. 128–129</ref> while groups such as the Ulster Volunteers were involved on the Protestant/loyalist side. There was rioting, gun battles and bombings. Almost 1,000 homes and businesses were destroyed and people were expelled from workplaces and mixed neighbourhoods. More than 500 were killed<ref name="Lynch Partition stats">Lynch (2019), ''The Partition of Ireland'', pp. 99–100</ref> and more than 10,000 became refugees, most of them Catholics.<ref>Lynch (2019), pp. 171–176</ref> The British Army was deployed and the [[Ulster Special Constabulary]] (USC) was formed to help the regular police. The USC was almost wholly Protestant and some of its members carried out reprisal attacks on Catholics.<ref>Farrell, Michael. ''Arming the Protestants: The Formation of the Ulster Special Constabulary and the Royal Ulster Constabulary''. Pluto Press, 1983. p. 166</ref> Conflict continued in Northern Ireland after the July 1921 truce; both communal violence in Belfast and guerrilla conflict in rural border areas.<ref>Lawlor, Pearse. ''The Outrages: The IRA and the Ulster Special Constabulary in the Border Campaign''. Mercier Press, 2011. pp. 265–266</ref>

Irish nationalists argued that the violence around Belfast was a [[pogrom]] against Catholics/nationalists, as Catholics were a quarter of the city's population but made up two-thirds of those killed, suffered 80% of the property destruction and made up 80% of refugees.<ref name="Lynch Partition stats"/> Historian Alan Parkinson says the term 'pogrom' is misleading, as the violence was not all one-sided nor co-ordinated.<ref>'despite disproportionate loss of life and serious injury among the Catholic community, there were also hundreds of Protestant dead and injured'. Also he argues that 'co-ordination of the murder campaign was not executed by the official administration for the area and many killings appeared to have been done in a random and reactive fashion'. Parkinson, ''Unholy War'', p. 314.</ref> The Irish government estimated that 50,000 left Northern Ireland permanently due to violence and intimidation.<ref>Parkinson, p. 132</ref>

===Summer 1920===
[[File:Ulster Pogrom Lisburn 1921.jpg|thumb|Catholic-owned businesses [[Lisburn#The Burnings and Partition|destroyed by loyalists in Lisburn]], August 1920.]]
While the IRA was less active in the north-east than in the south, Ulster unionists saw themselves as besieged by Irish republicans. The January and June 1920 local elections saw Irish nationalists and republicans win control of many northern urban councils, as well as [[Tyrone County Council|Tyrone]] and [[Fermanagh County Council|Fermanagh]] county councils. Derry City had its first Irish nationalist and Catholic mayor.<ref>Lynch, Robert. ''Revolutionary Ireland: 1912–25''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015. pp. 97–98; [https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2020/10/19/news/1920-local-government-elections-recalled-in-new-publication-2102413/ "1920 local government elections recalled in new publication"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131060819/https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2020/10/19/news/1920-local-government-elections-recalled-in-new-publication-2102413 |date=31 January 2021 }}. ''Irish News'', 19 October 2020.</ref>

Fighting broke out in Derry on 18 June 1920 and lasted a week. Catholic homes were attacked in the mainly Protestant [[Waterside, Derry|Waterside]], and Catholics fled by boat across the [[River Foyle|Foyle]] while coming under fire. In the Cityside, Loyalists fired from the Fountain neighbourhood into Catholic streets, while the IRA occupied [[Lumen Christi College, Derry|St Columb's College]] and returned fire. At least fourteen Catholics and five Protestants were killed in the violence.<ref>Eunan O'Halpin & Daithí Ó Corráin. ''The Dead of the Irish Revolution''. Yale University Press, 2020. pp. 141–145</ref> Eventually, 1,500 British troops were deployed in Derry and imposed a curfew.<ref>Lawlor, Pearse. ''The Outrages'', pp. 16–18</ref>

On 17 July, British Colonel [[Gerald Smyth]] was assassinated by the IRA in Cork. He had allegedly told police officers to shoot civilians who did not immediately obey orders.<ref>''Michael Collins's Intelligence War'' by Michael T. Foy ({{ISBN|0-7509-4267-3}}), p. 91.; Constable [[Jeremiah Mee]], leader of the mutiny among the police officers, suggested in a publication of the Sinn Féin newspaper ''Irish Bulletin'', that Smyth had said that the officers should shoot IRA suspects on sight. In reality, Order No. 5, which Smyth had already said to colleagues that he was going to read out to the officers, said that IRA suspects should be shot as a last resort if the IRA men didn't surrender when challenged. This episode, along with the mutiny, has come down to be known as the [[Listowel mutiny]].</ref> Smyth came from [[Banbridge]], [[County Down]]. Loyalists retaliated by attacking many Catholic homes and businesses in Banbridge and expelling Catholics from their jobs, forcing many to flee the town.<ref>Lawlor, Pearse. ''The Burnings, 1920''. Mercier Press, 2009. pp. 67–77</ref> There were similar attacks in nearby [[Dromore, County Down|Dromore]].<ref>Lawlor, ''The Burnings, 1920'', pp. 82–83</ref>

On 21 July, loyalists drove 8,000 "disloyal" co-workers from their jobs in the Belfast shipyards, all of them either Catholics or Protestant [[Labour movement|labour activists]]. Some were viciously attacked.<ref name="Lynch shipyard riots">Lynch (2019), pp. 92–93</ref> This was partly in response to recent IRA actions and partly because of competition over jobs due to high unemployment. It was fuelled by rhetoric from Unionist politicians. In his [[The Twelfth|Twelfth of July]] speech, [[Edward Carson]] had called for loyalists to take matters into their own hands, and had linked republicanism with socialism and the Catholic Church.<ref>Lawlor, ''The Burnings, 1920'', pp. 90–92</ref> The expulsions sparked fierce sectarian rioting in Belfast, and British troops used machine-guns to disperse rioters. By the end of the day, eleven Catholics and eight Protestants were killed and hundreds wounded.<ref name="Lynch shipyard riots"/> Catholic workers were soon driven out of all major Belfast factories. In response, the Dáil approved the 'Belfast [[Boycott]]' of Unionist-owned businesses and banks in the city. It was enforced by the IRA, who halted trains and lorries and destroyed goods.<ref>Lawlor, ''The Burnings, 1920'', p. 184</ref>

On 22 August, the IRA assassinated RIC Inspector Oswald Swanzy as he left church in Lisburn. Swanzy had been implicated in the killing of Cork Mayor Tomás Mac Curtain. In revenge, loyalists burned and looted hundreds of Catholic businesses and homes in Lisburn, forcing many Catholics to flee (see [[Lisburn#The Burnings and Partition|the Burnings in Lisburn]]). As a result, Lisburn was the first town to recruit [[special constable]]s. After some of them were charged with rioting, their colleagues threatened to resign, and they were not prosecuted.<ref>Lawlor, ''The Burnings, 1920'', pp. 171–176</ref>

[[File:Sir James Craig 1924 (crop).jpg|upright|thumb|Unionist leader [[James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon|James Craig]].]]
In September, Unionist leader [[James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon|James Craig]] wrote to the British government demanding that a [[special constabulary]] be recruited from the ranks of the Ulster Volunteers. He warned, "Loyalist leaders now feel the situation is so desperate that unless the Government will take immediate action, it may be advisable for them to see what steps can be taken towards a system of organised reprisals against the rebels".{{sfn|Hopkinson|2002|p=158}} The USC was formed in October and, in the words of historian Michael Hopkinson, "amounted to an officially approved UVF".{{sfn|Hopkinson|2002|p=158}}

===Spring–summer 1921===
[[File:Troop Inspection Belfast City Hall 1920s W.D. Hogan Photographer (5807705678).jpg|thumb|The Lord Lieutenant inspecting troops outside Belfast City Hall on the day Northern Ireland's parliament first met.]]
After a lull in violence in the North, the conflict there intensified again in spring 1921. In February, as reprisal for the shooting of a Special Constable, USC and UVF men burned ten Catholic homes and a priest's house in [[Rosslea]], County Fermanagh.<ref>Lawlor, Pearse. ''The Outrages'', pp. 115–116</ref> The following month, the IRA attacked the homes of sixteen Special Constables in the Rosslea district, killing three and wounding others.<ref>Lawlor, Pearse. ''The Outrages'', pp. 117–119</ref>

The Act of Partition came into force on 3 May 1921.<ref name="O'Day 299">O'Day, Alan. ''Irish Home Rule, 1867–1921''. Manchester University Press, 1998. p. 299</ref> That month, James Craig secretly met Éamon de Valera in Dublin. They discussed the possibility of a truce in Ulster and an amnesty for prisoners. Craig proposed a compromise of limited independence for the South and autonomy for the North within the UK. The talks came to nothing and violence in the North continued.{{sfn|Hopkinson|2002|p=162}} [[1921 Irish elections|Elections to the Northern parliament]] were held on 24 May, in which Unionists won most seats. Its parliament first met on 7 June and formed [[Craigavon ministry|a devolved government]], headed by Craig. Republican and nationalist members refused to attend. King George V addressed the ceremonial opening of the Northern parliament on 22 June.<ref name="O'Day 299"/> The next day, a train carrying the king's armed escort, the [[10th Royal Hussars]], was derailed by an IRA bomb at [[Adavoyle railway station|Adavoyle]], County Armagh. Five soldiers and a train guard were killed, as were fifty horses. A civilian bystander was also shot dead by British soldiers.<ref>Lawlor, Pearse. ''The Outrages'', pp. 180–183</ref>

Loyalists condemned the truce as a 'sell-out' to republicans.<ref>Bell, J Bowyer. ''The Secret Army: The IRA''. Transaction Publishers, 1997. pp. 29–30; {{ISBN|978-1560009016}}</ref> On 10 July, a day before the ceasefire was to begin, police launched a raid against republicans in west Belfast. The IRA ambushed them on Raglan Street, killing an officer. This sparked a day of violence known as [[Bloody Sunday (1921)|Belfast's Bloody Sunday]]. Protestant loyalists attacked Catholic enclaves in west Belfast, burning homes and businesses. This led to sectarian clashes between Protestants and Catholics, and gun battles between police and nationalists. The USC allegedly drove through Catholic enclaves firing indiscriminately.<ref>Parkinson, Alan F. ''Belfast's Unholy War''. Four Courts Press, 2004. pp. 151–155</ref> Twenty people were killed or fatally wounded (including twelve Catholics and six Protestants) before the truce began at noon on 11 July.<ref>Eunan O'Halpin & Daithí Ó Corráin. ''The Dead of the Irish Revolution''. [[Yale University Press]], 2020. pp. 518–520, 522</ref> After the truce came into effect on 11 July, the USC was demobilized (July–November 1921). The void left by the demobilized USC was filled by loyalist vigilante groups and a revived UVF.<ref>Moore, Cormac, (2019),''Birth of the Border'', Merrion Press, Newbridge, p. 84, {{ISBN|9781785372933}}</ref>

There were further outbreaks of violence in Belfast after the truce. Twenty people were killed in street fighting and assassinations from 29 August to 1 September 1921 and another thirty were killed from 21 to 25 November. Loyalists had by this time taken to throwing bombs randomly into Catholic streets and the IRA responded by bombing trams carrying Protestant workmen.<ref>Alan F Parkinson, ''Belfast's Unholy War'', {{ISBN|1-85182-792-7}} hbk p. 316.</ref>

===Early 1922===
Despite the [[Dáil]]'s acceptance of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in January 1922, which confirmed the future existence of Northern Ireland, there were clashes between the IRA and British forces along the new border from early 1922. In part, this reflected Collins' view that the Treaty was a "stepping stone", rather than a final settlement. That month, Collins became head of the new Irish Provisional Government and the [[National Army (Ireland)|Irish National Army]] was founded, though the IRA continued to exist.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chronology of Irish History 1919 - 1923: February 1922 |url=http://www.dcu.ie/~foxs/irhist/january_1922.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319151112/http://www.dcu.ie/~foxs/irhist/january_1922.htm |archive-date=19 March 2012 |publisher=[[Dublin City University]]}}</ref>

In January 1922, members of the [[Monaghan GAA|Monaghan Gaelic football team]] were arrested by Northern police on their way to a match in Derry. Among them were IRA volunteers with plans to free IRA prisoners from Derry prison. In response, on the night of 7–8 February, IRA units crossed the border and captured almost fifty Special Constables and prominent loyalists in Fermanagh and Tyrone. They were to be held as hostages for the Monaghan prisoners. Several IRA volunteers were also captured during the raids.<ref>Lawlor, ''The Outrages'', pp. 204–209</ref> This operation had been approved by Michael Collins, Richard Mulcahy, [[Frank Aiken]] and [[Eoin O'Duffy]].<ref name="Fox Feb 1922">{{Cite web |title=Chronology of Irish History 1919–1923: February 1922 |url=http://www.dcu.ie/~foxs/irhist/february_1922.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319151140/http://www.dcu.ie/~foxs/irhist/february_1922.htm |archive-date=19 March 2012 |publisher=[[Dublin City University]]}}</ref> The Northern Ireland authorities responded by sealing-off many cross-border roads.<ref>Lawlor, ''The Outrages'', p. 211</ref>

In February and March 1922,  violence in the North reached levels that had not been seen before. Between 11 February and 31 March, 51 Catholics were killed with 115 wounded, with 32 Protestants killed and 86 wounded.<ref>Glennon, Kieran (2013), ''From Pogrom to Civil War'', Mercier Press, p. 103, {{ISBN|9781781171462}}</ref> On 11 February, IRA volunteers stopped a group of armed Special Constables at [[Clones, County Monaghan|Clones]] [[Clones railway station|railway station]], County Monaghan. The USC unit was travelling by train from Belfast to [[Enniskillen]] (both in Northern Ireland), but the Provisional Government was unaware that British forces would be crossing through its territory. The IRA called on the Specials to surrender for questioning, but one of them shot dead an IRA sergeant. This sparked a firefight in which four Specials were killed and several wounded. Five others were captured.<ref>Lawlor, ''The Outrages'', pp. 212–246</ref> The incident threatened to set off a major confrontation between North and South, and the British government temporarily suspended the withdrawal of British troops from the South. The Border Commission was set up to mediate in any future border disputes, but achieved very little.<ref name="Clones affray">[https://www.historyireland.com/20th-century-contemporary-history/the-clones-affray-1922-massacre-or-invasion/ "The Clones affray, 1922 – massacre or invasion?"]. [[History Ireland]], Volume 12, Issue 3 (Autumn 2004).</ref>

These incidents provoked retaliation attacks by loyalists against Catholics in Belfast, sparking further sectarian clashes. In the three days after the Clones incident, more than 30 people were killed in the city, including four Catholic children and two women who were killed by a loyalist grenade on Weaver Street.<ref name="Clones affray"/>

On 18 March, Northern police raided IRA headquarters in Belfast, seizing weapons and lists of IRA volunteers. The Provisional Government condemned this as a breach of the truce.<ref name="mckenna266">McKenna, ''Guerrilla Warfare in the Irish War of Independence'', pp. 266–267</ref> Over the next two weeks, the IRA raided several police barracks in the North, killed several officers and captured fifteen.<ref name="mckenna266"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chronology of Irish History 1919–1923: February 1922 |url=http://www.dcu.ie/~foxs/irhist/march_1922.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319151311/http://www.dcu.ie/~foxs/irhist/march_1922.htm |archive-date=19 March 2012 |publisher=[[Dublin City University]]}}</ref>

On 24 March, six Catholics were shot dead by Special Constables who broke into the home of the [[McMahon killings|McMahon family]]. This was in revenge for the IRA killing of two policemen.<ref>Parkinson, ''Unholy War'', p. 237.</ref> A week later, six more Catholics were killed by Specials in another revenge attack, known as the [[Arnon Street massacre]].<ref>Parkinson, ''Unholy War'', p. 316.</ref>

Winston Churchill had arranged a meeting between Collins and James Craig on 21 January and the southern boycott of Belfast goods was lifted but then re-imposed after several weeks. The two leaders had further meetings, but despite a joint declaration that "peace is declared" on 30 March, violence continued.{{sfn|Hopkinson|2004|pages=79–83}}

===Summer 1922: Northern Offensive===
[[File:Battle of Belleek 1922.jpg|thumb|Still from the 1922 topical silent film 'Battle of Belleek' showing British troops with a captured IRA flag after the recapture of the village]]
In May 1922 the IRA launched a [[The Troubles (1920–1922)#IRA Northern Offensive and sectarian violence|Northern Offensive]], secretly backed by Collins, head of the Irish Provisional Government. By this time, the IRA was split over the Anglo-Irish Treaty, but both pro and anti-Treaty units were involved. Some weaponry sent by the British to arm the National Army were in fact given to IRA units and their weapons sent to the North.{{sfn|Hopkinson|2004|pages=83–86}} However, the offensive was a failure. An IRA Belfast Brigade report in late May concluded that continuing the offensive was "futile and foolish" and would "place the Catholic population at the mercy of the Specials".{{sfn|Hopkinson|2004|p=86}}

On 22 May, after the assassination of West Belfast Unionist MP [[William J. Twaddell|William Twaddell]], the Northern government introduced internment and 350 IRA men were arrested in Belfast, crippling its organisation there.{{sfn|Hopkinson|2004|p=85}} The biggest clash of the IRA offensive was the [[The Troubles (1920–1922)#Battle of Pettigo and Belleek|Battle of Pettigo and Belleek]], which ended with British troops using [[artillery]] to dislodge around 100 IRA volunteers from the border villages of [[Pettigo]] and [[Belleek, County Fermanagh|Belleek]], killing three volunteers. This was the last major confrontation between the IRA and British forces during the revolutionary period.{{sfn|Hopkinson|2004|pages=83–87}} The cycle of sectarian violence in Belfast continued. In May, 75 people were killed in Belfast and another 30 in June. Several thousand Catholics fled the violence and sought refuge in [[Glasgow]] and [[Dublin]].<ref>for death toll and Catholic refugees; Parkinson, ''Unholy War'', p. 316.</ref> On 17 June, in revenge for the killing of two Catholics by Specials, Frank Aiken's IRA unit shot dead six Protestant civilians in Altnaveigh, south Armagh. Three Specials were also ambushed and killed.<ref>Lynch, ''Northern IRA'' pp. 147–148.</ref>

Collins held Field Marshal [[Sir Henry Wilson, 1st Baronet|Sir Henry Wilson]], MP for North Down, responsible for the attacks on Catholics in the North and may have been behind his assassination in June 1922, though who ordered the shooting is unproven.{{sfn|Hopkinson|2004|pages=112–113}} The event helped to trigger the Irish Civil War. Winston Churchill insisted after the killing that Collins take action against the [[Anti-Treaty IRA]], whom he assumed to be responsible.{{sfn|Hopkinson|2004|pages=115–116}} The outbreak of civil war in the south ended the violence in the North, as the war demoralised the northern IRA and diverted the organisation from the issue of partition. The Irish Free State quietly ended Collins' policy of covert armed action in Northern Ireland.

The violence in the North was over by late 1922.<ref>Parkinson, ''Unholy War'', p. 316.</ref>