Editing Irish War of Independence (section)

==Propaganda war==
[[File:Flag of Ireland.svg|thumb|The symbol of the Republic:<br />The Irish tricolour which dated back to the [[Young Ireland]] rebellion of [[Young Ireland#1848 Uprising|1848]]]]
[[File:Flag of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.svg|thumb|A symbol of British rule:<br />The standard of the Lord Lieutenant, using the [[union flag]] created under the [[Act of Union 1800]]]]
Another feature of the war was the use of propaganda by both sides.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kenneally |first=Ian |title=The Paper Wall: Newspapers and Propaganda in Ireland 1919–1921 |publisher=Collins |year=2008 |isbn=978-1905172580}}</ref>

The British government also collected material on the liaison between Sinn Féin and [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Soviet Russia]], in an unsuccessful attempt to portray Sinn Féin as a crypto-communist movement.<ref>"Intercourse between Bolshevism and Sinn Féin", [[Command paper|Cmd.]] 1326 ([[Office of Public Sector Information|HMSO]], London, 1921).</ref>

The Catholic Church hierarchy was critical of the violence of both sides, but especially that of the IRA, continuing a long tradition of condemning militant republicanism. The Bishop of Kilmore, [[Patrick Finegan]], said: "[[Just war theory|Any war... to be just and lawful]] must be backed by a well grounded hope of success. What hope of success have you against the mighty forces of the [[British Empire]]? None... none whatever and if it unlawful as it is, every life taken in pursuance of it is murder."<ref>''Raids and Rallies'' by Ernie O'Malley ({{ISBN|978-0900068638}}), p. 96.</ref> [[Thomas Gilmartin]], the [[Archbishop of Tuam (Roman Catholic)|Archbishop of Tuam]], issued a letter saying that IRA men who took part in ambushes "have broken the truce of God, they have incurred the guilt of murder".<ref>''Raids and Rallies'' by Ernie O'Malley ({{ISBN|978-0900068638}}), p. 97.</ref> However, in May 1921, [[Pope Benedict XV]] dismayed the British government when he issued a letter that exhorted the "English as well as Irish to calmly consider . . . some means of mutual agreement", as they had been pushing for a condemnation of the rebellion.<ref name="benedict">''Michael Collins'' by Tim Pat Coogan ({{ISBN|0-09-968580-9}}), p. 204.</ref> They declared that his comments "put HMG (His Majesty's Government) and the Irish murder gang on a footing of equality".<ref name="benedict"/>

[[Desmond FitzGerald (politician)|Desmond FitzGerald]] and [[Erskine Childers (author)|Erskine Childers]] were active in producing the ''[[Irish Bulletin]]'', which detailed government atrocities which Irish and British newspapers were unwilling or unable to cover. It was printed secretly and distributed throughout Ireland, and to international press agencies and US, European and sympathetic British politicians.

While the military war made most of Ireland ungovernable from early 1920, it did not actually remove British forces from any part. But the success of Sinn Féin's propaganda campaign reduced the option of the British government to deepen the conflict; it worried in particular about the effect on British relations with the US, where groups like the [[American Committee for Relief in Ireland]] had so many eminent members. The British cabinet had not sought the war that had developed since 1919. By 1921 one of its members, [[Winston Churchill]], reflected:

{{Blockquote|What was the alternative? It was to plunge one small corner of the empire into an iron repression, which could not be carried out without an admixture of murder and counter-murder.... Only national self-preservation could have excused such a policy, and no reasonable man could allege that self-preservation was involved.<ref>W. Churchill, ''The Aftermath'' (Thornton 1929) p. 297.</ref>}}