☘️Ireland: Union, Treaty and Partition

How Ireland moved from union with Britain to two countries.

1. Home Rule promised 1913

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   In 1913 the British government promised Home Rule for Ireland, a self-governing Ireland with its own parliament but still part of the UK.

2. Protestants in the north object

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   The proposal was opposed by Protestants in the north of Ireland, who threatened to resist Home Rule by force.

   but

3. The Easter Rising 1916

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   With change postponed by the First World War, Irish Nationalists would not wait. In 1916 there was an uprising against the British in Dublin, the Easter Rising.

   and during the war

4. Peace treaty 1921

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   A guerrilla war against the British army and police followed. In 1921 a peace treaty was signed.

   after a guerrilla war

5. Ireland divided 1922

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   Ireland became two countries. The six mainly Protestant counties in the north stayed part of the UK as Northern Ireland; the rest became the Irish Free State.

   so in 1922

6. The Troubles

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   People in both parts wanted one independent Ireland. Years of disagreement led to a terror campaign known as the Troubles.