Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War (Irish: Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Empire.
| Irish Civil War | |||||||||
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| Part of the Irish revolutionary period | |||||||||
National Army soldiers armed with Lewis machine guns aboard a troop transport in the Civil War | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Irish Free State Military support: United Kingdom |
Anti-Treaty IRA (anti-Treaty forces) | ||||||||
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Military commanders:
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Military commanders:
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| Strength | |||||||||
| c. 15,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| c. 800–900 Irish National Army killed |
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| Civilians: Unknown, estimates vary; c. 300–400 dead. | |||||||||
The civil war was waged between the Provisional Government of Ireland and the anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) (IRA) over the Anglo-Irish Treaty. The Provisional Government (which became the Free State in December 1922) supported the terms of the treaty, while the anti-Treaty opposition saw it as a betrayal of the Irish Republic that had been proclaimed during the Easter Rising of 1916. Many of the combatants had fought together against the British in the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) during the War of Independence, and had divided after that conflict ended and the treaty negotiations began.
The Civil War was won by the pro-treaty National Army, who first secured Dublin by early July, then went on the offensive against the anti-Treaty strongholds of the south and west, especially the 'Munster Republic', successfully capturing all urban centres by late August. The guerrilla phase of the Irish Civil War lasted another 10 months, before the IRA leadership issued a "dump arms" order to all units, effectively ending the conflict. The National Army benefited from substantial quantities of weapons provided by the British government, particularly artillery and armoured cars.
The conflict left Irish society divided and embittered for generations. Today, the three largest political parties in the Republic of Ireland, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, and Sinn Féin are direct descendants of the opposing sides of the war; Fine Gael from the supporters of the pro-Treaty side, Fianna Fáil the party formed from the bulk of the anti-Treaty side by Éamon de Valera, and Sinn Féin, descended from the rump anti-Treaty and irredentist republican party left behind by De Valera's supporters.