I never really understood how after the war of independence, we allowed ourselves to turn on one another to the extent of a vicious and bitter civil war, the divisions of which are still very much raw today almost a century on.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fail were unable to bring themselves to go into government together, even on a rotational basis.
Although having said that, the animosity does seem to have been preserved greater on the Fianna Fail side, Fine Gael were prepared to do a deal, it was Fianna Fail who were unable to deliver and this was to prevent a reducing number of the party who would basically have split had they gone ahead.
The problem is there was no reconciliation process after the war, the two sides never dealt with their issues and somehow they have managed to be no further on for some almost a century on.
Conflict always brings out the worst in people and terrible deeds are done. It was no different for either Fine Gael or Fianna Fail.
I am not going to cast up or use the murders of people on either side to political point score.
What I want to focus on is that both parties refused to reconcile with one another and still haven’t. They do not have reconciliation in their DNA and this is why they are so dangerous in government today, especially for those of us north of the border.
The point of division was over a treaty that did not deliver the IRA fought for, it divided the country and this led to civil war followed by embittered political divisions in Ireland and the abandonment of nationalists in the north.
Some believe Michael Collins to have been put in an impossible position and to have delivered the best deal possible to end the conflict with the intention of pursuing a united Ireland in peace and since Britain did not want partition in the first place it makes sense. Others however see him as a traitor for ending violence before it delivered, even though deep down they know violence was never going to work. Possibly they just could not live with the selling out of their people in the north at the time, they certainly don’t have an issue with it any more.
Considerable effort has been made to avoid a repeat of the civil war issues though there are many similarities.
The GFA is very similar, it did not deliver what many fought for and is no more than a treaty to end conflict and pursue peaceful means of achieving a new Ireland.
Sinn Fein are focussing on positives, and doing all they can to pursue reconciliation and avoid a repeat of the civil war animosities.
In many ways we are witnessing history repeating itself with hindsight.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have not changed a bit and will continue embittered anti Sinn Fein campaigns.
But then you have new pro and anti-treaty sides gradually appearing and coming to the fore.
Gerry Adams is seen as a traitor by many former friends, no different or less astonishing to how Michael Collins was.
Party members are being seen as being more interested in lining their pockets because they are getting paid. More interested in sucking the cows teat than they are in rebuilding a new Ireland without partition.
Although this is leading to further division and in reality attacking the only party that is actually trying to end division.
Then again, the younger generations have no memory of the conflict and are easily led by the same idealist views. They are not tempered with the true horrificness of conflict and the real and devastating impact it has on so many on all sides, they may well understand it, but it is no more than just words.
As I have said before, I never understood how we could be so foolish as to allow a civil war to develop in Ireland. I think we are all witnessing exactly how it happened in 2016 and I at least now have a much greater understanding of how it happened.
The thing is, are we really going to allow it to happen all over again?
I frequently wonder what the reaction will be by the still armed and active loyalist groups in the event of a vote for reunification.
And if the Covenant is undusted and waved about what will HMG do?
Curiously Jessica, last week, on TG4 there was a good, seemingly unbiased, programme on the Treaty, I am afraid I cannot recall the name now but, would be well worth looking up on TG4 player, presently unavailable.
The name of the program was “An Conradh” The treaty. Very good and shows that military men are not necessarily the best politicians. Your head would agree with Collins and your heart with the Republicans. A split, cunningly engineered by the old foe.
That has always been our weakness Fiosrach.
The problem with conflict is we all have our breaking points.
If we could only put as much conviction into peaceful pursuit of achieving a new Ireland.
Then again, the problem with that is we all have different views of what we want a new Ireland to be.
All I can say is that demonisation and vilification from whatever quarter including from myself is not productive.
Thank you Mark
I think there will be more reflection over this as we approach the centenary.
I wonder will Fine Gael and Fianna Fail put the past behind them or how much of the old animosity will remain.
It will also be interesting to see how they choose to celebrate the anniversary of partition.
Will the birth of the free state be a celebration in spite of those who were left behind.
Will they wonder why we in the north wont be celebrating either?
That would be a step too far for me.
I wonder come to think of it how Sinn Fein will approach this one. Another potentially divisive situation.
It is widely accepted by historians and political commentators that the one event that led to the war of independence was the wanton execution of the leaders of the Rising. This was the one event that swung public opinion in favour of the rebels. Is it not then a tragic paradox that the Free State forces executed five times as many during the civil war ,mainly their former comrades. It is hard to escape the conclusion that by signing the treaty Collins chose war between Irishman and Irishman rather than war between Ireland and Britain
I don’t believe he would have given up on the north the way dev did.
I believe Dev chose war between Irishman and Irishman to remove former comrades who disagreed with him and to pursue total control over the Irish free state.
I see Fianna Fail haven’t changed that much in almost 100 years.
In a way the Irish war of independence was itself a civil war. The main target and the majority of people killed by the IRA were Royal Irish Constabulary police officers including the first fatalities at Soloheadbeg in Co Tipperary. The two police men killed were Patrick MacDonnell and James O’Connell, both Irish and (I believe) Catholic.
This is similarly how the war progressed with Irishman in the majority killing Irishman.
As for Collins and the treaty I feel he was at the end of the day being throughly pragmatic. Lloyd George held the trump card which was the threat of a return to war. Collins knew that the IRA could survive this as he is widely quoted as saying they could barely last 3 weeks. Ultimately he was forced to compromise.