Third Year: Social Change in 20th Century Ireland

Daunt Square in Cork, then and now.
People in 1900 had never heard of McDonalds.
Or the internet. Or TV.
Click on the picture to make it bigger.

As well as looking at the political developments in Ireland from the Home Rule Crisis and the 1916 Rising as far as the Anglo-Irish Agreement, in Third Year you will also look at how Irish society changed: how people's way of life and work changed from the rural Ireland you looked at at the end of Second Year to the kind of life you live now. You'll look at this from a few different angles:

• how rural and urban living conditions changed.
• how rural and urban working conditions changed.
• how the role of women in Ireland has changed.
• how sport, leisure and entertainment have changed.
• how transport and communications have changed.

Ordinary Level students can choose to study either this section or the Political Developments section.

Back at the start of First Year you learned about primary and secondary sources. These are important in this section as well. They can be useful too! If you're interested in where your family might have been living, or what your great grandparents might have been working as in the early 20th century, search the 1901 and 1911 census returns here.

I've divided this topics up between five pages. Click on the buttons below to get the topic you want.
or
Go back to Third Year

 

Third Year: Political Developments in 20th Century Ireland: Exam Questions

Main Page: Political Developments in 20th Century Ireland

This is not a complete list of the short questions on this topic from past papers, it is a 
sample amount.

Click here for exam question tips.

 

SHORT QUESTIONS (HL and OL)

This is not a complete list of the short questions on this topic from past papers, it is a 
sample amount.

HIGHER LEVEL

The Struggle for Independence
1. Mention two reasons why Unionists opposed Home Rule for Ireland. (2012 HL)

2. Name the founder of the Sinn Féin party, 1905. (2011 HL) / Name the political party founded by Arthur Griffith in 1905 (2015 HL)

3. What was the Solemn League and Covenant, 1912? (2011 HL)

4. Name two buildings occupied by the rebels during the Easter Rising, 1916. (2015 HL)

4. Mention two reasons why Sinn Féin won the 1918 general election. (2009 HL)

5. Why were only twenty-seven TDs present at the meeting of the first Dáil on the 
    21 January 1919? (2010 HL)

6. During the Civil war, 1922-23, what was the Munster Republic? (2009 HL)


Irish Free State/Republic of Ireland
1. Name the political party founded by Éamon de Valera in 1926. (2012 HL)

2. What was the Shannon scheme, 1927? (2008 HL)

3. What action did de Valera take against the Blueshirts in August 1933? (2012 HL)

4. Give two terms of the Anglo-Irish Agreement, 1938. (2015 HL, 2008 HL)

5. Mention one national project promoted by Dr. Noel Browne as Minister for Health. (2010 HL)

6. During the period, 1959-1966, mention two important decisions taken by the government of 
    Seán Lemass. (2010 HL)

7. What was the contribution of TK Whitaker to Ireland in the 1960s? (2007 HL)

8. Why did Jack Lynch ask for the resignation of two of his ministers in May 1970? (2011 HL)

9. Name the two countries which joined the EEC with Ireland in 1973. (2007 HL)

10. Who led the 1973-1977 coalition government formed by Fine Gael and Labour? (2011 HL)

11. Name the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister who signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement, 
      1985. (2009 HL)

12. Name two persons who became Taoiseach before 1997. (2007 HL)

13. Name two people who have been leaders of the Labour Party in Ireland since 1912. (2015 HL)


Northern Ireland
1. In relation to Northern Ireland during the 1970s, explain the term internment. (2011 HL)

2. Name the founder of the Democratic Unionist Party. (2006 HL)

3. Why was the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement (NICRA) set up in 1967? (2015 HL)

ORDINARY LEVEL 

(Political Developments in Ireland is an option in Ordinary Level)

 

1. Name one important figure during the Easter Rising 1916 OR a major change in housing that 
    occurred in twentieth century Ireland. (see here) (2011 OL)

2. Choose one of the following terms from the Irish War of Independence and explain it. (2010 OL)
              Flying Column;       Auxilliaries;       The Squad

3. Give one reason why Unionists wanted Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom. (2008 OL)

4. Mention one way in which World War Two had an impact on Irish life. (2008 OL)

5. Give the names of two Presidents of Ireland between 1938 and 1985. (2008 OL) 


PEOPLE IN HISTORY (OL and HL)

An Unionist living in Ulster around 1912-14

A named leader in the struggle for Irish independence, 1900-21
(2011 HL, 2007 HL)

A person involved in the struggle for Irish independence, 1900-21
(2012 OL, 2008 OL)

A person living in Northern or Southern Ireland during the war years, 1939-45
(2009 HL)

A named political leader in the Republic of Ireland, 1960-85
(2014 HL, 2012 HL, 2008 HL, 2010 OL, 2009 OL)



LONG QUESTION (Q.6) (HL)

2012 HL Q.6C

1. In your answerbook supply the missing words in the following sentences. You should number the 
    words correctly, but you need not re-write the sentences. (1x6)

       a.   The War of Independence began when the IRA attacked an RIC patrol at __________, 
             Co. Tipperary.

       b.   The IRA was organised into local units known as Flying __________.

       c.   The IRA used __________ warfare or ambush tactics against the British forces.

       d.   The British government used ex-soldiers known as the __________ and __________
             to support the RIC.

       e.   Michael Collins, Director of Intelligence, set up a __________ of twelve assassins to kill 
             British spies.

       f.   The Government of __________ Act was passed in 1920 but the fighting continued until
            the truce in July 1921.

2. Sinn Féin held the first meeting of Dáil Éireann in the Mansion House, Dublin on 21st January 1919. 
    Mention two decisions taken by the First Dáil. (2x2)

3. Give an account of two of the following: (10x2)
      (a) The Anglo-Irish Treaty, 1921
      (b) Life in Ireland during the Emergency.
      (c) The Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland. 


2010 HL Q.6C

1. Mention two actions taken by Unionists to prevent the introduction of Home Rule for Ireland during 
    the period 1912 - 1914. (2x2) 

2. Match each of the following persons (1-6) with the corresponding event of organisation (a-f). (1x6)

3. Write an account of two of the following:  (10x2)
      (a) The Easter Rising, 1916.
      (b) The Anglo-Irish Treaty, 1921.
      (c) The Economic War, 1932-38.
      (d) The Civil Rights Movement in Northern Ireland.


2006 HL Q.6C

1. Explain three of the following terms: (2x3)
    Irregulars;      B-Specials;      Coalition Government;      The Emergency;      Dominion Status. 

2. Write an account of two of the following: (12x2)
    (a) The Dublin Lockout.
    (b) The Civil War, 1922-23.
    (c) Relations between the Irish government and the UK, 1932-39.
    (d) The 1950s in Ireland.
    (e) Terence O'Neill.

Third Year: Irish Free State / Republic of Ireland

Because there is so much in this section, I have divided it into four to make it easier to manage. This section is roughly divided like this in most History textbooks anyway.

Click on the topic you want.
or
Go back to Political Developments in 20th Century Ireland.

Third Year: The Struggle for Independence

Because there is so much in this section, I have divided it into three to make it easier to manage. This section is roughly divided like this in most History textbooks anyway.

Click on the topic you want.
or
Go back to Political Developments in 20th Century Ireland.

Third Year: Political Developments in 20th Century Ireland

This section always comes up as an option in Q.6 of the Higher Level exam.

It is divided into three parts:

• The struggle for independence (1900 - 1922)

• The Irish Free State/Republic of Ireland (1922 - 1985)

• Northern Ireland (1920 - 1985)

Unlike topics in Second Year it is light on People in History questions, with only three main questions which regularly come up (An Ulster unionist, Michael Collins and Seán Lemass). It always comes up in short questions and can be an easy option on Q.6 if learned well.

Besides the exam, this part of the course explains the history of the Ireland you're living in now, and why it is the way it is. The course ends in 1985, which is just 27 years ago. Considering you started with the Mesolithic era, that's quite a lot you've learned in three years!

Click on the buttons below to get the part you want. All exam questions (except for People in History) are in a separate section, which you can find by clicking the Questions You Might Be Asked box.

3rd Year: Northern Ireland (1920 - 1985)

An Ian Paisley election poster.
Paisley was a prominent Unionist leader
from the 1960s on.
From Irish Election Literature

By this point you've studied how the Irish Free State/Republic of Ireland got on since the independence struggle. You know that different Taoisigh had to try to help put an end to the violence which started in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s, better known as the Troubles. Now, you'll look at Northern Ireland itself and why the Troubles began. In this section, you'll learn how the Plantations you studied in Second Year still had an effect centuries later.

After Ireland was partitioned, the government of Northern Ireland was dominated by the Ulster Unionist Party, which gerrymandered the constituencies so that many more unionist candidates would win in elections than nationalist candidates. They also discriminated against the Catholic population, as they considered Northern Ireland to be British and Protestant.

During World War II, while de Valera's Ireland remained neutral, Northern Ireland (as part of the UK) fought in the war. After the war, the Labour government in Britain began to create the welfare state, which improved housing, education and healthcare across the UK. In Northern Ireland, however, discrimination still happened.

By the 1960s, nationalist figures such as John Hume, Gerry Fitt and Bernadette Devlin organised civil rights marches to campaign for an end to discrimination. Before long, Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O'Neill agreed to grant some rights, but he was opposed by hardline unionists in his own party, and had to step down. By 1969, violence had broken out between Catholic/nationalist groups and Protestant/unionist groups. The Troubles had begun, but what could be done to stop them?

This section finished with 1985, nothing after that is on the course. If you're interested, you can read Northern Ireland since 1985.

This is the last part of the Political Developments in 20th Century Ireland part of the course.

Go back to Third Year

John Hume, a prominent nationalist leader
from the 1960s on.
From Tyrone Productions

• Unionist Rule: Discrimination, the RUC, the B Specials, Gerrymandering, the Economy, World War II.

• Civil Rights: John Hume, the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement, "One man, one vote", Terence O'Neill.

• The Troubles: The SDLP, Sinn Féin and the Provisional IRA, Unionist groups, Internment without trial, Bloody Sunday, Sunningdale, Hunger Strikes, Anglo-Irish Agreement.

Click here for exam questions you can be asked about this topic. (Higher and Ordinary)

A nationalist mural in Northern Ireland. What is it commemorating?

 

A unionist mural in Northern Ireland. Who is it commemorating?

What were murals like these two used for? Do you think they were effective?

Watch out for bias, prejudice and propaganda. Because Northern Ireland is a topic which many people can disagree on, you must be especially careful if reading these links. I have linked to pages written by nationalist groups and to pages written by unionist groups. Both have their own view of the history of Northern Ireland. It is very important to remember that they are writing from their own points of view and from their own opinions. People who study history must try to read everything objectively (without bias).

Belfast Murals
The two murals I showed are just two of hundreds. This website is cataloguing all of them, whether they're nationalist, unionist, or commemorating something else entirely (such as the Titanic, which was built in Belfast).

BBC Panorama: Living With The Troubles
A BBC video report from 1970 about the beginning Troubles in Northern Ireland. The video menu on the right of the screen has many other interesting videos about the conflict, from the civil rights marches to the peace agreements.

Stormont House
The Northern Ireland government is called Stormont the same way the US government is called Washington. It's just where the government is. Learn about it here. 

A Short History of the SDLP
From the SDLP website. It's a party writing about it's own history, so read it as a historian would. It is written from their point of view.

Sinn Féin: History
Sinn Féin, which abandoned armed conflict in the 1990s and has turned to politics to achieve their aims, have their own account of their history and the situation in which the Troubles began. It is written from their point of view.

Democratic Unionist Party: History
The now-leading unionist party tells its history (the Ulster Unionist Party doesn't have a history page). It is written from their point of view.

John Hume: Ireland's Peacemaker
This page has a biography of John Hume. It also covers his life after 1985, when this course ends.

Background of the Troubles (video)
This video, which features Bernadette Devlin, is a newsreel video about the civil rights marches and the situation which led to the outbreak of the Troubles. Hosted on Wikipedia.

Irish Political Maps: Elections in Northern Ireland
See how the gerrymandered system kept the Ulster Unionist Party in power until Britain imposed direct rule. 

3rd Year: Ireland in the 70s and 80s

Jack Lynch (Taoiseach 1966-73, 77-79) and
Garret FitzGerald (Taoiseach 1981-82, 82-87)

Main Page:
Ireland After Independence

Lemass retired in 1966 and was succeeded by Jack Lynch. Not long after becoming Taoiseach, Lynch had to deal with the increasing violence in Northern Ireland as the Troubles broke out. He also wanted to continue Lemass' work and bring Ireland into the European Economic Community, which he did in 1973.

Later that year, Lynch and Fianna Fáil lost an election to Fine Gael and Labour, and W.T. Cosgrave's son Liam Cosgrave became Taoiseach. With the crisis in the North still going on, Cosgrave negotiated an agreement between his government, the Northern Irish government and the British government in an attempt to solve the problems there, but that agreement broke down a year later. He also had an economic crisis to manage, and he lost the next election in 1977, when Jack Lynch and Fianna Fáil returned to government.

Two years later, Lynch stepped down and was replaced by Charles Haughey. At the start of the 1980s, three general elections happened very quickly after each other. The first was won by Fine Gael with Garret FitzGerald, the second one was won by Haughey, and the third one put FitzGerald back as Taoiseach. He worked on a second agreement between Ireland and Britain to solve the problems in the North, called the Anglo-Irish Agreement, and it is here that the modern Ireland section ends.

Continue to Northern Ireland

Nothing after 1985 is on the Junior Cert course, but if you're interested to read about Ireland since 1985 you can do so through that link. 

Liam Cosgrave,
Taoiseach 1973-77

• Jack Lynch: Arms Crisis, Irish entry to the EEC.

• Liam Cosgrave: Oil crisis, Sunningdale Agreement.

• Garret FitzGerald: New Ireland Forum, Anglo-Irish Agreement.

Click here for exam questions you can be asked about this topic. (Higher and Ordinary)

Click the link for the "named political leader in Ireland" People in History question.

Taoiseach Jack Lynch's address to the nation, 13 August 1969 (YouTube)
You might remember Enda Kenny giving a message to the nation on TV about the economy. Other Taoisigh have given such messages in the past. The first was by Jack Lynch in 1969 as the full horrors of the Troubles in Northern Ireland were being made known.

RTÉ: Jack Lynch Obituary (1999)
Jack Lynch died in 1999. Here, RTÉ News has a brief overview of his life. 

Fianna Fáil: Jack Lynch
The Fianna Fáil website has its own biography of Lynch. Remember what to be careful of on a group's own website.

Charles Haughey, Taoiseach from 1979-81, Feb 82 - Nov 82,
and again from 1987 - 92
© RTÉ Stills Library

The Irish Times: The Arms Crisis
The Irish Times give an overview of the Arms Crisis and Charles Haughey's involvement with it.

BBC On This Day: The Sunningdale Agreement
The BBC explains what was hoped for by the Sunningdale Agreement. 

CAIN: The Sunningdale Agreement
This site gives an overview of what the Sunningdale Agreement was.

Collins 22 Society: Liam Cosgrave
The Fine Gael-aligned Collins 22 society has a biography of Liam Cosgrave, who is currently the oldest living former Taoiseach at 92 years of age. Beware of bias.

Fianna Fáil: Charles Haughey
Besides his involvement with the Arms Crisis, you don't learn a lot about Haughey in 3rd year because he was Taoiseach for only two years before 1985. He was Taoiseach again, however, from 1987 to 1992. Read the Fianna Fáil biography of him here. Beware of bias.

Collins 22 Society: Garret FitzGerald
The Fine Gael group's website also has a biography of FitzGerald, who died last year aged 85. Beware of bias.

RTÉ Obituary: Dr. Garret FitzGerald (YouTube)
The RTÉ's video obituary to Garret FitzGerald, detailing his career.

BBC On This Day: The Anglo-Irish Agreement
Read about that agreement here.

A named political leader in the Republic of Ireland, 1960-85

Lemass (left), with two future Taoisigh,
Jack Lynch (centre) and Charles Haughey (right)

Main Page: Inter-Party Government and Seán Lemass

Between 1960 and 1985, there were five Taoisigh: Seán Lemass, Jack Lynch, Liam Cosgrave, Charles Haughey and Garret FitzGerald. If you wanted, you could write about any of these men for this answer, but the easiest one by far to write about is Seán Lemass. That's who we're going to go with here.

Lemass had a very long role in Irish history. He was in the GPO in the 1916 Rising and he was a member of the IRA during the independence struggle. None of that is relevant to this question, however, because it asks about  political leader, so only information about Lemass' time in politics is important.

• Introduce the leader you have chosen. "Seán Lemass was the Taoiseach of Ireland from 1959 - 1966. You can give one line of background, for example that he helped de Valera to found Fianna Fáil.

• Talk about his early career in politics: Lemass was Minister for Industry and Commerce. What did he do about the economy?

• Next, talk about Lemass' role during the Emergency. What was his job as Minister for Supplies? What did he do?

• Once that's done you can write about de Valera retiring and Lemass becoming Taoiseach. What ideas did he have? He promoted new faces to Cabinet, name some (such as the two in the picture above).

• Talk about the First Programme for Economic Expansion. What did it mean? What did it introduce?

• Next, talk about Lemass and Northern Ireland. Who did he go to visit in 1965? How did he believe he could end partition?

• Before you finish, round up what else happened during Lemass' time in government. John F. Kennedy visited, RTÉ was launched, and his Education minister brought in free secondary education. All of these things are relevant to Lemass' time in power because they played a role in modernising Ireland.

• Finally, end with Lemass' retirement in 1966. Who succeeded him? If you like, you can finish up with his death, which occurred in 1971.

So, in short...

1. Introduce Lemass and briefly explain who he was (co-founder of Fianna Fáil).
2. His time as Minister for Industry and Commerce.
3. His time as Minister for Supplies during the Emergency.
4. Becoming Taoiseach and planning new ideas.
5. The First Programme for Economic Expansion.
6. His approach to Northern Ireland.
7. Ireland being modernised: JFK, RTÉ and free secondary education.
8. Lemass' retirement.

Don't...

• get confused between Lemass and any other leader.
• say "Hi, I'm Seán Lemass...", this has to be third-person (He did, he was...)
• spend too long talking about the one thing. There's a lot to fit in, so remember to keep everything concise and to the point.

3rd Year: Inter-Party Governments & Seán Lemass

Seán Lemass on the cover of Time magazine.
Behind him (and the leprechaun), are factories showing
how Ireland was becoming industrialised. © TIME

Main Page: Ireland After Independence

Fianna Fáil's defeat in 1948 came because the other parties in the Dáil, led by Fine Gael, joined together to form what we call the "Inter-Party Government". This government was led by John A. Costello as Taoiseach. Costello's government is most famous for declaring Ireland as a republic (so the Irish Free State became the Republic of Ireland) and for the controversy surrounding the Mother and Child Scheme, planned by his Health Minister Noel Browne.

Costello and de Valera were both in and out of power during the late 1940s and 1950s, but by 1957 Ireland was back to a long-term Fianna Fáil government. Two years later, de Valera finally retired as Taoiseach and was elected President. The new Fianna Fáil Taoiseach was Seán Lemass, who had been the Minister for Industry in all of de Valera's governments.

Lemass wanted to modernise Ireland. He encouraged the growth of industry and he promoted several young faces to become ministers. His government brought in free secondary education for all children, and Lemass was the first Taoiseach to meet the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland in 1965. RTÉ was set up and Ireland had its own TV station for the first time. Lemass retired in 1966 and was succeeded by Jack Lynch, who looked forward to continuing Lemass' work. Unfortunately, by the end of the 1960s, things weren't going to seem as bright anymore.

Continue to Ireland in the 70s and 80s

• Inter-Party Government: Who formed it, Declaration of the Republic, IDA, Marshall Aid, Rural electrification, Mother & Child Scheme.

• Seán Lemass and Fianna Fáil: First Programme for Economic Expansion, visiting Terence O'Neill, free secondary education.

Click here for exam questions you can be asked about this topic. (Higher and Ordinary)

PEOPLE IN HISTORY (HL and OL)
A named political leader in the Republic of Ireland, 1960-85
(2014 HL, 2012 HL, 2008 HL, 2010 OL, 2009 OL)

John A. Costello, Taoiseach 1948-51, 54-57

Watch out for bias, prejudice and propaganda!

Fianna Fáil: Seán Lemass
The Fianna Fáíl website's biography of Seán Lemass.

RTÉ News: Liam Cosgrave talks about John A. Costello (video)
Former Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave (son of W.T.), who served in Costello's government, spoke about him at the launch of a biography of Costello in 2010. 

Dáil Records: Taoiseach John A. Costello's speech on declaring a Republic
The full transcript of Costello's speech to the Dáil in 1948 on why he was declaring a Republic. Long read, but you might be interested.

Essay on the Mother and Child Crisis
Exactly what it says on the tin. This is a personal essay, so opinions form a big part of it. Read it like a historian would.

JFK in Ireland
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library has a piece on JFK's visit to Ireland in 1963. Kennedy was the first Irish-American Catholic to become President of the United States.

JFK writes about his visit to Ireland
After the visit , JFK wrote back to Dot Tubridy (aunt of Ryan) about how much he enjoyed his visit.

Newsreel of Kennedy's visit
British Pathé have a newsreel showing Kennedy landing in Dublin airport and meeting President de Valera.

RTÉ TV50: The History of RTÉ
Radió Teilifís Éireann was launched on New Years' Eve 1961. Read about its entire history here as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations.

3rd Year: De Valera and Fianna Fáil

A Fianna Fáil election poster from 1932.
From Irish Election Literature.

Main Page: Ireland After Independence

After ten years in government, Cumann na nGaedheal lost the 1932 election, and de Valera and his Fianna Fáil party took charge for the first time. Since the civil war, the Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin had abstained from the Dáil. De Valera argued that if they kept that up, they would end up being irrelevant (unimportant) to the voters. Other people in the party disagreed with him, so de Valera and his supporters left Sinn Féin and founded their own party, called Fianna Fáil in 1926. Although they were still opposed to the Oath, the Fianna Fáil TDs still entered the Dáil, claiming that even though they were taking the Oath, it was an "empty formula" which didn't mean anything.

Once in government, de Valera set about "dismantling" (taking apart) the Anglo-Irish Treaty. He took Ireland further away from Britain by abolishing the Oath, removing the office of the Governor-General (the King's representative in Dublin), and regaining the Treaty ports. He also introduced Bunreacht na hÉireann, a new constitution, which we still use today.

This was all done by the beginning of 1938, but by then events in Europe were pointing to the fact that another great war was coming. Ireland would have suffered greatly if it had been in the war, so when World War II broke out, de Valera declared Ireland neutral. Although people had to endure rationing, censorship and still the occasional bombing, Ireland was spared the devastation that most of the rest of Europe faced during the war. The war ended in 1945, and Fianna Fáil's time in government lasted until 1948, when they finally lost an election. They had been in power for 16 years, and in those 16 years they had changed quite a lot...

Continue to Inter-Party Governments & Lemass

• Dismantling the Treaty: Abolishing the Oath and the Governor-General, The new Constitution, President of the Executive Council renamed Taoiseach, an elected President.

• Dealing with Threats: The Blueshirts, the IRA.

• The Economy: Land Annuities, Economic war with Britain, Protectionism.

• The Emergency (WWII): Neutrality (measures taken), threats, rationing, black market, emigration.

Click here for exam questions you can be asked about this topic. (Higher and Ordinary)

A person living in Northern or Southern Ireland during the war years, 1939-1945
(2009 HL, 2014 OL)

Éamon de Valera, c.1930s.

The History of Fianna Fáil
The Fianna Fáil website has an informative page on its history. Because it's a party writing about its own history, beware of bias. In the "Related" box, you can see links to a timeline, and de Valera's speech to the first meeting of Fianna Fáil.  

Fianna Fáil: Éamon de Valera
The same website has a biography of de Valera, which also can be biased. Still, there are interesting links to quotes by de Valera and a timeline of his (long) life.

UCC: Éamon de Valera
UCC Multitext biography and photo gallery of de Valera.   

Bunreacht na hÉireann
Have a read through the constitution here if you like. You can also buy copies of it in most book shops for about €2.  

The Economic War and the Second World War
An overview of Irish history in this time.  

Article: General Eoin O'Duffy: Ireland's Answer to Mussolini
This is an internet article (so there will be bias) about Eoin O'Duffy, the leader of the Blueshirts, and how he embraced fascism in the 1930s.  

Irish POW camps in the Emergency
The Curragh website has a piece on the Curragh camp's time as a POW camp for Allied and (mostly) Axis troops who crashed in Ireland during the Emergency.

BBC News: Spitfire Down: The WWII camp where the Allies and the Germans mixed
A BBC News article from 2011 about Irish POW camps. It's an article, so you know what I'm going to tell you to watch out for.   

Ireland During the Second World War
This is an interesting PDF presentation on Ireland in the Emergency. No, I don't know what the hats mean.

DeValera's Response to Churchill's Speech

3rd Year: Cumann na nGaedheal

A Cumann na nGaedheal election poster from 1923.

Main Page: Ireland After Independence

Cumann na nGaedheal (kuh-min na ngway-ul), which means "Party of the Gaels" was the party which formed the first government of the Irish Free State. They had been the Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin during the Civil War, but with that over, they renamed themselves and set to work rebuilding the new state after two bloody and damaging conflicts.

The leader of the Irish Free State was called the President of the Executive Council (it's since been replaced by the Taoiseach). The first President was W.T. Cosgrave, a 1916 veteran who had become leader of the Pro-Treaty side after the deaths of Collins and Griffith.

Cosgrave and Cumann na nGaedheal had a few difficult tasks ahead of them: they had to build up the economy, they had to keep good relations with Britain, and to establish law and order...

Continue to Éamon de Valera & Fianna Fáil 

• Law and order: Kevin O'Higgins, An Garda Síochána, the IRA, the Army Mutiny.

• Economy: Agriculture, the Shannon Scheme, the ESB.

• Irish-British relations: The Boundary Commission, the Statute of Westminster.

Click here for exam questions you can be asked about this topic. (Higher and Ordinary)

UCC: William Thomas Cosgrave

W.T. Cosgrave

UCC has a short biography of W.T. Cosgrave, complete with a photo album showing his career.

The History of An Garda Síochána
The Gardaí website has a piece on their history, from their origins in the Royal Irish Constabulary to the change that was brought about by the first government, and after.

RTÉ News: Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Liam Cosgrave mark 85th anniversary of ESB in Co. Clare
Last July, W.T. Cosgrave's son Liam (who was Taoiseach from 1973-77) joined Taoiseach Enda Kenny in commemorating the 85th anniversary of the ESB and the Ardnacrusha Dam. Cosgrave was given a painting of his father. Click on the videos to watch him speak.

W.T. Cosgrave and the Foundation of the Irish State
This is an article about Cosgrave written for the Collins 22 Society, a Fine Gael-aligned group of people who support the ideas and legacy of Collins and of Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin/Cumann na nGaedheal. So, be especially aware of bias.

The Irish Times: From the Archives - The Army Mutiny
This edition of "From the Archives" by the Irish Times reprints a story on the Army Mutiny that the paper ran in 1924.

The Commonwealth Explained (YouTube)
While this video has nothing to do with Cumann na nGaedheal or the 1920s, it's useful if you're confused about what is meant by a "Commonwealth". The video explains it as it is today. Ireland left the Commonwealth in 1949.