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Based on extensive archival research he Politics of the Irish Civil War situates the Irish civil war in the general process of decolonization in the twentieth century, and explains why divisions over the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 proved so formative in the development of the Irish state.Each chapter is devoted to a particular aspect of the war and many new areas are explored. These include the role the doctrine of self-determination played in the Sinn Fein movement, the fate of numerous peace initiatives, the power struggle between de Valera and Liam Lynch within the IRA, and the impact of the civil war on the wider civil society. The last three chapters explore how the conflict has been interpreted by the actors themselves, as well as by historians.Combining perspectives drawn from history and politics, this book will interest not only students of Irish history, but also those interested in the comparative study of civil wars.
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The Politics of the Irish Civil War
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The Politics of the Irish Civil War
BILL KISSANE
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Great Clarendon Street, Oxford o x 2 6d p Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York ß Bill Kissane 2005 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2005 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Data available Typeset by SPI Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India Printed in Great Britain on acid-free paper by Biddles Ltd., King’s Lynn, Norfolk ISBN 0-19-927355-3 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
In memory of my grandparents
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Acknowledgments Writing a relatively balanced book on one of the most divisive episodes in Irish contemporary history has proven a formidable challenge in view of the perennial nature of the issues that divided the two sides in 1922. This book makes no claim to be providing a transcendent interpretation, but mainly goes into detail on aspects of the conflict that have not received sustained attention. Such a book could not have been written, but for the excellent archival resources available to researchers on the Irish state, as well as the professional way they are administered. I thank the staffs of the Irish National Archives, the UCD Archives, the National Library of Ireland, the British Library’s newspaper library at Colindale, the Public Record Office at Kew, and the British Library of Political and Economic Science for their help. I also acknowledge the receipt of a teaching