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The Partition of Ireland, an Insidious Act of British Malfeasance
Dividing lines and antagonistic belief systems were core elements of the divide and rule strategy utilized by the British throughout its colonial Empire to facilitate or prolong its domination over native populations. Although the Empire has ceased to exist, the damaging consequences of its divide and rule strategy is still being played out in conflict in countries and regions dissected by the Empire in its heyday.
Nowadays, long after the fall of its Empire, England still continued to play the colonial game of divide and rule in Ireland and, sad to say with the acquiescence of successive Irish governments. Why is that so, one may ask. Is it because Irish governments do not know how to effectively solve problems?. They could, it's not impossible.
It's difficult to accept that the political collective in Ireland or even individuals within its orbit do not know how to lead, only how to follow.
 Introduction.
The British partition of Ireland utilized both of the
above mentioned elements to separate the sectarian factions they had laboriously created and nurtured over centuries of occupation. That insidious strategy was supercharged after the
Society of United Irishmen Rising of 1798, an Irish Republican Rising mostly led by Protestant elites.
From a British perspective, the prospect of Irishmen and women of different social classes and religions working together for liberty
and justice was an affront to colonialism, a serious challenge to its authority that had to dealt with. By
doing so, the British had revamped and updated its divide and rule strategy by
further exploiting religious dogmatism and tribal fears, the consequences of which
was the partition of Ireland in 1921.
By partitioning Ireland to conform to the political/religious sectarian construct they had created, the British were able to maintain domination over what was then and now a divided Irish nation. In so doing, they appeased their elites, imperialists and Unionists, changed the political conversation, and fatally fractured Ireland’s independence movement.
The fracturing of the independence movement spawned a Civil war that the British managed to manipulate and end on their terms.
In retrospect, the continued British involvement in Ireland’s affairs is difficult to understand. It may be just a ploy by imperialist minded holdouts to keep the last sliver of their former empire as a trophy, a right of conquest or maybe they hold on to prevent the United Kingdom from unraveling.
Life in Northern Ireland after Partition.
Although we blame the British for the partition of Ireland as we should, it would be remiss of us to ignore the hands off stance of successive Irish governments for allowing partition to prevail for over a century.
Since the partition of Ireland in 1921, the sundered six northern counties
(Northern Ireland) have experienced more of the
ensuing violence than the twenty six southern counties (Ireland).
For the first forty years after partition, the
catholic/nationalists’ population in Northern Ireland endured
physical, psychological and material depravation at the hands of
successive Northern Ireland unionists governments allowed to run amok by their overseers in London. James Craig, Northern Ireland’s first prime minister said,
“A Protestant Parliament for a Protestant People,” as justification for his governments draconian rule. Later, in defending his remarks, Craig referred to
Ireland as a catholic State.
By 1972, the Unionist government had overplayed its sectarian hand to the consternation of the civilized world. Left with no option, the British government closed shop and ruled the dysfunctional enclave from London.
For the subsequent 35 years, partition has proven to be a bleeding wound, an evil ploy that incited a 30-year cycle of sectarian and imperial warfare that has left in its wake a bloody trail of death, destruction and renewed distrust.
The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 did nothing to end partition, it merely prolonged its eventual demise. From any perspective,
the ongoing partition of Ireland is an affront to the sanctity of nationhood, an abomination can can never be normalized
despite underhanded efforts by the Irish government to do so by
referring to Ireland as a shared island.
Ireland is not a shared island. Ireland is a nation
divided.
Click HERE for more information on Northern Ireland
Life in Southern Ireland after Partition
James Craig was correct in referring to the south as a Catholic State. It was no secret that the Catholic Church exercised undue control and influence over just about every aspect of Irish life for sixty or so years after the Civil War, with the tacit agreement of successive governments.
The men who prevailed in the
Irish
Civil War that ended in 1923 were not Irish Republicans or Gaelic revivalists ---they were power brokers who had collaborated with the British in return for the reins of power in the newly formed Irish Free State. Unpopular and mistrusted in a deeply divided country they forced thousands of vanquished Republicans and Gaelic revivalists into involuntary exile by the use of systemic sidelining and intimidation. They had learned their lessons well.
Unlike the responsibilities that present-day governments have
in dealing with
a shortage
social and affordable housing, subpar healthcare and homelessness, albeit with little success, back in the day such issues were taken care of by emigration, a godsend, a safety valve the government maintained in fine fettle. Immigration continued unabated in a never ending ebbing and flowing stream of Irelands youth into the 1980s and sporadically thereafter.
During WWII as many as
60,000 Irishmen and women joined the British army of which 10,000 or so perished. After the war ended, Irishmen and women flocked to England by the tens of thousands to rebuild cities and factories and fill all kind of jobs in every conceivable industry.
In the absence of immigration, imagine if you will, Ireland having to cope with hundreds of thousands of idle able bodied men and women.
Irish governments are not problem solvers. They tend to let others take the lead in staging or framing government policy. They always seem to be behind the proverbial eight ball. So, no one should be surprised that they have not moved on reunification, an issue that requires vision, courage and resolve.
Click
HERE for more information on Southern Ireland
England’s other Ignored Options.
If Ireland were not partitioned in 1921 what other options were available to the British government given the situation on the ground at that time? Let's see.
Option 1, a negotiated British withdrawal would be the desired outcome. It would have allowed for a peaceful transfer of government powers and sovereignty. It would also have allowed Nationalists and Unionists to agree on how to govern a united Ireland where differing religion beliefs and cultural identities could be accommodated.
Option 2,
Home Rule for all of Ireland would more than likely have resulted in a civil war between supporters of an all-Ireland Republic and supporters of the status quo or possibly, an independent Unionists state in Ulster. Without British interference supporters of an all-Ireland Republic would probably prevail owing to overwhelming numbers and a historically justifiable cause. In that event, there probably would be an exodus of Unionists to Scotland to avoid reprisals or to avoid living in what they considered would be a papist state.
After the Easter Rising of 1916, Home Rule had few takers in Ireland. Independence was the order of the day.
Option 3, a resumption of the
Irish War of Independence
would result in an all-out effort by the British to defeat the Irish Republican Army. The Irish Republican Army would not go quietly into the night. They would have switched to a more sustainable long term form of guerrilla warfare. Eventually, the British would have relented to international pressure and/or war fatigue and agreed to a settlement entailing a withdrawal from all of Ireland.
Option 4, a unilateral British withdrawal as opposed to an orderly negotiated withdrawal would have the same impact as the second option.
Conclusion
For those of us who advocate for a peaceful reunited Ireland, it’s important to understand what has transpired over these past hundred plus years of politicking and warfare since Ireland was partitioned. One thing that is easy to understand is that partitions has been an abject failure as evident by the killings, destruction and chaos left in its wake.
Given the options available to the British in 1920 to right the mess they had created, they choose partition, the option that would cause the most harm over time. What is obvious from an analysis of the situation on the ground at that time is that a planned British withdrawal would have been the best option but unfortunately that was never the intent.
That brings us back to the present and the legacy that partition has wrought. From the onset partition was an evil colonial era construct designed to continue the subjugation of the Irish people. It’s obvious from what has transpired that the damaged caused by partition cannot be repaired or rebranded as that has been tried over and over again, only to make it worse. It was a vile policy that should never have been implemented, it should
no more than a footnote in Irish history.
After the formation of
the Irish Free State in 1922, no Irish government made partition a national policy issue. When the issue of partition forces itself to the front of the news, the Irish government supports whatever the British do to handle the situation be it to subdue opponents or pacify malcontents. Unfortunately, it may take decades and a new generation of leaders to restore Irelands honor and nationhood.
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