Friday 19 June 2009

Partition and repartition, part 1

Northern Ireland is a state created by partition, and it is therefore not surprising that both those who support its existence and those who oppose its existence continue to argue over the rights and wrongs of partition.

Though this blog considers the partition of Ireland to have been wrong – democratically, culturally, economically, socially … in every respect, in fact – and considers that a further repartition is not the solution to the problems created by partition, the continuing interest in the topic means that it deserves at least to be discussed.

Over the next week or so this blog will look at some of the proposals that have been made, and will try to assess them dispassionately. First, though, it is useful to remind ourselves of how the situation arose in the first place.

Almost before the ink was dry on the 1800 Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland nationalists started working towards its repeal. For reasons that are still debated, the earlier support amongst northern Presbyterians for the United Irishmen disappeared, to be replaced by strong support amongst most northern Protestants, for the Union with Britain. This started to pose problems for the growing Home Rule movement when they strongly opposed it, and opted for continuing close ties with Britain.

Home Rule

The various Home Rule bills came and went, with the First World War intervening at a crucial time in the passage into law of the 1914 Government of Ireland Act, which would have led to devolution for the whole of Ireland. The Act was suspended, and then overtaken by evens – the 1916 Easter Rising, the 1918 Election, the War of Independence, before being replaced by the new Government of Ireland Act of 1920.

The Rising, the election, and the War of Independence led the British to conclude that the 1914 Act was inadequate. The 1916 Rising, though a seminal event for nationalism, probably had a negative effect on the prospects of northern unionists acquiescing to Home Rule. The 1918 election, on the other hand, demonstrated clearly that the desire for autonomy in Ireland was strong and shared by the majority of the voters. Including the uncontested constituencies (25 of the 105), it is estimated that the Sinn Féin share of the vote would have been around 53%, with an additional 22% going to the Irish Nationalist Party and other nationalists. Sinn Féin alone won 73 of the 105 seats, thus giving it, under the British system used for this election, an overwhelming majority.

Government of Ireland Act, 1920

Two attempts were made by the British Prime Minister Asquith during the First World War to implement the Home Rule Act, first in May 1916 which failed, then again in 1917 with the calling of the Irish Convention which led to a cabinet Committee for Ireland, under the chairmanship of former Ulster Unionist Party leader Walter Long, who pushed for a radical new idea – the creation of two Irish home rule entities, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland with unicameral parliaments. The House of Lords amended the old 1914 Bill accordingly, to create a new Act with two bicameral parliaments, "consisting of His Majesty, the Senate of (Northern or Southern) Ireland, and the House of Commons of (Northern or Southern) Ireland", in an essentially confederal Ireland. Northern Ireland was defined for the purposes of this act as "the parliamentary counties of Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone, and the parliamentary boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry …" The Act saw both parts of Ireland having identical arrangements with an overarching Council of Ireland.

The choice of counties to include in the new Northern Ireland seems to have depended mainly upon the areas that the unionist leaders felt that they could dominate and control. While the 1912 Covenant referred only to 'Ulster', it soon became clear that unionism would not have a majority in the whole province. In the 1918 election unionist candidates got 58% of the votes in 9-county Ulster, with nationalists getting 39%, but this underestimates nationalist support, as Sinn Féin were returned unopposed in both Cavan constituencies. If an estimate is made of their support there, the nationalist minority would be over 41%. Unionist leaders were concerned that they would have trouble dominating such a large minority, and opted rather for a smaller, more manageable 6-county state, excluding the three counties with large nationalist majorities. This gave them a 66%-31% majority. The fact that their chosen counties contained large numbers of nationalists did not concern them hugely – their aim was to retain as many unionists within their territory as possible.

The Treaty

The Treaty between Britain and the Sinn Féin leadership in Ireland that ended the War of Independence went further, and while it allowed for the creation of an Irish Free State, it permitted the Northern Parliament to opt out of it:

11. Until the expiration of one month from the passing of the Act of Parliament for the ratification of this instrument, the powers of the Parliament and the Government of the Irish Free State shall not be exercisable as respects Northern Ireland, and the provisions of the Government of Ireland Act 1920, shall, so far as they relate to Northern Ireland remain of full force and effect, and no election shall be held for the return of members to serve in the Parliament of the Irish Free State for constituencies in Northern Ireland, unless a resolution is passed by both Houses of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in favour of the holding of such elections before the end of the said month.

12. If before the expiration of the said month, an address is presented to His Majesty by both Houses of the Parliament of Northern Ireland to that effect, the powers of the Parliament and the Government of the Irish Free State shall no longer extend to Northern Ireland, and the provisions of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, (including those relating to the Council of Ireland) shall so far as they relate to Northern Ireland, continue to be of full force and effect, and this instrument shall have effect subject to the necessary modifications.


Needless to say, the unionist-dominated Parliament of Northern Ireland presented the necessary 'address', and the 1920 Government of Ireland Act remained in force as the Constitution of Northern Ireland until its repeal in 1999. The subtle text of the Treaty also replaced the Council of Ireland with an umbrella authority by the Free State over the north (the Free State would, in effect, have the powers that the Council would have had). Needless to say, this contributed to unionist resistance, and once the 'address' was made these overarching powers disappeared, and the Council of Ireland with it.

So by a series of legislative manoeuvres, assisted by the military weakness of the IRA, the military strength of Britain, and the geographic concentration of unionists in north-east Ulster, Ireland was now effectively partitioned. All that remained was to fix the border. Although the Government of Ireland Act specified the six counties as constituting Northern Ireland, the Treaty (Article 12) went on to say that:

Provided that if such an address is so presented a Commission consisting of three persons, one to be appointed by the Government of the Irish Free State, one to be appointed by the Government of Northern Ireland, and one who shall be Chairman to be appointed by the British Government shall determine in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants, so far as may be compatible with economic and geographic conditions the boundaries between Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland, and for the purposes of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, and of this instrument, the boundary of Northern Ireland shall be such as may be determined by such Commission.

[Next post: The Boundary Commission]

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Horseman,

Great post, we all would have studied this at school but for lots of people, myself included, this would have been many years ago.

The Boundary Commission Blog will make great reading, cant wait

MPG .....

Anonymous said...

The unionist leaders were very short-sighted. They should have created a small and compact state, surrendering areas with a sizable Catholic population to the state of Ireland. They should have strived to have as small a minority group as possible. It was a bad mistake. Unionists are paying for this mistake today.

Anonymous said...

Unionists will again be striving for a smaller Orange state as soon as the nationalist demographics are getting too close for comfort. They will hold six counties for as long as they can and then when six is patently untenable they will push for 2-3 rather than unification. This is a predictable event.

It makes a complete mockery of their love for "Ulster". They greedily sold out three of their beloved Ulster's counties to ensure a stronger Unionist majority and will dump off Fermanagh and Armagh in future if it preserves partition.

Love Ulster, indeed.

Anonymous said...

I doubt that they would get away with it again. The world watched with aghast as the former Yugoslavia disentegrated and the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia led to the fall of a Dutch Government. Can you imagine what would happen if certain people tried to "cleanse" the nationalist areas in Antrim and Down. The British Government has agreed to abide by the decision of the majority in the north and I reckon it would be up to them to enforce that decision.

MPG .....

hoboroad said...

They stood by in Rwanda.But they were not white europeans.There have been a lot of modern day massacres carried out far away from the tv cameras gaze.East Timor Cambodia Burma Tibet.

Anonymous said...

How many of these countries have had a significant input into finding solutions by the US and by its President dirctly?

Would these countries generate the kind of interest that Ireland can in the US?----40 or so million claim to be of Irish stock.

The wear withal is there and I believe the willingness will also!


MPG .....

hoboroad said...

Yes Barack Obama has no real love for Britain unlike previous presidents.You cannot blame him they did torture his Grandfather in the 1950's.He looks like he will last two terms and will maybe have a say in who replaces him.The Democratic Party as a whole do not have much empthy for Britain.And the Republican Party is currently fighting amongst itself if this continues the party will implode!

hoboroad said...

And Joe Biden's political hero is Wolfe Tone!

Pedro said...

The unionist leaders were very short-sighted.
This has been the case over and over again; historically there has been pattern of unionism shooting itself in the foot. If they had not resisted Home Rule in 1912 the whole of Ireland could still conceivably be in the UK with a fairly anaemic regional parliament.

hoboroad said...

Yes if Home Rule Rule had been given a chance by the Unionists.But it was not it is like Sunningdale it was brought down by a loyalist strike.Jim Allister I here feels sorry now about that missed chance.In a couple of years time we will hear from Unionists what a missed chance the Anglo-Irish agreement was.The only time Unionists jump is when the British Government cuts some kind of deal with Dublin and or Northern Nationalists.

hoboroad said...

It is no wonder people do deals behind Unionists back when they will not sit down in a room with their neighbours!You will also hear Unionists say they have made concessions to nationalists no they have not the British Government have made them on there behalf.And you only have to look back at how Unionist have described various direct rule ministers to see how they feel about those decisions!

Anonymous said...

I still think the unionists great mistake was taking way too much land in the partition. Maybe it was greed? Or arrogance? But it was a mistake. Having a minority group of 30-35% that is (justly) opposed to you and the new state is just way, way too high a number to ensure success. Consider the Republic of Ireland. Once it separated from Britain in the 1920's the Protestants there were never a problem for the Irish unlike the Catholics in the north for the unionists. The difference was the numbers. The percentage of Protestants in the Republic was very much smaller. They simply were not enough of them to matter. The unionists should have taken less land and created a more homogeneous Protestant stae. IN THE LONG RUN, they would have been much better off. Consider too the "domino efefct". As there would have been fewer and fewer Catholics in the north and protestants comprising such a higher percentage of citizenry it would have been ever harder for Catholics to maintain community institutions. This would have facilitated migration, etc. The Protestants were very foolish. They didn't think LONG-TERM.

hoboroad said...

How come so many American Presidents who came from a Ulster Protestant heritage do not want anything to do with Northern Ireland?In fact some some have been so anti-British it would make some republicans blush!A lot of people of the Protestant tradition including Richard Nixon and George Bush senior who's forefathers came from County Down seem not to care!Is it because the Kennedy Family and the Democratic Party machine have the Irish vote tied up all to themselves?

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 18.36

Yes, they were both greedy and arrogant in grabbing as much as they could. They then created, with the British turning a blind eye, a sectarian state that was unwelcoming for those nationalist caught on the wrong side of the border.I believe its first PM is quoted as saying that he would not have a catholic about the place, supposedly his estate but more likely the 6 counties.

Meanwhile in the 26 counties, the Protestant population has sadly declined but those that stayed and participated in the new state prospered. Protestants in the south would be more likely to be more prosperous that the general population and are fully integrated into the fabric of society. They have been and are well represented in the business life and governance of the Irish state.

I can remember a conversation with a neighbor, who is a member of the COI, where he was absolutely disgusted by the behavior of members of his own church in the North at Drumcree at the height of the disturbances there and the fact that the parishioner had allowed their church to be misused and abuse by an unruly mob (Unionist politicians included).

MPG .....

hoboroad said...

Lord Brookeborough was a classical Unionist Hypocrite!All for a strong border except when it came to his own cross-border livestock smuggling!

Anonymous said...

hoboroad,
You are a great man for the little nuggets. Pray tell, where do you get them?

MPG .....

hoboroad said...

Anonymous

Mostly from books the Brookeborough tale comes from The Troubles by Tim Pat Coogan

hoboroad said...

The Bush family come from Rathfriland in County Down a Boston Genealogist has claimed only they were called Halliday back in them days!

hoboroad said...

I got that one from Northern Ireland A Political Directory 1968-1988 by WD Flackes and Sydney Elliott

hoboroad said...

And reading that book its amazing how many Unionist politicans went to Trinity College Dublin!

hoboroad said...

I see UCUNF is joining up with the Polish Law and Justice party and the Cezh Republics Civic Union Party according to Sky News.

Watcher said...

Anonymous said:

"Unionists will again be striving for a smaller Orange state as soon as the nationalist demographics are getting too close for comfort. They will hold six counties for as long as they can and then when six is patently untenable they will push for 2-3 rather than unification. This is a predictable event.

It makes a complete mockery of their love for "Ulster". They greedily sold out three of their beloved Ulster's counties to ensure a stronger Unionist majority and will dump off Fermanagh and Armagh in future if it preserves partition.

Love Ulster, indeed."

It depends what you mean by Ulster. The 9 county Ulster (including it's county borders) was defined by The English in the seventeenth century and had been many different shapes and sizes before that. Ulster to me is BRITISH Ulster, that territory where most of The Ulster British live, not the scraps left behind in Ireland. I notice the Irish have hardly been single minded in recovering any of the six counties which they 'greedily sold out' at partition all those years ago.

You are, of course, correct, in the event of a break down of The UK, Loyalists will seek an independent BRITISH Ulster, not a United Ireland.

Watcher said...

Anonymous said:

"I doubt that they would get away with it again. The world watched with aghast as the former Yugoslavia disentegrated and the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia led to the fall of a Dutch Government. Can you imagine what would happen if certain people tried to "cleanse" the nationalist areas in Antrim and Down. The British Government has agreed to abide by the decision of the majority in the north and I reckon it would be up to them to enforce that decision.

MPG ....."

You seem to forget my friend that The Bosnian Serb Republic was not only created, but is now internationally recognised. A full merger with Serbia would be a formality at some mutually convenient date.

I find your faith in The British Government very moving.

Watcher said...

Anonymous said:

"How many of these countries have had a significant input into finding solutions by the US and by its President dirctly?

Would these countries generate the kind of interest that Ireland can in the US?----40 or so million claim to be of Irish stock.

The wear withal is there and I believe the willingness will also!"

Highly amusing. The USA doesn't give a rats ass about Ireland - only The Irish believe it does.

Anonymous said...

bring back all ireland home rule under the british goverment. this is the best solution. and get out of the EU. create a stronger better ireland. not a debt ridden one.

Paddy Canuck said...

Watcher said:

"You are, of course, correct, in the event of a break down of The UK, Loyalists will seek an independent BRITISH Ulster, not a United Ireland."

Yeah... Texas was independent for a while after it left Mexico... till the majority voted for union. :)