Fianna Fail in Power – Political Developments

Fianna Fail in Power – Political Developments

Dismantling the Treaty

1. Treaty not sacrosanct. Collins had seen potential for development. ‘‘Stepping stone'' etc.

2. Required mechanisms & political will and imagination to make changes.

3. Circumstances that facilitated amending the Treaty - international forum (League of Nations), British politics distracted by rise of dictators, British domestic problems and the Statute of Westminster.

4. Fianna Fail coming to power in 1932 saw the beginning of the dismantling of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. 

Background

1. Fianna Fail established in 1926 when Sinn Fein split.

2. Fianna Fail take their seats in the Dail after 1927 election. Propose referendum to abolish oath.

3. General Election Feb.1932 – Fianna Fail in power with the support of the Labour Party. De Valera called a second election in Jan. 1933 and won an overall majority.

4. The transition to power was regarded as a major test of democracy in Ireland – would Cumann na nGaedheal hand over power to their enemies of the civil war?

5. Cosgrave played an important role in ensuring a smooth transition of power.

6. Fianna Fail were to rule for the next 16 years

Changing the Constitution

1. De Valera was able to use the Statute of Westminster to take apart the Anglo-Irish Treaty – between 1932 and 1937 he passed a series of laws that gave greater independence to Ireland and by 1937 Ireland was a republic in all but name.

2. Removal of Oath Act introduced Spring 1932, passed May 1933 using Statute of Westminster.

3. Fianna Fail withheld the land annuities (payments to the British government for the purchase of land from landlords) – leads to beginning of Economic War.

4. Fianna Fail removed the Governor-General and abolished the office totally in the 1937 Constitution, replacing him with a President. 

5. De Valera introduced the 1937 Constitution which made “Ireland a republic in all but name”.

6. However, Ireland did not leave the Commonwealth, probably to avoid antagonising the British. 

The New Constitution 1937

1. Bunreacht na hEireann was introduced in 1937 and included several important new provisions.

2. The name of the country was changed from the Irish Free State to Eire.

3. Articles 2 and 3 claimed the right to rule over the north of Ireland.

4. The head of state was to be a President – the first President was Douglas Hyde.

5. The head of the government was called the Taoiseach.

6. The state recognised the special position of the Catholic Church and also the importance of the family unit.

De Valera and the IRA

1. On assuming power Fianna Fail released imprisoned IRA prisoners. 

2. Men who had served on the anti-treaty side were given pensions etc. and republicans who had lost property were compensated.

3. Dismantling the treaty won many IRA men over.

4. However others in the IRA was disappointed with the slow pace of change towards the formation of a republic.

5. De Valera recruited IRA men into the Broy Harriers and a Volunteer Force set up as a branch of the army.

6. IRA lost support as its reputation was damaged by its clashes with the Blueshirts and by the fact that it was a secret, violent and armed organisation in a democracy.

7. Fianna Fail now viewed the IRA as a threat. They used the machinery of repression - in 1935 and 1936 the same laws that had been used against the Blueshirts were used against the IRA. In 1936 the IRA was proclaimed an illegal body and its Chief of Staff was imprisoned.

De Valera and the Blueshirts

1. When de Valera took over the government he released members of the IRA from prison – they soon became involved in clashes with Cumann na nGaedhael supporters.

2. The Army Comrades Association (ACA) composed of ex-soldiers from the Free State Army protected Cumann na nGaedhael meetings from attack.

3. They began to wear blue shirts and because of this were called the Blueshirts – they used a fascist salute.

4. They elected a new leader, Eoin O’Duffy, who had been sacked by de Valera as Garda Commissioner, and he planned a march in Dublin to commemorate the deaths of Collins and Griffith. De Valera regarded them as fascists and, fearing a Mussolini-style “March on Rome”, banned the march. The Blueshirts merged with Cumann na nGaedhael to form a new political party, Fine Gael – O’Duffy became its leader but was soon dropped as he was so poor and W.T. Cosgrave took over.

Rise of Fianna Fail to Power

King Edward VIIIs Abdication speech