Irish History: Context and Reactions to the 1920 Government of Ireland
Act
Aims of the 1920 Government of Ireland Act
● The British Government wanted to find a political solution to the
Anglo-Irish War (to accompany their military campaign).
● Grant Home Rule to a 26-county South and a 6-county North, thus
resolving the Irish nationalist question
○ 1918: the British Government promised to explore “all practical
paths” towards a solution to the Irish Question
○ At this stage, Sinn Fein had moved on to a republican cause, and
the 1920 Government of Ireland Act (GOIA) demonstrated “just
how out of touch the government was in relation to Ireland”
(Rees)
○ The GOIA was “essentially constructed to solve Irish problems as
they stood in 1914, not in 1920” (Foster)
● Take the “Ulster Question” out of British politics
○ This is part of the reason that the Ulster Unionists were given a
Belfast parliament, to remove the issue from Westminster.
● Leave the way for direct conflict with Sinn Fein
○ The British expected that Sinn Fein would reject the GOIA, which
they hoped would cost them valuable support (especially from the
Americans) for rejecting a reasonable offer.
○ The British believed that “respectable Irishmen” (Greenwood,
Chief Secretary for Ireland) would lay down their arms in
response to the GOIA.
● Some historians argue that the “British government had no policy
whatsoever” (Townsend), focusing on out-of-date potential solutions
which were never going to work.
, Terms of the 1920 Government of Ireland Act
● Two separate Home Rule parliaments (one of a 26-county Irish Free
State in Dublin, one of a six-county Northern Ireland in Belfast)
○ This “highlighted just how out of touch the government was in
relation to Ireland. By this point Sinn Fein did not regard Home
Rule even worth considering” (Rees)
● Election to the parliaments on a basis of proportional representation
○ Minorities (ie. Northern nationalists and Southern Unionists)
would be represented in each parliament
● Establishment of the Council of Ireland to handle common issues, with
the hope of cooperation leading to unity.
○ However, this cooperation was dependent on the willingness of
the Ulster Unionists to participate. When they were not willing, the
Council became virtually obsolete.
○ “One final appeal to the old Liberal Party idea of Home Rule for
the whole of Ireland”- Adelman
Negotiating the 1920 Government of Ireland Act
● September 1919: A British cabinet committee is established to consider
the Irish Question.
○ The Chairman is Walter Long, former leader of the Ulster Unionist
Party.
○ The Unionists dominated negotiations, leading to
“Ulster-centricity” (Fanning)
○ Sinn Fein refused to take their seats at Westminster, and did not
contribute.
● Unionist domination meant that there was “no imaginative, fresh
approach to the Home Rule issue” (Rees)
● Long’s committee preferred the idea of a nine-county Ulster state.
Act
Aims of the 1920 Government of Ireland Act
● The British Government wanted to find a political solution to the
Anglo-Irish War (to accompany their military campaign).
● Grant Home Rule to a 26-county South and a 6-county North, thus
resolving the Irish nationalist question
○ 1918: the British Government promised to explore “all practical
paths” towards a solution to the Irish Question
○ At this stage, Sinn Fein had moved on to a republican cause, and
the 1920 Government of Ireland Act (GOIA) demonstrated “just
how out of touch the government was in relation to Ireland”
(Rees)
○ The GOIA was “essentially constructed to solve Irish problems as
they stood in 1914, not in 1920” (Foster)
● Take the “Ulster Question” out of British politics
○ This is part of the reason that the Ulster Unionists were given a
Belfast parliament, to remove the issue from Westminster.
● Leave the way for direct conflict with Sinn Fein
○ The British expected that Sinn Fein would reject the GOIA, which
they hoped would cost them valuable support (especially from the
Americans) for rejecting a reasonable offer.
○ The British believed that “respectable Irishmen” (Greenwood,
Chief Secretary for Ireland) would lay down their arms in
response to the GOIA.
● Some historians argue that the “British government had no policy
whatsoever” (Townsend), focusing on out-of-date potential solutions
which were never going to work.
, Terms of the 1920 Government of Ireland Act
● Two separate Home Rule parliaments (one of a 26-county Irish Free
State in Dublin, one of a six-county Northern Ireland in Belfast)
○ This “highlighted just how out of touch the government was in
relation to Ireland. By this point Sinn Fein did not regard Home
Rule even worth considering” (Rees)
● Election to the parliaments on a basis of proportional representation
○ Minorities (ie. Northern nationalists and Southern Unionists)
would be represented in each parliament
● Establishment of the Council of Ireland to handle common issues, with
the hope of cooperation leading to unity.
○ However, this cooperation was dependent on the willingness of
the Ulster Unionists to participate. When they were not willing, the
Council became virtually obsolete.
○ “One final appeal to the old Liberal Party idea of Home Rule for
the whole of Ireland”- Adelman
Negotiating the 1920 Government of Ireland Act
● September 1919: A British cabinet committee is established to consider
the Irish Question.
○ The Chairman is Walter Long, former leader of the Ulster Unionist
Party.
○ The Unionists dominated negotiations, leading to
“Ulster-centricity” (Fanning)
○ Sinn Fein refused to take their seats at Westminster, and did not
contribute.
● Unionist domination meant that there was “no imaginative, fresh
approach to the Home Rule issue” (Rees)
● Long’s committee preferred the idea of a nine-county Ulster state.
