Cumann na nGaedheal

Title: The Free State under Cumann na nGaedheal (1923-1932)

Keywords:• Public Safety Acts• Gardai Siochana• Eoin O’Duffy• Kevin Higgins• Army Mutiny

• Agricultural Credit Corporation• Shannon Scheme• Bord na Mona• Statute of Westminster• Electoral Amendment Act

August 1923 General Election

Cumann na Ngaedheal 63 SeatsSinn Fein 44 SeatsFarmers Party 15 SeatsLabour Party 14 SeatsIndependents 17 Seats

• In the election the Irish public largely backed the pro-treaty party Cumann na nGaedheal

• Sinn Fein’s refusal to take their seats would ensure no opposition to Cosgrave within the Dail

• President of Executive Council - William T. Cosgrave• Minister for Home Affairs – Kevin O’Higgins• Minister for Finance – Earnest Blythe• Minister for Defence – Richard Mulcahy• Minister for Education – Eoin MacNeill

Key Figures of the Government

The ‘New’ Government• Government adopted a conservative policies in all

areas of administration that often differed little from British rule

• This conservatism is sometimes seen as a failure of the government

• Others argue that the ‘new’ independent Ireland needed stability and conservative policies were exactly what Ireland needed to survive independence

An Garda Siochana• Re-establishing law and order was key to the new

government• A new unarmed police force, the Civic Guard was

established. (Take the gun out of Irish life)• Made up mostly of former pro-treaty IRA men• Renamed ‘Garda Síochána’ in 1924• Public Safety Act 1923 gave ministers the power to order

the internment of anyone they felt was a risk to the security of the state.

• A courts system was also established (High, circuit, district) under the Courts of Justice Act (1924)

The Army Mutiny 1924• Government wanted to reduce the size of the army from

49,000 to about 20,000• Army officers didn’t trust the Minister Richard Mulcahy

feeling he would force many IRA men to retire• The also complained about being force to take a pay cut• They didn’t want British officers training Irish soldiers and

felt the Free State should push for a 32-county Ireland• Mulcahy receives reports that IRA members in the army

were about to seize barracks around the country.• Officers then send a letter to the government demanding

-an end to demobilisation (not reduce numbers in army)-an end to pay cuts in the army-the government should push for a 32 country republic

• Mulcahy orders the arrest of the officers leading the mutiny

• The government appoints Eoin O’Duffy as General Officer of the army behind the back of the Minister Richard Mulcahy.

• Vice President Kevin O’Higgins orders Mulcahy to resign as Defence Minister as it was clear he had lost control of the army

• Cosgrave offers to negotiate with the army • O’Higgins and Cosgrave now ensured that the Army was

answerable to the government

The Army Mutiny 1924

Compromises:- review of who would be force to retire (Army reduced to 15,000)- return of all officers to their previous positions - introduction of army pension.

Consequences• Up to crisis - army was semi-independent• After crisis - government firmly in control of army• The Government had weathered it’s first crisis and had

succeeded in establishing control

The Army Mutiny 1924

Boundary Commission

= Mainly Catholic

= Mainly Protestant

Boundary Commission

= Mainly Catholic

= Mainly Protestant

Boundary Commission 1925• This was established under the terms of the Anglo-

Irish treaty of 1921. The commission was made up of 3 men, Mr Justice Richard Feetham (Chairman), Eoin MacNeill (Irish Free State) and J.R. Fisher (Northern Ireland)

• Met between November 1924 and November 1925• Work of the Boundary Commission was meant to be

kept secret.• It was expected that the heavily Catholic areas of

Fermanagh and Armagh would be ceded to the South.

• However, the ‘Morning post’ newpaper leaked a report of the commissions findings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6IcpMCv-2E

• The Catholic areas would be exchanged for parts of East Donegal which was protestant.

• Cosgrave insisted no part of the free state would be given. MacNeill resigned in response to the article.

• A conference was called to find a solution. Ireland was represented by Kevin O’Higgins and the following was decided upon:-The report to be supressed-The border would be left unaltered-Ireland would be relieved of certain financial commitments

• While a political headache for CnaG, most people in Ireland viewed the incident with indifference

• members of the IRA believed that violence represented the only was to achieve a republic

Boundary Commission 1925

Foreign Policy:• The new government wanted to assert Ireland’s independence. The

free state applied to the League of Nations and was admitted on the 23rd of September 1923. Cumann na nGaedheal also sent Ambassadors to many countries starting with the USA.

• The British & Free state met to discuss financial arrangements in the aftermath of the treaty. An arrangement was signed in March 1926. It stated Ireland would pay:Land AnnuitiesRIC pensionsIn return, Ireland did not have to pay for military equipment supplied by Britain during the civil war.

• A number of imperial conferences were held to ensure the successful running of the empire. At these conferences, the free state continued to push for further independence.

• At the 1926 conference, largely thanks to the work of Kevin O’Higgins, dominions were granted full rights as sovereign states. (Previously the laws of England overruled the Dominion’s laws)

• This became known as the ‘Balfour definition’. This legislation was followed in 1931 with the passing of the ‘Statute of Westminster’.

• This act allowed commonwealth dominions to “accept, amend or annul” any existing and future British legislation. In effect this meant that Ireland could abolish existing laws from the pre-free state days, particularly the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921.

• CnaG didn’t immediately abolish the Treaty as they had done well in the previous decade and didn’t want to rock the political boat

The Economy:• The treaty had given the free state complete economic

independence. Ireland now had to rely on their own economic resources without the North-east, it’s most industrial region.

• Loans were obtained and the government succeeded in establishing a stable currency. The economic policy was generally conservative.

• Taxes were low (17%) but this meant government spending was low. Pensions were cut, relief to the poor was almost non-existent.

• Public housing was insufficient to meet demand. • Emigration and unemployment remained high.

Industry:• An ambitious project was started on the River

Shannon in Co. Clare, with the Ardnacrusha Hydro-electric power station. It became known as the Shannon scheme.

• The Electical Supply Board was established in 1927 and helped change the face of rural Ireland.

• These improvements saw the economy stabilise and put the country on a firm if unspectacular financial footing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2C7_a1xe6c

Agriculture:• Two-thirds of Ireland’s population lived in rural areas and

so was important• Patrick Hogan(Minister for Agriculture), introduced acts

that allowed inspectors on agriculture production. This saw the standard of Irish agriculture improve.

• However, the government only favoured very limited protectionism and some areas suffered as a result.

• A sugar beet factory was established in 1926 and by 1930 had become an exporter of sugar.

• In 1927 the Agricultural Credit Corporation was set up to provide loans for farmers, though initially few availed of this new facility.

Industrial and Social Unrest• Major Post office Strike in September 1922• In 1924 Government cut the old age pension by 10% and

restricts unemployment payments• Government cuts wages for Civil Servants, Teachers and

Gardai• Major strike against wage cuts in Limerick during the

construction of Ardnacrusha Power Station in 1925-26• Weathering these storms was important for the new

government. However, it was clear by the end of the 1920’s that the Irish electorate were looking for an alternative after years of single party rule.

1927 - The Assassination of Kevin O’Higgins

• 10 July 1927, Kevin O’Higgins assassinated by two IRA men on his way to mass in Booterstown, Co. Dublin.

• The assassination brought back memories of the civil war.

• The government responded by introducing three new Bills in the Dail

• The Public Safety Bill made the IRA illegal.• The Constitutional Amendment Bill removed the provision

for referendum• Previously a petition signed by 75,000 people could force a

referendum on a constitutional amendment.• The Electoral Amendment Bill stated that all elected TD’s

must take their seats in the Dail or resign• A by-election would then be called to fill the vacancy.• This was important as it now forced DeValera and his

Fianna Fail party to take their seats in the Dail

Effects of the Assassination of O’Higgins