A Bitter Winter, Midnight in London & The Split.

A Bitter Winter

The Irish Civil War 1922-23.

In this challenging but fair account of the Irish Civil War, Colum Kenny sets out relevant tragic events of 1922 to 1923 in a clear and succinct way. He highlights in graphic detail the main moments of a war between former friends. Arguing that it is not possible to suspend judgement about a dispute that threatened the democratic foundation of the Irish state, and that gave solace to its enemies, he presents a balanced analysis of what happened during those two turbulent years.

Referring to activists on both sides such as Michael Collins, Harry Boland, Mary McSwiney and Richard Mulcahy, the author explains that the Civil War was bubbling from early 1922. Reflecting on the lasting bitterness engendered by civil war, a bitterness that broke Arthur Griffith’s heart and contributed to his early death in 1922, Kenny relates the Civil War to current tensions surrounding the future of Northern Ireland.

 Midnight in London

On the dramatic night of 5-6 December 1921, Irish Delegates at Downing Street signed an agreement for a treaty to end the War of Independence and to create a new Irish state. This is the story of that fraught midnight deal, and of the events and people that lay behind it. The story is told from original sources and eyewitness accounts, and brings to life the Treaty that sparked a Civil War but made modern Ireland.

Irish negotiators were under great pressure, caught between an ultimatum from Prime Minister Lloyd George to sign or face outright war, and a refusal by the President of Dáil Éireann, Éamon de Valera, to lead them in London. For two months Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins and three other delegates faced some of the most powerful men in the British Empire, including Winston Churchill and Austen Chamberlain. Kenny turns a spotlight on the key issues and the problems they faced.

The Split

The Treaty, Civil War and partition profoundly shaped the Ireland in which we live. To mark the centenary of the Treaty and Civil War, History Ireland has produced a special supplement, The Split: From Treaty to Civil War 1921–23, featuring historians and writers. The Split introduces ground-breaking articles on women and the Treaty, the role of Eamon de Valera, the establishment of the Gardaí, the dead of the Civil War, the global reaction to Ireland’s independence, and the violence inside the new Northern Ireland state and along the border. It discusses controversial questions regarding Michael Collins and military dictatorship, why the Free State won the Civil War and how Northern Ireland came into being. It looks at how the war has been remembered and asks whether the era of Civil War politics has ended.