Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1845-51
A mould called phytophthora ravages the potato harvest. The Great Famine is the single greatest
catastrophe in Irish history, with the deaths of up to one million people.
1867
Several thousand supporters of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) fight the police in Tallaght;
they disperse and some 200 agitators are arrested.
1882
An offshoot of the IRB, known as the Invincibles, assassinate the Chief Secretary and his assistant
in the Phoenix Park.
1905
Journalist Arthur Griffiths founds a new movement whose aim is independence under a dual mon-
archy; he names the movement Sinn Féin, meaning 'ourselves alone'.
1913
The largest labour dispute in Irish history sees 25,000 Dublin workers 'locked out' for six months by
defiant employers.
1916
Republicans take the GPO in Dublin and announce the formation of an Irish Republic. After less than
a week of fighting, the rebels surrender and are summarily executed.
1919-21
The Irish War of Independence begins in January 1919. Two years (and 2014 casualties) later, the
war ends in a truce on 11 July 1921, leading to peace talks.
1921-22
The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed on 6 December. It gives 26 counties of Ireland independence and
six Ulster counties the choice of opting out. The Irish Free State is founded in 1922.
1948
Fine Gael, in coalition with the new Republican Clann na Poblachta, wins the 1948 general election
and declares the Free State a republic.
