Introduction
The purpose of this site is to chronicle the events that took place in Ireland in the years 1919 to 1923, frequently referred to as the War of Independence and the Civil War (or, more colloquially, as the ‘Troubles’). It is intended to bring together information from a large number of (mostly secondary) sources and, as the information builds up, to provide a comprehensive overview of the period. The main purpose is not to comment on the events but rather let the sources speak for themselves. However, attention will be drawn to anywhere there are conflicts between different sources.
I should point out that I am not an historian (I am a humble educational psychologist!). I have constructed this site out of interest and also, as can be seen elsewhere on this site, I am also interested in the educational uses of new technologies.
I would greatly welcome any comments you have on the site. In particular, I would like to hear about any errors or alternative versions of the events described. If you have any comments, please e-mail them to me with, where appropriate, references to the alternative sources. My e-mail address is foxs@dcu.ie
Latest Update
The August 2008 update of this chronology has added information from a large number of sources. The main ones have centred around what was happening in the north-east of Ireland over the 1919-1923 period. The character of the events in this region (especially in Belfast) were significantly different from what was happening on the rest of the island of Ireland. In addition, I have strayed outside the 1919-1923 period to include events in 1924 and 1925. However, in these two years, only events associated with the Army Mutiny of 1924 and the Boundary Commission are chronicled. My reasoning for including these is that I see the Army Mutiny and the Boundary Commission are essentially 'left-over' events from the 1919-1923 period. The chronology of 1924 and 1925 does not aim at the comprehensiveness of the previous years. For example, no attempt is made to chronicle the many issues facing the Free State and Northern Ireland governments as they set about building the two new states on the island.