CONTESTING HISTORY OPPOSING VOICES 13: The 1930s: A Dishonourable Decade?

The 1930s: A Dishonourable Decade? 1922: June: the Civil War commenced 1922: Sept.: Passage of Irish Free State constitution through the Dáil 1922: Dec.: Irish Free State formally established 1923: May: Republican campaign ended 1923: Aug.: Cumann na nGaedheal victorious in the general election 1925: Dec.: Partition boundaries settled upon 1926: May: Foundation of Fianna Fail 1927: June: General election – Cumann na nGaedheal victory 1927: Aug.: FF deputies took their seats in the Dáil 1930: Sept.: Foundation of Saor Eire – political initiative of the IRA army convention 1930: Constitution (amendment no. 17) bill: public safety measure 1931: Statute of Westminster – the legislative authority of the British parliament over the dominions effectively abolished 1932: June: FF victory in general election

The 1930s: A Dishonourable Decade? 1932: June: Land Annuities withheld from the British – beginning of the economic war 1933: Jan.: General election – FF won outright victory 1933: May: Oath of Allegiance removed from the Free State Constitution 1933: July: National Guard (the Blueshirts) formed from the Army Comrades’ Association – proscribed, 22 August 1933: Sept.: United Ireland (Fine Gael) formed from Cumann na nGaedheal, National Guard and the Centre party 1933: Nov.: Legislation passed to curb the power of the governor- general and restrict the right of appeal to the privy council 1934: Coal-Cattle pact signaled a relaxation of the economic war 1936: May: the Irish Free State Senate abolished 1936: June: the IRA proscribed 1936: Dec.: Abdication of King Edward VIII

The 1930s: A Dishonourable Decade? 1936: Dec.: Amending Act removed references to the crown from the Free State Constitution 1936: Dec.: External Relations Act 1937: June: De Valera’s new constitution agreed by the Dáil 1937: July: General election and constitutional referendum 1938: April: Anglo-Irish Agreement – settlement of the economic war and the return of the Treaty Ports 1938: June: General election – FF victory 1938: June: Douglas Hyde inaugurated as the first president of Ireland 1939: Jan.: IRA launched bombing campaign in England 1939: Jan.: W. B. Yeats died 1939: June: the Dáil passed legislation for suppressing the IRA 1939: Aug.: IRA bomb in Coventry killed five people 1939: Sept.: commencement of World War II

The 1930s: A Dishonourable Decade? Further Reading: Augusteijn, Joost (Ed.), Ireland in the 1930s (1999). Augusteijn, Joost (Ed.), Ireland in the 1930s (1999). Cronin, Mike, The Blueshirts and Irish Politics (1997). Cronin, Mike, The Blueshirts and Irish Politics (1997). Lee, J. J., Ireland, (1989). Lee, J. J., Ireland, (1989). McGarry, Fearghal, Irish Politics and the Spanish Civil War (1999). McGarry, Fearghal, Irish Politics and the Spanish Civil War (1999). McMahon, Deirdre, Republicans and Imperialists: Anglo-Irish Relations in the 1930s (1984). McMahon, Deirdre, Republicans and Imperialists: Anglo-Irish Relations in the 1930s (1984).