Ireland

Interwar Irish politics was dominated by the aftermath of Ireland’s revolution. Britain’s suppression of a republican insurrection in 1916 saw the emergence of a popular independence movement led by Sinn Fein and the Irish Volunteers. The election of Fianna Fail led Treaty supporters to fear repression by the government or its Irish Republican Army supporters. Their concerns were shared by security force officials, and by prosperous farmers who feared economic disruption resulting from Fianna Fail’s protectionist agenda. In response to efforts to coerce the Blueshirts, several opposition organisations merged to form the United Ireland /Fine Gael party under O’Duffy’s leadership. The reactionary nature of the unionist regime in Northern Ireland left little space for fascism to develop but several small organisations, such as the Ulster Fascists, were established. The political history of Ireland for several generations back has been the history of its great voluntary, disciplined, or semi-disciplined, organisations.