Irish republicanism

Irish republicanism is a political tradition advocating an independent Irish republic and the sovereignty of the Irish people. Its movements have challenged British rule and, especially since 1921, the partition of Ireland.

Irish Rebellion of 1798: An uprising in Ireland led by the United Irishmen against British rule in 1798. The United Irishmen’s revolt gave republican opposition to British rule an early mass expression.
Irish Republican Army: The name used by several Irish republican armed organizations, including the force that fought British rule from 1919 to 1921. Armed struggle became one strategy for establishing the republic republican movements claimed as legitimate.
Irish nationalism: A broad political tradition seeking Irish self-government, national identity, or independence from external rule. Republicanism is one strand of Irish nationalism, distinguished by its commitment to a republic.
Partition of Ireland: The 1921 division of Ireland into Northern Ireland and a southern jurisdiction, later the Irish Free State. Partition became a defining grievance and political challenge for Irish republicans.
Society of United Irishmen: A political organization founded in 1791 to unite Irish people across religious divisions and seek representative government. Its program helped shape the tradition’s early republican ideals.
Dáil Éireann: The revolutionary Irish parliament established in 1919 by Sinn Féin members elected in 1918. Republicans used a rival parliament to assert Irish self-government during the War of Independence.
Irish unionism: A political tradition supporting the continuation of Northern Ireland’s union with the United Kingdom. Unionism contests the republican goal of ending British sovereignty in Northern Ireland.
Irish Free State Constitution: The 1922 constitution establishing the Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion within the British Commonwealth. Its dominion status embodied the compromise that split the republican movement.
Young Ireland: An Irish nationalist movement that developed in the 1840s and sought independence from Britain. Its writers and failed 1848 rising carried republican nationalism into a new generation.
Sinn Féin: An Irish political party founded in 1905 that became central to republican politics and the independence movement. It has pursued republican aims through electoral politics as well as, historically, links to armed struggle.

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