The Irish Civil War: A Divided Island with Jennifer Carbery
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Ireland fought for many years, both politically and militarily, to win independence from Great Britain. This seminar will explore why, once independence was finally achieved, the country found itself in a bloody civil war. Historian Jennifer Carbery will show how and why the treaty that ended the civil war left behind a decades-long legacy of mistrust and hurt all over the island.
In 1921, exhausted and with munitions depleted, the Irish rebels fighting for independence agreed to a ceasefire, ending their bloody war with Great Britain. We'll discuss how the resulting treaty established two new entities on the island of Ireland: The Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, which remained under British rule. The pro-treaty Irish believed that the treaty of 1921 was the best compromise attainable, while the anti-treaty faction wanted nothing less than full island independence. British forces remained in Ireland, and some would say their presence forced the hand of the pro-treaty men and women to suppress the anti-treaty agitators. We'll learn how the ensuing Civil War divided the new nation politically and turned Irish men and women against each other in bloody battles that went on for years, which still resonate to this day.
This seminar chronologically follows Jennifer Carbery’s lecture on the Irish War of Independence, but it is not obligatory to participate in both seminars.
Jennifer works with historical research around Ireland's complex history. She studied Anthropology and History as a mature student and upon completion she worked in Archaeology; digging the land for treasure. She has her own business providing research and content for historic sites, events, and radio. She teaches, assesses, and trains students, guides, and learners in history. She has written several apps for tours within Ireland.
Not suitable for children under age 13 (sensitive content).
90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.
A very thorough and sensitively presentation regarding a complicated period of Irish History
Content clearly grounded in solid historical research, plenty of primary documents backing up lecture. Incl video, images, news headlines to help "feel" difficult legacy of conflict—gave me great pause for civil war. Felt relevant even today and as a non-Irish American given our own current political divides. Carberry clearly cared to share knowledge, lectured longer than scheduled time to ensure connection.
The course of a war has many sidepaths, especially one coming after 700 years . This war never ended, it was fought at every level of life. What
Jennifer Carbery did that was impressive was to show me how intricate this conflict was.
The time taken with so many people---soldiers, politicians, rebels, women, English military and governing people was something l rarely hear in a 90 minute lecture. Also, her dramatic delivery kept me listening.
Instead of going for the grand sweep, the generalities, this lecture had compelling specificity.
Will I remember all the names, places, events? Probably not. However, the motivation to read on and in-depth comes from the array of fact given.
I wish I had heard the first lecture.
I wondered why Jennifer started with a summary of the Irish War of Independence but it became clear that the Civil War had its roots there, so we needed to know about it. She covered an enormous amount of information in limited time, kept it lively, and stayed late in order to wrap up and answer our questions. For me it was an excellent introduction to a complicated, tragic history.
Informative, comprehensive. Jennifer did an excellent job of making you feel the personal stories of the people who took part in the Irish civil war