Irish Free State

The title card of the new documentary series

The Irish Civil War: The Making of the Documentary

Telling the story of the Civil War was a daunting challenge for director Ruán Magan and his team. Here he tells the story of how the groundbreaking documentary series was made

History • 17 Jan 24

'An end and a beginning': birth of the Irish Free State

It was the beginning of an independent Ireland - but the new Saorstát Éireann's lingering ties to Britain were unacceptable to many. Helene O'Keeffe tells the story

History • 05 Dec 22

National Army troops guarding Portarlington Station during the Civil War. The original caption read: They have Erected a Strong Post in Case of Attack: a Familiar Sight at Most Stations in the South. Image courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

Enemy lines: the conflict on Irish Railways 1922-23

Even before the Civil War, railways north and south of the new border were causing trouble for the governments on both sides. And the train lines of Ireland would become a battleground over the course of the conflict, as Peter Rigney explains

History • 05 Dec 22

Damaged windows at Kilteragh, Sir Horace Plunkett's house outside Dublin, which was burned down by anti-Treaty forces in February 1923. Photo: Walshe/Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Burning down the house: Big House burnings during the Civil War

The country house could be represented as the most powerful symbol of British colonialism and imperialism in Ireland. But why were more of them burnt out during the Civil War than the War of Independence? Terence Dooley explains

History • 05 Dec 22

Liam Mellows, whose views on land seizures was viewed as dangerously radical by some. Photo © RTÉ Photographic Archive

A new land war? Land, class politics and state-building 1922-23

Some anti-Treaty activists advocating seizing land from absentee landlords. But how ready were local anti-Treaty IRA leaders and volunteers to defend their betrayed Republic by expropriating land? Tony Varlet explains

History • 05 Dec 22

William Thomas Cosgrave. Photo: Harlingue/Roger Viollet via Getty Images

W. T. Cosgrave: an iron fist in a velvet glove

He was the man who had to follow Michael Collins as head of government - and became a surprisingly hardline leader who was prepared to do anything, including enabling executions without trial, to win the war, as Michael Laffan explains

History • 05 Dec 22

The Great Irish Famine

Famine Ireland

After the Famine

The Lockout

From the RTÉ Archives: Irish memories of WW1

Gallipoli

The 1916 Rising

Overview

The 1918 General Election

The First Dáil

Soloheadbeg

De Valera in America

The Dáil Ban

Suppression of Cumann na mBan

Hunger Strikes

The Munitions Strike

The death of Terence MacSwiney

Bloody Sunday

Martial Law

The Burning of Cork

The Border

The burning of the Custom House

Northern Ireland's parliament opens

The Truce

The Treaty

Overview

Transfer of Power

IRA Convention

The Pact Election

The Battle of Dublin

The Conventional Phase

The Sea Landings

The death of Michael Collins

Guerrilla warfare

The Irish Free State

The arrest of Liam Deasy

The end of the Civil War

The Silent Civil War

The Irish Civil War Fatalities Project

Stardust

The Good Friday Agreement

irish-free-state

The Irish Civil War: The Making of the Documentary

'An end and a beginning': birth of the Irish Free State

Enemy lines: the conflict on Irish Railways 1922-23

Burning down the house: Big House burnings during the Civil War

A new land war? Land, class politics and state-building 1922-23

W. T. Cosgrave: an iron fist in a velvet glove

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