The Sinn Féin government began to make changes in Ireland to try to establish control.
• They gained control of local government. • They founded Sinn Féin/Dáil courts to deal with people’s court cases and crimes.
• They organised loans to help run the new Dáil: Michael Collins raised a loan from the general public of over £300,000. De Valera went to the US to get recognition for the Dáil, and raised nearly $5 million from the supportive Irish emigrant population.
The Dáil was declared illegal by the British government in late 1919. The British parliament passed the Government of Ireland Act 1920 in which there would be a Home Rule parliament in Ulster and one for the rest of Ireland, to try keep both Unionists and nationalists happy. Sinn Féin rejected this compromise and continued to demand independence for the whole island.
CHECKPOINT!
1. Explain the terms conscription and TD. 2. How did Sinn Féin become associated with the Rising? 3. What evidence is there that Sinn Féin became popular afterwards? 4. How did the proposed plan for conscription impact on Ireland? 5. Draw a pie chart to show the results of the 1918 General Election. 6. When did the First Dáil take place? 7. What does ‘Dáil Éireann’ mean? 8. Name three ministers and give their positions in the First Dáil. 9. How was money to run the Dáil sourced?
10. How did the Dáil try to establish its control of the country? 11. What was the Government of Ireland Act?
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I can describe Sinn Féin’s rise in popularity and the formation of the First Dáil.
TIME TO GO BACK I CAN MOVE FORWARD
COLLABORATE: Work in a group to research the other ministers appointed to the First Dáil and write down two facts about each of them.
