1921
Anglo-Irish Treaty signed, giving 'Southern Ireland' independence from Britain on certain conditions.
1922
Treaty ratified by Dail, followed by war between supporters of the free state and those against the treaty. Death of Michael Collins, guerrilla commander and leader of Sinn Fein, and important negotiator for 1921 Treaty. Inauguration of Irish Free State, excluding Northern Ireland. Ulysses by James Joyce.
1923
Ceasefire agreed and civil war ends.
1939
The Nationalist revival culminated in the literary work of
W.B. Yeats. In 1904 he had helped to found the Abbey theatre in Dublin as
a National theatre and he remained its director until his death in 1939. His
passing heralded the end of an era. Many writers of world–renown have emerged
from Ireland in the 20th Century, including four Noble literature laureates
– Yeats, Shaw, Beckett and Heaney. The streets of Dublin city have been immortalised
in James Joyce’s Ulysses and by the association with other writers: Sean O’Casey,
Patrick Kavanagh, Bram Stoker and others. It is the combination of a rich
oral tradition, a tragic history and the mysterious beauty of the Irish landscape
that caused the literary arts to flourish in “the land of the saints and scholars”,
where for centuries, education has been denied to the majority of the people.
Having celebrated one thousand years since the invasion
of the Vikings, Dublin is once again vibrant market city. Signs of a revitalised
city are found all long the river Liffey, which was the first, navigated by
the Norsemen. Close to wood quay, the heart of the original Viking settlement
is Temple Bar, now a lively cultural centre. In the former docklands area,
at the mouth of the Liffey, there is now an International Financial service
Centre where major worldwide institutions trade in local and global financial
markets. Ireland has modernized quickly but still retains links with its cultural
and historical past. As a member of the European Union, Ireland enjoys equal
status with other European states and at the other end of the turbulent millennium
looks forward to a lasting peace on the Island.
