First Dail Eireann Meets: Irish Independence Declared

Twenty-seven men gathered in Dublin''s Mansion House and declared themselves the legitimate parliament of Ireland—without asking permission from the British government that had ruled the island for over seven centuries. On January 21, 1919, the First Dáil Éireann convened, established by Sinn Féin members who had won 73 of 105 Irish seats in the December 1918 general election and refused to take those seats at Westminster. The assembly conducted its business in Irish, adopted a provisional constitution, issued a Declaration of Independence, and appointed delegates to the Paris Peace Conference to plead Ireland''s case for self-determination. Éamon de Valera was elected president of the Dáil, though he was absent—imprisoned in Lincoln Jail in England. Of the 73 Sinn Féin members elected, only 27 attended; 34 were in British prisons, and the rest were unable to travel. On the very same day, in an event that was not coordinated with the Dáil''s meeting but proved deeply symbolic, two members of the Royal Irish Constabulary were ambushed and killed by Irish Volunteers at Soloheadbeg, County Tipperary. This attack, led by Dan Breen and Seán Treacy, is widely regarded as the first shots of the Irish War of Independence. The coincidence of parliamentary declaration and armed violence on the same date captured the dual nature of the Irish independence movement. The First Dáil lasted until 1921 and operated as a shadow government, establishing courts, collecting taxes, and issuing bonds to fund the new republic. Britain declared it illegal, and its members were hunted by Crown forces. But the democratic mandate it represented proved impossible to ignore, ultimately forcing the British government to the negotiating table and producing the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921.