240. Ireland’s Fight For Freedom: The Irish Civil War (Ep 3)

Empire

Jack Davenport

History

4.6 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 March 2025

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the aftermath of the Irish War of Independence in 1921, Michael Collins is sent to London to meet Winston Churchill, David Lloyd George and other British officials to negotiate a treaty. After weeks of travelling back and forth across the Irish Sea, Collins and his fellow Sinn Féin negotiators return with a deal. Ireland would become a Free State, but it would remain in the British Empire, and the Irish must swear an oath of allegiance to the King. Eamonn De Valera, the president of the republic, refuses to accept. De Valera and Collins, who were on the same side, are suddenly enemies. A rift tears through the republicans, splitting them into pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty forces. Families are divided, and soldiers who once fought together are on opposite sides. As the Irish tricolour replaces the Union Jack above Dublin castle, war breaks out between the two factions. Will Collins and De Valera survive their third war on home soil? Listen as William and Anita are joined once again by Diarmaid Ferriter, author of A Nation Not A Rabble, to discuss how the Anglo-Irish Treaty descended into civil war. _____________ Empire UK Live Tour: The podcast is going on a UK tour! William and Anita will be live on stage in Glasgow, Birmingham, York and Bristol, discussing how the British Empire continues to shape our everyday lives. Tickets are on sale NOW, to buy yours head to empirepoduk.com. Empire Club: Become a member of the Empire Club to receive early access to miniseries, ad-free listening, early access to live show tickets, bonus episodes, book discounts, and a weekly newsletter! Head to empirepoduk.com to sign up. Email: [email protected] Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk goalhanger.com Assistant Producer: Becki Hills Producer: Anouska Lewis Senior Producer: Callum Hill Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	If you want access to bonus episodes reading lists for every series of Empire, a chat community,
0:06.7	discounts for all the books mentioned in the week's podcast, add free listening and a weekly newsletter,
0:12.5	sign up to Empire Club at www.mpowerpoduk.com.
0:19.0	Hello and welcome to Empire with me, Anita Arnan.
0:22.9	And me, William Durable.
0:24.6	Now, we are joined for the final time by the quite spectacular.
0:29.5	Damud Ferreter, author of Between Two Hells, the Irish Civil War and a nation not a rabble,
0:36.2	the Irish Revolution 1913 to 1923.
0:39.3	And he's also written so much more on Irish history.
0:42.1	We supremely recommend anything that has his name on it.
0:45.4	I've been enjoying his transformation of Ireland, 1900 to 2000, which it doubles up as a dumbbell.
0:51.6	If you ever don't want to go to the gym. You can just play with Dermott's book.
0:54.7	It's about thousand pages long.
0:56.5	I'll take that as a compliment, well.
0:58.2	I'm sure he meant it as a compliment.
1:00.4	He did.
1:00.7	I mean, you know, sometimes it's hard to tell, but it was, I could tell.
1:03.7	It's a big fat book, though.
1:05.0	It's a lump of work, No, but.
1:06.4	You can be a fit historian. That's what we think of when we think of William.
1:12.7	Fit historian, that's it, isn't it? That is exactly what you think of.
1:13.8	That is what comes in.
	...

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