1925 was a much calmer year in the fledgling Free State, making it possible for the people to continue rebuilding their lives in peace and harmony after the violence and chaos of the Revolutionary years and the Civil War, writes Eamonn Duggan.

 

Having enjoyed a relatively peaceful year during 1924, the citizens of the Free State were anxious to continue with their new-found freedoms into 1925 as well as pursuing their lives uninterrupted by the violence and war which marked most of the previous decade. As the new year got underway there was every indication the country was set to bask in the tranquillity which it had become used to.

Politically, the Free State continued to be dominated by Cumann na nGaedheal while the de Valera-led main opposition maintained its stance of absenting itself from Dáil Éireann. Economically and socially the fledgling state continued to struggle, leaving many families and individuals in somewhat desperate straits which placed an onus on the government to deliver on its promise to improve the lives of every single citizen.

While the relatively young and inexperienced Cabinet members dealt with an array of domestic problems in 1925, they also had to ensure further steps were taken to establish the Free State among the international community of nations. The workload of all those who sat around the Cabinet table was enormous and very taxing and it was inevitable that many of their decisions would find favour with some people but antagonise and disappoint many others.

In 1925 the population of the Free State stood at 2,972,802, made up of 1,506,916 males and 1,465,886 females which confirmed the continuing downward trend in the population since the Famine years. Yet, life went on as normal in 1925 and the number of births registered during the year came in at 62,069 showing a reduction of 1,333 as compared with 1924. The number of registered male births was 31,818 and female births was 30,251.

The institution of marriage continued to be a strong one in 1925 and some 13,820 marriages were registered during the year, though that number was 1,002 less than that of the previous year. The number of registered deaths in the Free State in 1925 came in at 43,650 which was 1,530 less than the 1924 total. The total figure in 1925 was made up of 22,118 males and 21,532 females.

However, not everyone in the Free State was happy with his or her lot and the lure of pastures green saw many depart their native shore for a new life elsewhere. Some 30,302 individuals left the Free State and travelled to ‘places out of Europe and not within the Mediterranean Sea’. That figure included 26,546 who made the United States of America their new home which was far greater than the 12,016 welcomed by the Statue of Liberty in 1924.

The Cumann na nGaedheal government under the leadership of W.T. Cosgrave had many economic and social issues to deal with in 1925 but it also faced a major political problem which had its roots in the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. The terms of that Treaty stated that a Boundary Commission should determine the exact location of the border between the Free State and Northern Ireland and it was to be “in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants, so far as they might agree with economic and geographic conditions.”
Nationalists hoped the new border would be re-drawn in favour of the Free State while Unionists wanted the status quo to remain. The Commission, which was made up of three representatives, one from Northern Ireland, one from the Free State and a neutral chairman, began its work in 1924. From the outset it had to work against a backdrop of violence in the North as well as scepticism in the South.

There was a reluctance on the part of the British to make changes to the border which might be construed as contentious in the eyes of Unionists and the British population in general. The Commission’s findings indicating that it would recommend only minor changes to the border, were leaked to the Morning Post newspaper, most likely to reassure the Unionists in Northern Ireland. As a result urgent talks among the governments in Dublin, London and Belfast took place.

Those in the Free State who had opposed the Treaty felt justified in their opposition to it and some threatened to resume Civil War hostilities. The three governments agreed the border would remain unchanged and the proposed Council of Ireland was abolished, much to the dismay of those in the Free State who had supported the Commission and it’s work. As a concession to the Free State government, it was agreed Dáil Éireann would not have to contribute towards the United Kingdom’s public debt but would pay pensions to ex-Royal Irish Constabulary officers.

The agreement between the three governments caused unrest among nationalists in the Free State, all of whom had expected areas with Catholic majorities in the border regions to be transferred to the Free State. The government in Dublin was forced to appease many in the Free State who were very angry because the Commission did not deliver the expected substantial revision of the border between the Free State and Northern Ireland and that partition seemed to be permanent.

In essence, most citizens in the Free State felt they had been duped and wrong footed by the Boundary Commission and a thirty-two county Ireland seemed as far away as ever.

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