Latest news with #IrishBoundaryCommission
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
What lessons does the Irish Boundary Commission hold for how borders are made – and unmade – in contested spaces?
In today's episode, Hugh is joined by historian Dr Cormac Moore to discuss one of the most consequential but little-known episodes in modern Irish history: the Irish Boundary Commission. Based on Moore's new book The Root of All Evil, the conversation explores the hopes, fraught negotiations, and ultimate anticlimax that defined the commission's work 100 years ago this year. How did a clause in the Anglo-Irish Treaty come to carry the weight of nationalist aspirations and unionist fears? Why did so many believe that the commission would redraw the map of Ireland in favour of the Free State – and how did those expectations unravel so completely? Was the commission's failure inevitable, or did political miscalculations and miscommunications seal its fate? Moore, historian-in-residence with Dublin City Council, brings a forensic eye to the detail and a deep sense of the human stakes involved. He unpacks the central roles played by figures such as David Lloyd George, James Craig and WT Cosgrave. What lessons does the Boundary Commission hold for how borders are made – and unmade – in contested spaces? And in a world where the political future of Northern Ireland is once again up for debate, is this century-old episode a cautionary tale of how not to manage competing nationalisms? READ MORE What happened in 1925 offers lessons for anyone interested in the deeper roots of partition, the evolution of identity on this island, and how historical decisions continue to cast long shadows. Produced by Declan Conlon with JJ Vernon on sound.
Irish Examiner
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
The Mick Clifford Podcast: How the Boundary Commission shaped history and resentment
James Craig, the leader of unionist Ireland in the 1920s, coined the phrase 'the root of all evil' to describe the Boundary Commission — the body set up in 1922 to determine exactly where the border between the South and North of Ireland should lie. But what was it all about? Could it have been any different? Did the border actually beget evil? Cormac Moore has written a fascinating account of the Boundary Commission, entitled The Root of All Evil. Cormac is this week's guest on the podcast. The Root of all Evil: The Irish Boundary Commission Cormac Moore Read More The Mick Clifford Podcast: Who is in the mix to be the next president?
Irish Examiner
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Book review: The short but extraordinary life of the Border Commission
While the IRB held the higher ground on the battlefields of Ireland during the War of Independence, Lloyd George and his team of negotiators had the advantage of experience in the subsequent Treaty negotiations. It was Michael Collins who first suggested the establishment of a border commission to decide the jurisdictions of the Dublin and Belfast governments. Lloyd George adopted the idea and produced an ambiguous clause that became Article 12 of the Treaty. Notwithstanding the extreme pressure the Irish negotiating team was subjected to, its decision not to refer the wording of Article 12 for legal opinion was, at best, naïve. The story of the Irish Boundary Commission, and the four years it took to establish that body, is outlined in Cormac Moore's latest book, The Root of All Evil. Moore has previous publications on various aspects of Irish history, these include The GAA v Douglas Hyde, Birth of a Border, and The Irish Soccer Split. The Root of All Evil is a thorough and insightful investigation of all aspects of the Border Commission. The book explains in detail the drawn-out attempts to set up the commission, its short but extraordinary life, and its inevitable end. It has long been argued that Sinn Féin had more interest in the Oath of Allegiance than in partition; Moore argues that this opinion does not stand up to scrutiny. He argues that considerable time and effort was spent on using the Commission as a means of rescuing Fermanagh, Tyrone, and possibly south County Down from Ulster. This optimism was ill-founded, as Moore shows that Britain intended to side with unionist leader, James Craig, whose motto was 'not an inch'. Indeed, Craig's description of the Boundary Commission, 'the root of all evil,' gave Moore the title of the book. The Boundary Commission should have begun its work immediately in 1922. The outbreak of the Civil War, however, delayed the process. Political upheaval in Britain, resulting in a change of government, further added to the delay. Even more time was lost as Britain searched the Empire for a 'suitable' independent chairman. Richard Feetham, a judge in the South African Supreme Court, was appointed. Ireland appointed Eoin MacNeill as its commissioner. This was a grave error. MacNeill, who was also minister for education, proved to be inept in the commissioner role. Belfast had to be forced to appoint a commissioner by the British government. The fact that Belfast refused to engage should not be taken to mean that they were preparing to thwart any potential unsatisfactory findings of the commission. Between 1921 and 1925, proportional representation (PR) voting was abolished in Ulster. Following this many local councils had their voting areas gerrymandered to ensure Unionist majorities. Councils with nationalist majorities such as Tyrone and Fermanagh became unionist councils. The three-man commission eventually got to work in 1925. It decided there would be no communication with the London, Dublin, and Belfast governments. MacNeill abided by this decision, but the Ulster commissioner, Joseph Fisher, had no such qualms; he fed everything back to the Ulster Unionists. MacNeill resigned from the commission as it was about to publish its findings. It had become obvious that the proposed changes were little more than the straightening of some jagged border lines. The Irish government decided it would be best to bury the report for all time. In an effort to save face with voters in the South, the Dublin government sought other financial concessions from Britain. Some concessions on war retribution payments were achieved. This left thousands of nationalists, who live near the northern side of the border, believing they were sold out for cash. What The Root of All Evil clearly shows is neither Sinn Féin nor the subsequent Free State government had a coherent plan on how to deal with the Ulster Unionists. As Moore says, '[The Irish government] failed to grasp that Ulster unionism's hatred of Dublin was stronger than its love for the Empire.' One hundred years on, one wonders if anything has changed? Read More Book review: A salacious tale of murder on the border of fact and fiction
Irish Independent
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
How ‘inertia, incapacity and appalling ineptitude' stymied attempts to redraw the Irish border
In 1925, the Boundary Commission collapsed amid rancour, spying and an absent-minded Irish representative One hundred years ago, the Irish Boundary Commission collapsed in acrimony after the proposal by the three boundary commissioners suggesting a new border in Ireland was shelved and the border remained as it was, as it still is. Under the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, which provided for the prospect of a boundary commission to decide the contours of the border, three commissioners were to be appointed to carry out the task. The chairman was to be appointed by the British government, with the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland governments appointing one representative each.
