Sinn Féin Pro-Treaty 1922

On 6 December 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty established the Irish Free State and ended the two-year Irish War of Independence. Ireland was an independent country and the temporary north-south partition was now permanent, with the six counties of Ulster opting to remain part of Britain. The Irish Free State was still a British dominion, which created tension between pro and anti-Treaty Sinn Féin. After the 1922 elections, pro-Treaty Sinn Féin won the popular vote by over 50 per cent in six of its counties, with many seats unopposed, finishing with a 58:36 majority against the anti-Treaty Sinn Féin. Post-election tensions erupted into Civil War, when the pro-Treaty National Army bombarded the four courts in Dublin occupied by the anti-Treaty leadership in June 1922. Men who had fought together for independence, now found themselves on opposing sides. The pro-Treaty side emerged victorious in April 1923 and immediately formed a new party: Cumann na nGaedheal, the governing party from 1923 to 1932.