Recession, austerity and emigration of 1920s resonate in today's Republic

While 1922 was a dramatic year politically, it also ushered in a period of great economic uncertainty and austerity, similar to the situation Ireland finds itself in today

IT REMAINS to be seen what historians will make of these troubled times. This year, however, marks the 90th anniversary of another defining period in Irish history.

The dramatic sequence of events that engulfed the country in 1922 was unprecedented by most standards.

In the space of 12 months, British rule in 26 counties had been dismantled, the Irish Free State established and the first general election held.

The year also saw the establishment of the Irish Army in tandem with the disbandment of six long-standing southern Irish regiments of the British army, and the creation of a new civic police force in the form of An Garda Síochána.

Tragically, 1922 would also see the uneasy stand-off between pro- and anti-Treaty factions within Sinn Féin disintegrate into a bitter civil war.

The renewed fighting would result in the assassination of one of the most charismatic political leaders of the time, Michael Collins, and precipitate a series of brutal executions and murders that would scar the political landscape for years to come.

In terms of social and political upheaval, the current economic crisis pales in comparison.

However, historian and curator at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks in Dublin, Lar Joye, says there are a number of unlikely parallels.

Not going bankrupt was “paramount to proving yourself a viable nation state”, he says. “So balancing the books was a top priority for the fledgling administration of 1922.”

To achieve this, the government imposed a significant degree of austerity on the population throughout the 1920s, he said, even cutting the relatively modest old-age pension at the end of the decade when the global recession hit.

The chaos of the Civil War had led to a “draining away of money”, leaving the country mired in recession. To make matters worse, much of the capital’s commercial centre around O’Connell Street had been destroyed in the fighting.

During the War of Independence, the British had a policy of burning down creameries, and this retarded the nascent co-operative movement that would later become the bedrock of the rural economy.

While it is tempting to see history as a series of big events, Joye says that for the mass of Irish people, the 1920s and the onset of independence was a time of recession.

“For all the radical statements in the 1916 Proclamation, the Irish State ultimately proves itself to be quite conservative, closely following the British parliamentary system and its civil service,” he points out.

Many nationalist leaders had insisted that independence would offer the country a new start economically, and in particular, end the blight of emigration that had affected so many generations.

However, emigration continued apace after 1922, increasing every year up to the 1930s, when it was halted by the global depression.

So while 1922 was undoubtedly a dramatic year politically, it also ushered in a period of great economic uncertainty and austerity, similar to the situation the country finds itself in today.

The museum is finalising plans for a series of exhibitions and events to mark the 90th anniversary of 1922.