Boundary Commission (Ireland)

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The Boundary Commission was established by the Anglo-Irish Treaty that ended the Anglo-Irish War in 1921. Its purpose was to decide on the precise delineation of the border between the Irish Free State, which had seceded from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Northern Ireland which was to remain part of the new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. While nationalists hoped for a considerable transfer of land from Northern Ireland to the Free State (reflecting the wishes of people who lived along the new border), the Northern Ireland government obstructed the establishment of the Commission, resulting in the British government assigning a representative to represent their interest.

When the Commission decided on a very small net transfer of land to Northern Ireland (the reverse of what was expected), its conclusions were leaked to the Morning Post in 1925, causing protests from both the unionists and nationalists. In order to avoid the possibility of further disputes, the British, Irish, and Northern Ireland governments agreed to suppress the report, and the existing (Government of Ireland Act 1920) border was ratified by W.T. Cosgrave, Sir James Craig, and Stanley Baldwin in December 1925.

Contents

[edit] The provisional border 1920 – 1925

The Government of Ireland Act 1920 was enacted during the height of the Anglo-Irish War and partitioned the island into two separate Home Rule territories of the United Kingdom, to be called Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. In its determination of this border, the Parliament of the United Kingdom heard the arguments of the Irish Unionist Party – but not those of most of the elected representatives of the nationalist population. Sinn Féin refused to recognise any legitimate role of that Parliament in Irish affairs and declined to attend it, leaving only the minuscule Irish Parliamentary Party present at the debates. James Craig's brother told the British House of Commons unambiguously that the six north-eastern counties were the largest possible area that unionists could "hold".

[edit] Article 12 of the Treaty

After a clause providing for Northern Ireland (as defined by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 to opt out of the new Free State, the remainder of Article 12 declares,[1]

Provided that if such an address [exercising the opt out, as expected] is so presented, a Commission consisting of three persons, one to be appointed by the Government of the Irish Free State, one to be appointed by the Government of Northern Ireland, and one who shall be Chairman to be appointed by the British Government shall determine in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants, so far as may be compatible with economic and geographic conditions the boundaries between Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland, and for the purposes of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, and of this instrument, the boundary of Northern Ireland shall be such as may be determined by such Commission.

Accordingly the Free State established the North-Eastern Boundary Bureau which had prepared 56 boxes of files to argue its case by 1925.

[edit] The Commission

Due to the delay caused by the Irish Civil War, it was not until 1924 that the Commission was appointed. The Northern Ireland government, which adopted a policy of refusing to cooperate with the Commission since it did not wish to lose any territory, refused to appoint a representative. Ultimately the Labour government in Britain legislated to allow itself to impose a representative on their behalf in order to enable the procedure to go ahead. The Commission was convened in 1925 consisting of:

  • Justice Richard Feetham of South Africa as Chairman (appointed by, and representing, the British Government)
  • Eoin MacNeill, Minister for Education (appointed by, and representing, the Free State Government)
  • J.R. Fisher, a Unionist newspaper editor (appointed by the British government to represent the Northern Ireland government)

[edit] Negotiation

The Commission's report has never been officially released, continuing to be withheld by both Governments. However, some of the negotiating positions are known.

The nationalist interpretation of Article 12 was that the Commission should redraw the border according to local nationalist or unionist majorities at the finely granular District Electoral Division level. Since the 1920 local elections in Ireland had resulted in outright nationalist majorities in County Fermanagh, County Tyrone, the City of Derry and in many District Electoral Divisions of County Armagh and County Londonderry (all north and east of the "interim" border), this might well have left Northern Ireland unviable. Unionists were content to leave the border unchanged.

Although Justice Feetham might have used the Parliamentary Constituency boundaries, he evidently decided to maintain the status quo. His casting vote meant that the border created in the Government of Ireland Act 1920 was to remain unchanged. The final agreement between the Irish Free State, Northern Ireland, and Britain was signed on 3 December 1925.

[edit] Imperial debt

In the background, under the terms of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty the Irish Free State had agreed to assume responsibility for a part of the Imperial debt. This had not been paid by 1925, in part due to the heavy costs incurred in and after the Irish Civil War of 1922-23. A tacit agreement was reached that the 1920 boundary would stay as it was, and in return, Britain would not demand payment of the amount agreed under the Treaty. Since 1925 this payment was never made, nor demanded.[1]

Diarmaid Ferriter suggests a more complex trade-off; the debt obligation was removed from the Free State and non-publication of the report, in return for the Free State dropping its claim to rule the Catholic / nationalist areas of Northern Ireland. Non-publication meant that each side, but particularly the Free State, could blame the other side for the outcome. William Cosgrave admitted that the security of the minority depended on the goodwill of their neighbours.[2]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ C. Younger, Ireland's Civil War (Frederick Muller 1968) p516.
  2. ^ Ferriter D. The Transformation of Ireland (Profile 2004) p.294. ISBN 1-86197-307-1

[edit] See also

[edit] Bibliography

  • Report of the Irish Boundary Commission, 1925 Introduced by Geoffrey J. Hand (Shannon: Irish University Press, 1969) ISBN 0-7165-0997-0
  • Ireland's Civil War C. Younger, (Fred Muller 1968) pp515-516.
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