The executions during the Irish Civil War took place during the guerrilla phase of the Irish Civil War (October 1922 – May 1923). This phase of the war was bitter, and both sides, the government forces of the Irish Free State and the anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army (IRA) insurgents, used executions and terror in what developed into a cycle of atrocities. From November 1922, the Free State government embarked on a concerted policy of executing Republican prisoners in order to bring the war to an end. Many of those killed had previously been allies and in some cases close friends (during the Irish War of Independence 1919–1921), of those who ordered their deaths in the civil war. In addition, government troops summarily executed prisoners in the field on several occasions. The executions of prisoners left a lasting legacy of bitterness in Irish politics.
The use of execution by the Irish Free State in the civil war was relatively harsh compared to the British record. In contrast with 77 official executions by the Irish Free State government, the British had executed only 24 IRA volunteers and the IRA had condemned to death a few dozen enemies during the 1919–21 War of Independence.
Read more about Executions During The Irish Civil War: Background, Legal Basis For The Executions, The First Executions and Reprisals, Official Executions, Unofficial Killings, Effects, In Fiction
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