# Canonical recap data for Irish War of Independence Begins (1919)
# Source: https://recap.at/1919/irish-war-independence
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: irish-war-independence
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1919/irish-war-independence"
title: Irish War of Independence Begins
subtitle: The guerrilla conflict between Irish republicans and British forces catalyzed the partition of Ireland and created two independent states.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1919-01-21
datePrecision: day
year: 1919
decade: 1910
country:
name: Ireland
slug: ireland
summaryShort: "The Irish War of Independence, also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-military Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and its paramilitary forces the Auxiliaries and Ulster Special Co"
summaryLong: "The Irish War of Independence, also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-military Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and its paramilitary forces the Auxiliaries and Ulster Special Constabulary (USC). It was part of the Irish revolutionary period."
lede: In January 1919, Irish republicans launched a guerrilla war against British rule, setting off a conflict that would reshape the island's future. The Irish Republican Army fought British troops, police, and auxiliaries across Ireland for two years, killing and wounding thousands on both sides. The violence ended with a treaty in December 1921 that partitioned Ireland and granted most of it independence—but left deep scars that still define Irish politics.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Hogan%27s_Flying_Column.gif/1280px-Hogan%27s_Flying_Column.gif"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Irish War of Independence"
importance: 80
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_War_of_Independence"
  title: Irish War of Independence
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- war
metaDescription: "The Irish War of Independence (1919–1921): how guerrilla fighters forced Britain to negotiate Irish independence."
wikidataQid: Q208297
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- war
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- transformation
impactRadius: regional
velocity: gradual
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: coordinated
domainCoupling: multi_domain
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260530005355/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_War_of_Independence"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-30
  label: Irish War of Independence
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_War_of_Independence"
