Adaptive Coexistence? Lord Farnham (1879–1957) and Southern Loyalism in Pre- and Post-Independence Ireland

This chapter traces the career and experiences of Arthur Kenlis Maxwell, 11th Baron Farnham (1879-1957) of county Cavan as a southern loyalist in pre and post-independent Ireland. Up to 1920 he was a prominent representative of southern unionism and his impassioned speeches during the debate on the Government of Ireland bill convey the sense of abandonment and betrayal felt by many southern loyalists. In April 1922 he and his family left Farnham House for England. Unlike many of his peers who made similar journeys, Farnham returned to his ancestral home in 1926 and enjoyed a relatively peaceful and easy transition back into life there. The latter part of the chapter illustrates Farnham’s personal experience of adaptive coexistence and the complexity of southern unionist identities and loyalties in this ‘new’ Ireland. Personal connections made prior to his departure, his interest in agricultural improvement and promotion of various sports in Cavan had meant that he had cultivated a wide and diverse range of friends and networks which he could tap into on return. Although he never formally entered politics in the Irish Free State, Farnham remained an important leadership figure within the Protestant community in Cavan and further afield and symbolically maintained displays of his loyalism attending both the 1937 and 1953 coronations in London.

Southern Irish Loyalism from Home Rule Crisis to Republic: An Introduction

This chapter-length introduction provides a chronological, historiographical, and thematic framework for the volume. It begins by setting out the book’s remit, outlining its understanding of loyalism, and broadly defining the individuals and groups under consideration. The introduction then provides an overview of the history and historiography of southern Irish loyalism in three sections. The first covers the period from the third Home Rule bill in 1912 to the 1918 general election while the second takes in the Irish War of Independence (1919–21) and Irish Civil War (1922–23). This is followed by a final section on southern loyalists and loyalism after southern Irish independence, from the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922 to the exit from the commonwealth and declaration of a republic in 1949.

‘Cast Out!’: Cavan and Monaghan Loyalists and Partition, 1916–1923

This chapter looks at the experiences of Ulster Unionists in Cavan and Monaghan. It examines how these Unionists committed to an all-Ulster vision of partition only to then be let down by the six-county partition settlement. It focuses on how they adapted to this ‘betrayal’ and made their peace with their position in the new Irish Free State.

‘The future welfare of the Empire will depend more largely on our women and girls’: Southern Loyalist Women and the British War Effort in Ireland, 1914–1922

This chapter examines the participation of Irish women in the war effort during the First World War, exploring the role of war service as an outlet and focus for southern loyalist identity. It analyses the motivations behind women’s war service and the relationship between religion and loyalism, examining for instance the wartime actions of Anglican organisations such as the Mothers’ Union and Girls Friendly Society, together with the partitionist arrangement of war work. The chapter subsequently discusses the post-war experience of southern loyalist women during the War of Independence and Civil War. Drawing upon applications to the Irish Grants Committee, it explores women’s everyday experiences of trauma during the political upheaval and the links between service in the Great War and isolation and intimidation in the war’s aftermath.

A Beleaguered Community? Waterford Loyalists during the Revolution, 1912–1924

This chapter discusses the experiences of loyalists in Waterford during the revolutionary decade. Though small in number, about 5% of the population, they were very influential economically and socially. Unlike in many other southern counties, they mobilised and demonstrated against Home Rule in 1912. Like other loyalist communities they rallied to the flag in 1914 and many of them were killed in battle. The survivors came home to a changed Ireland. They felt abandoned by the Ulster Unionists and that some form of Home Rule was now inevitable. They chose to keep a low profile during the War of Independence. There is no evidence of discrimination or violence against them during that phase of the revolution but in 1922 and 1923 members of the loyalist community were subject to opportunistic violence, often carried out in the name of the IRA. Some chose to leave the country, but most took their lead from Sir John Keane and played their part in building the new state, responding to the call of their newspaper, the Waterford Standard: ‘There is much that we can contribute to the building up of the new Ireland. We will give it in full measure.’

Henry Lawrence Tivy (1848–1929): The Rise and Fall of a Cork Loyalist

Henry Lawrence Tivy was a butter merchant and later newspaper proprietor from Cork city who used his newspapers in both Cork and Dublin, such as the Cork Constitution and Evening Mail, to articulate his views about southern Irish unionism and loyalism. This chapter engages with Tivy’s public life and career, assessing his politics and experience of the Irish revolutionary period, as well as his contributions to the civic life of his native city. It will chart the uneasy transition of unionist families such as the Tivys into the Irish Free State and seeks to engage with the duality of H.L. Tivy’s public life as a proud citizen of Cork and dedicated supporter of the Union between Britain and Ireland.

The Southern Unionist Business Community and the Economics of Home Rule and Secession

This chapter identifies the leading southern business firms of the pre-Free State era. Though there were small numbers of Catholic nationalists, Catholic unionists and Protestant Home Rulers among the proprietors, the vast majority of the leading firms are shown to have been under Protestant unionist ownership and control. The position of the business elite on the economic aspects of Home Rule, partition and the establishment of the Irish Free State is explored. Nationalists are shown to have been overly optimistic in their assessment of the short-term economic benefits to be derived from exiting the United Kingdom. The business establishment on the other hand is shown to have been overly pessimistic in its assessment of the economic costs of nationalist rule.

Loyalists in a Garrison County: Kildare, 1912–1923

This chapter explores the experiences of loyalists in County Kildare during the Irish Revolution. Up to 1922, loyalists and Unionists in Kildare until 1922 enjoyed a level of security experienced in no other county outside Ulster due to the presence of British army barracks, which included the Curragh camp. Persistently anti-Home Rule, the loyalist and Unionist population – ably led by Lord Mayo and William Goulding – initially resisted concessions to nationalist aspirations. Developments such as the threat of partition resulted in a more compromising viewpoint regarding self-determination. However, fears expressed in 1920 by Lord Mayo that the community would be left to the ‘mercies of a Sinn Féin parliament’ came to fruition. While loyalists and Unionists in Kildare did not experience the same level of violence as loyalists in neighbouring counties, some high-profile incidents occurred during the Civil War. In post-independence Kildare, despite a decline in population, former unionists in the county continued to play a disproportionate role in large scale farming and the professions.

Afterword: Layers of Loyalty

This short afterword by the editors seeks to highlight some of the key themes and issues raised by the contributors to the volume, particularly those concerning the nature of Irish loyalism. It also suggests some additional areas for future research on southern Irish loyalism, including Catholic loyalism in the Irish Free State and the potential for comparative and transnational approaches.

Loyal to What? Identity and Motivation in the Southern Irish Protestant Involvement in Two World Wars

Southern Irish Protestants, mostly loyal, fought in British forces in both world wars. This chapter, focussing on individual histories from such as Norman Leslie and Michael d’Alton, interrogates their motivation in voluntarily joining the war efforts. War is cathartic, and sharpens the notions of identity, belonging and place – physical and metaphysical – that are examined in this essay. Through the prism of two wars and Leslie’s and d’Alton’s approaches to them the development of southern Protestant ‘loyalism’ and its accommodation to the contemporary – vital to the community’s survival and search for place in twentieth century Ireland – is tracked and analysed.