Anglo-Irish Empire

The Anglo-Irish Empire, abbreviated to the AIE, was a massive world power, governed jointly from Dublin and London.

Structure

Each island, Britain and Ireland, have equal parliaments that designate laws in their own lands while nominally falling under the rule of the King of England.

Culture

Through this agreement, Ireland has been able to retain much of their own Celtic and Gaelic culture. Irish became an official language, and the teaching of it in schools became immediate.

History

Before the start of the Great War, the island of Ireland had been in the start of a civil war over the question of home rule. The northern counties of Ulster did not wish to see Ireland become independent, and formed the Ulster Volunteer Force to oppose the Government of Ireland Bill of 1914. The rest of the island was strongly supportive of the bill, and many formed the Irish Volunteer Force to fight the UVF. Fighting had barely begun when the Great War began in 1915.

During the war, the Irish fought for Great Britain, and served on the front lines in France and Occitania against Holland and Germany. With Britain's defeat in the war, the Irish returned to their lands and began to seek further autonomy.

Despite granting the status of dominion prior to the war, Britain attempted to impose taxes on the Irish population in order to cover the cost of reparations to Germany. Irish leaders such as Arthur Griffith began to argue for greater freedoms from the British crown. Griffith formed the party of Sinn Fein, and argued for the establishment of a dual monarchy much in the same as Austria-Hungary. Working with the British Parliament and members such as Winston Churchill and Oswald Mosley, the Anglo-Irish Bill of 1925 was brought forth to King George V. Though the King was hesitant to sign, the alternative of a German Monarchy under that of Kaiser Wilhelm's son displeased him further. Thus, Ireland was elevated to an equal partner in the British Empire.

With the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922, and the subsequent execution of the royal family in Occitania the Anglo-Irish sent troops to both Brittany in order to maintain the sovereignty Members of parliament such as Oswald Mosley and Michael Collins expressed their desire for closer relations to Germany and Italy as a means to halt communist expansion. Even those against the Anglo-Irish union, such as Charles Bewley, wished for post-war tensions to be eased with the victorious powers.

In 1925, Canada began to persecute the Quebecois population, believing the culture linked to communist revolution. Ireland, seeing parallels between the plight of Quebec and themselves, attempted to pass a resolution condemning the persecution, going as far as establishing sanctions. The Parliament of Britain attempted to block the measure, seeing Ireland as the junior partner in the union. The tensions led to the Prime Ministers of both nations arguing during their audience with King George. King George attempted to quell the crisis by refusing royal assent to the Irish resolution in 1927, but this unified the Irish populace in anger. In the 1929 General Elections, Irish separatists won the majority of the seats, with Eamon de Valera being elected Prime Minister.

Disbandment

With Eamon de Valera in charge of the government in Ireland, he and his government began slow implementations of breaking away from the crown. These were protested by ministers in Ulster, who many were still loyal to the British crown. The north of Ireland saw a resurgence of militias such as the UVF, and the government in London grew concerned of the situation. Regardless, de Valera passed legislation that overturned the requirements for a loyalty oath to the British monarch, and instead making an oath to the Irish constitution.

The situation escalated as those loyal to the crown and the separatists starting in 1933. The Irish War for Independence, which was as much a civil war as a revolution, remained small in scale when compared to other conflicts of the time, consisting mostly of militias and law enforcement. With the death of King George V and the controversy of Edward VIII, Ireland managed to secede and declare themselves and independent republic.

Religion

The majority of Ireland is predominantly Catholic, while Britain is predominantly Protestant. For centuries, this has been a source of contention between the British and the Irish. The British fell under the Church of England with the King as the head of the church. In contrast, Ireland sought spiritual leadership from the Pope.

DISBANDED/DISSOLVED

1925 - 1936

Alternative Names

AIE

Predecessor Organization

• Great Britain

Successor Organizations

• Great Britain
• Republic of Ireland

Demonym

Anglo-Irish