Dividing Ireland: World War I and Partition

LOYALTY AND THE CROWN 167
conception of government must arise which rejects all idea of
the subjection of a nation to a nation. 35
Other Sinn Feiners expressed a desire to settle for a form of Irish
self-government that was less than an independent republic or
separate kingdom. F.J.O’Connor of the Irish Nation League
believed that Ireland was equal in status to the ‘sister’ Kingdoms of
England and Scotland, all being constituent units or entities
forming together the United Kingdom. Ireland, he claimed, was a
sovereign state, as were the other ‘kingdoms’ of England and
Scotland with which she was united. Ireland’s status was far higher
than that of the Dominions, yet they enjoyed a free constitution
with full exclusive power over national affairs, leading O’Connor to
think it reasonable to demand the same for Ireland. 36 Another Sinn
Fein sympathiser, the literary figure George Russell (‘AE’), saw the
possibility for building Irish unity along the lines of Ireland
becoming a self-governing Dominion such as Canada or Australia.
Through this he believed that all Irishmen would:
obtain substantially what they desire—the Ulster Unionists
that safety for their interests and provision for Ireland’s unity
within the Commonwealth of Dominions inside the Empire.
The Nationalists would obtain that power they desire to create
an Irish civilisation by self-devised and self-checked efforts.
The brotherhood of Dominions, of which they would form
one, would be inspired as much by the fresh life and wide
democratic outlook of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa
and Canada, as by the hoarier political wisdom of Great
Britain, and military, naval, foreign and Colonial policy must
in the future be devised by the representatives of those
Dominions sitting in council together with the representatives
of…Britain. Does not that indicate a different form of
Imperialism from that they hold in no friendly memory? It
would not be Imperialism in the ancient sense, but a federal
union of independent nations to protect national liberties,
which might draw into its union other people, hitherto
unconnected without, and so beget a league of nations to
make a common international law prevail. The allegiance
would be to common principles which mankind desire, and
would not permit the domination of any one race. 37
Edward Lysaght, who subsequently attended the Irish Convention
in 1917 as an unofficial observer for Sinn Fein, felt that
Nationalists had to divide their thought into two phases: the