Irish War of Independence: The Road to Freedom

[@basichistory]

As an Irishman I found this video very informative and balanced, well done Simon.

[@deenman23]

you mutts killed CHARLES DANCE

[@michaeljohndennis2231]

Fellow Irishman here in Manchester 22 years and yes, Simon has done an excellent job in putting together this video - I was last home in October 2022 and I was horrified and heartbroken by what I’d seen in Dublin alone on my way to visit family in Rural Ireland - I absolutely despise our traitor government and our Gardai for destroying our country 🇮🇪☘️🇮🇪

[@flyinghigh2724]

"Unbiased" aye from a far left anti Anglo😂👏Sad what this country has turned into. Own people hating on the country. Because we had the biggest and best empire when every other nation was doing so at the time we weren't the first we weren't the most evil. Held to a different set of standards to everyone else.

[@terryenby2304]

Thank you so much for this. Too many English children are never taught about how we partook in Irish history and how badly we treated them.

[@CountScarlioni]

The fight for an Independent Ireland was part of our history GCSE. Trust me, they left nothing out. Mind you, I was at school a few years before the Good Friday Agreement was signed. I don't know what they're teaching in history these days.

[@lukeyarasheski5510]

It's like that everywhere. Here in the US the Trail of Tears is mentioned for about 11 seconds in our US history courses and no one ever really mentioned 2 presidents were in the Ku Klux Klan (Harding was an actual sitting president and Klan member simultaneously. at least Truman had the sense to say "meh. these guys seem a little extreme)

[@brendanbrown3100]

Harding was never in the KKK.

[@brendanbrown3100]

@@lukeyarasheski5510 sorry there is no credible evidence Harding was in the KKK. He made statements in the 20s opposing lynching and in favour of equal rights. After his death much BS was written about him that still has traction today. Now if you want a racist US president then look no further than Woodrow Wilson.

[@lukeyarasheski5510]

@@brendanbrown3100 Think what you want man. He was a Klansman. And a politician. So is it perhaps possible he lied during his public addresses about his personal views? Also there is plenty of evidence. I just gave you one example that youre choosing to ignore

[@henrygill3061]

It's very rare to find an unbiased account of this conflict showing the atrocities of both sides and what was going on in the political background. Excellent as always.

[@mho...]

impartiality is kinda what makes the whistlerverse so good ;) ...well except brainblaze i guess 😎

[@ATLmodK]

@@mho... or the casual Criminalist

[@lawrencevere6705]

😊

[@Murph579]

If I remember correctly, this war pioneered the type guerrilla warfare tactics used by former colonies throughout the rest of the century. Ho Chi Minh even referenced the Irish war for Independence.

[@stevenconfident5883]

Well yes but also something that's overlooked is it also pioneered a lot of non-violent and political tactics colonized people could use. Particularly in India, there was actually a very close bond between a lot of Irish Republicans And the Indian Congress, some of them even being long-term pen pals such as Dev and Nehru

[@josephbrowne3533]

Collins invented modern squad based combat. He was the first person to put the Thompson to use, and make rate of fire per man an important point. Also the Democrats in Chicago tipped off the gangsters who stole half the legally bought shipment of Thompson guns and started the brutality that happened on American streets.

[@TheHorseOutside]

@@josephbrowne3533 what relevance did that last point have to the conversation?

[@johnboylan3591]

So many things are wrong bloody Sunday was Sunday November 21

[@walterblock5082]

@@josephbrowne3533 Except then they were the Dixiecrats, now they infest the GOP so what exactly were you not trying to say?

[@bikeman9899]

Irish history has been entwined with Britain for nearly 800 years. Most Irish ppl are familiar with this story well told here by Simon. I hope that more British ppl become more aware of their own history and its often dark, uncomfortable reality.

[@Charlie-pu9bx]

When I was in school, I was only ever taught about the "great" British things that happened in history. It's only now that I'm older with an interest in history that I have learnt about the atrocities that my country has committed throughout history. My Nan was Irish, so I'm taking the time to learn about Irish history, which I was never taught about.

[@williamwilliams7631]

@bikeman9899 I'm British over time Irish and English Scots Welsh we have our differences but we play fair we would fight with nuckels win loos draw the we work next to each other and drink in same pub to day it has to be knifes chickens faces covered and starma defending the left and calls the British far right the disgusting little man now is time for country's we call Britain to stick to gether and make it a united kingdom 🇬🇧 again to gether the house 🏠 will stand if we dount the house will fall god bless Britain 🇬🇧

[@michaelsinger4638]

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent Revolution inevitable.” -JFK. This Sums up the Irish’s fight for freedom rather well.

[@jonasduchateau8619]

That wasnt said by jfk ? I believe it was lenin or even marx

[@IanAlcorn]

@@jonasduchateau8619 It was JFK in March 1962

[@gloin10]

Every peaceful, or democratic, Irish movement to repeal the Act of Union was met by escalating repression and the deployment of anti-sedition laws that would have made Putin blush. The reality is that British rule in Ireland had no popular mandate, and was maintained by a massive armed gendarmerie(the Royal Irish Constabulary[RIC]), with a large British Army garrison to back them up. And of course, the British Army's barracks and weapons stores in Britain were only a short ferry trip away.

[@AnabolicSaagAloo]

Bit ironic coming from JFK.....

[@NobleKorhedron]

Did JFK really say that? I don't really remember him using it, and I have read some of his old papers/speeches, etc. I remember "Ask not what your country", and "Ich bin ein Berliner", but not Kennedy saying that about peaceful VS violent Revolution... Also, can anyone tell me why that makes him a hypocrite...?

[@conorbuckley4787]

“Give us the future, we’ve had enough of your past. Give us back our country to live in, to grow in, to love” - Michael Collins 🇮🇪

[@gingerandbroke1402]

"From one of the glorious victor's of the Great War, Britain had been reduced to looking like an abusive spouse brutalising an island that only ever wanted a peaceful divorce". Well said Simon. 👏🇮🇪

[@MrLorenzovanmatterho]

Nah, no one cared despite all the IRA propaganda, after all, SF supported the Germans

[@DarkShroom]

what about all them vikings that invaded us in 10th century? most of them came from Ireland, that's not our fault..... and then the catholics backed by france

[@MrLorenzovanmatterho]

@@DarkShroom Not to mention we Irish colonised southwest England prior to the arrival of the Normans, hence why Cornwall has towns called Gaelic names such as Dunderry and Derriford.

[@yoloswaggins7121]

@@MrLorenzovanmatterho That is not why Cornwall has Gaelic names. The entirety of the British Isles was populated by Gaelic speakers before the arrival of Anglo Saxons. The Natives of Cornwall, Devon, England and Wales were all Gaelic and that is why you can find Gaelic places names all over the place. There are more in Wales and Cornwall because those places held out longer than England did against the Germanic invasions. I have never heard of Irish groups colonising Cornwall btw. I know that the Dál Riata colonised North East Scotland but this Cornwall information is new to me.

[@MrLorenzovanmatterho]

@@yoloswaggins7121 Possibly but remember the Anglo Saxons were there over 500 years before the Normans arrived, certainly we did colonise the Southwest prior to that.

[@bosco4533]

I feel a range of emotions watching this.. it's only recently that people of the older generations rational enough to know that there was no point in spreading the hate that comes with telling tales of what happened in 1920 would bring have started speaking - every village, every family has a story of a black and tan raid, from my grandmother who told my father of the night they raided the home and checked the list that every house had to keep of its occupants. On the list was a male name, and the tans refused to believe that the name was that of the newborn in the house, and searched for whatever they thought they were looking for with a rage that left my gran under no illusions that if it had been a male of fighting age just gone out for whatever reason, he'd have been shot. Or a story of an attack on a black and tan barracks reprisal where they drove into another village, took 14 men and teenage boys and put them in a truck bound, drove off and they were never seen again. Innocent men and CHILDREN, murdered and dumped in an unmarked grave. Both villages are within 10 mins from where I live, and like I said every single town/village has a story. There was plenty done over the years by the Irish republican movement that's reprehensible, but what the crown forces did to the people of Ireland in and around 1920 makes me sad, for the innocent civilians, insensed that a Brittish government thought they could do it, proud that some brave men fought on hard enough to force an end to it, and a little confused as to how I should feel about it towards my British and Unionist friends today who are 100 years removed from it. It's no wonder it's taken this long for people in the south to come to terms with it and move on.

[@NobleKorhedron]

FINALLY, someone who sees why we've actively disliked the English ever since independence.

[@Urmashouldvswallowed]

The small town I live in balbriggan was burned down completely by the black & tans, and it wasn’t just the rebellion where we were slaughtered they allowed us to starve to death in the famine when they could’ve saved 4million people but chose not to because they saw us as peasants they wanted our land and tried to strip our Irish from us Irish is 1 of the oldest languages in the history of the world and it’s almost gone now because of England

[@SkunkApe407]

My grandmother 's dad and brother both gave their lives for Irish Independence. It was because of that and the persecution, that my grandmother and her mother came to the US. 31 January is still a solemn day of rememberance for my family. Éire go Deo

[@lampegutt123]

Sounds just like my fathers childhood in Turkie in a Kurdish village during the 80s/90s. Chasing rebels and forcing evacuations afterwards burning down villages sending them all over the country as refugees. Only difference you lads had an Island at least..

[@bristoled93]

@@NobleKorhedron If you dislike the English just for where we come from then you are part of the problem, if you hate the English you hate the Irish too, England has more people with Irish roots like myself than there are humans in all of Ireland.

[@depza2795]

Quote by Dan Breen on killing Black and Tans - " Yes I killed them, all killing is murder to me.I make no apologies for killing, and the only thing that I was ever really sorry for was the number that escaped" 'Any man that comes into my house or my country to try to take it over by force, I'm going to kill him and I'll use any and every means to do it and I'm not one bit sorry for it, to any man or God.' - Dan Breen

[@ruairiodonohoe2533]

The Man who fired the first Shots

[@marcphelan9883]

@@ruairiodonohoe2533 he didn't even fire a shot in solohead that day ,Tadgh Crowe fired the first shot killing the first police man and Sean Treacy the second ,the shooting was over before Dan knew it started ,for all information on soloheadbeg ambush read all the participants of the day first hand statements on their pension applications now available to read on the military archives, breen played his part just not on this day

[@kittydream_4717]

That's the most American sounding shit I've ever heard from an Irishman's mouth

[@Anverse-14]

Replaced Black and Tans with the IDF, and you got the standard Palestinian thought.

[@internetual7350]

​@freebeerfordworkers If he truly wanted to "honour" Michael Collins who would've fought against imperialism, and not became a settler colonist himself.

[@williammclelland6140]

It's rare, amazing and very insightful hearing these stories from a neutral non bias point of view. Being brittish with alot of Irish friends you its really appreciated

[@cosmolover94]

Thanks so much for this! An Aussie here 🇦🇺 (no Irish background, but English/German/Chinese ancestry). Very well put together....although I do agree with the comments on here about the talking speed....I had to pause/rewind a few times to take the many pieces of information onboard ...so you'll need to slow the pace down a bit. But other than that, brilliant stuff! I'd heard bits and pieces about IRA and violence in Ireland, but never understood the whos, whats and whys. I've always been fascinated with modern history, so I wanted to go back to the beginning of it all - wayyyy before the 60s and 70s - to find out exactly what happened and how the rumblings started. This video has definitely helped piece it all together. Many thanks again! 👌

[@dragonxx444]

Thank you Simon... May you have the strength to continue to educate all of us on such important moments in history. Please consider covering the greek civil war after WW2. So many factions, so much confusion 😢

[@halfhuff976]

He got. It wrong this time this is no where near the truth just recycled Irish propaganda

[@halfhuff976]

He got. It wrong this time this is no where near the truth just recycled Irish propaganda

[@homuraakemi493]

@@halfhuff976 what would you expect from an anti-brexit "left wing" guy that expatriated to a country with exceptionally low tax rates lol

[@--enyo--]

I know nothing about this so cast a vote for it. 👍

[@dragonxx444]

@@halfhuff976 So you are saying that nothing happened?! 🤣

[@9colm6]

Simon you're a legend for this!! Any chance you could do a biographic on Collins, de Valera or some 1916 rising leaders?

[@heliotropezzz333]

3 books that made a deep impression on me as regards Irish history were 'Hell or Connaught' by Peter Beresford Ellis about the Cromwellian conquests in Ireland and the aftermath in terms of laws passed against the native Irish, the plantations and enforced migrations, and in the 19th century the books by Asenath Nicholson, American methodist social observer and philanthropist who visited Ireland just before the famine to investigate the conditions of the poor and who came back again during the famine to observe, record and help out. The conditions of life for many native Irish even before the famine were dire and unjust, and her travels and observations indicate how this was enforced. The native Irish were blamed for their own conditions but there was no way out for them. Improvements to their properties, land and cultivation merely meant their rents would be increased. They were largely socially shunned, regarded with contempt, discriminated against and exploited by the landowning class and churchmen, who were protestant descendants of planters. Even before the famine, many native Irish lived on the edge of it, relying on potatoes and little else for their meals and unable to get any steady employment. Often animals kept would need to be sold to pay rents. Hers was one of the few, observed and recorded written accounts of that period, and there are no real photographs of the famine period. She came with no particular bias except to bring the truth of the bible (methodist version of that) to Ireland, so it's all the more remarkable that she came to feel so deeply for the native Irish poor and to record the heartlessness, injustice and ignorance in her own kind in the landlord class. Her accounts are very heartbreaking. Periods of violence come and go in history, but it is the grinding awful lived experience from generation to generation that makes the history most tragic in my mind.

[@huwguyver4208]

As an Aussie I had heard a little bit about the Irish War Of Independence but had no idea how fubar things really got. Perhaps we inherited a lot of our history lessons from Britain. The Black and Tans sound like the worst kind of scumbags imaginable. It is kind of incredible just how utterly the British tore apart the fabric of Irish society back in the day. So damn sad. Props also to Simon as a Brit for being willing to highlight some of the more brutal and unflattering aspects of British history. It is an often underrated trait, being equally willing to call out the misdeeds of members of your own in-group (in this case nationality) as you would the misdeeds of those outside it. Some might view that as disloyalty- it is actually integrity. EDIT: I initially implied that the War Of Independence was part of the Troubles, but apparently that is not accurate.

[@reasonsvoice8554]

You about 40 ish? The troubles as the press called it came later in our childhood

[@UlookinMe]

This needs more upvotes.

[@murpho999]

This video is not about “The Troubles”. That took place in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 1998. This is about the centuries long fight for Irish independence culminating in the War of Independence as covered in this video.

[@ruairiodonohoe2533]

The Tans Burnt down an Entire city. But that just made the entire county a Fortress of Nationilism. They do not learn

[@eamonncasey111]

You are correct to call them "the troubles" also. Older people in the South would often refer to that time as the troubles and newspapers of the time also did. Unfortunately we have had more than one "Troubles" just as we have had more than one "Bloody Sunday".

[@generaljoe3447]

As an Irishman, this does hit hard specifically because we're told about how we were treated "back in the day". But I live in the North, and the sad truth is we're still kind of forgotten. The only city really thriving up here is Belfast. Everywhere else is still small, if peaceful, and in the case of my town almost dying. A part of me hopes we get to join the Republic and really make Ireland one country again. Another part of me knows that probably won't happen, and it makes me sad.

[@paulduffy4585]

A lot of people are still dealing with the aftermath of the Troubles, at both an economic and at a personal level. It's going to take a while for that kind of evil to wash downstream. But it will. And Ireland will return to being a single entity.

[@DerAptrgangr]

The political winds have shifted pretty far in the last 25 years. I think that Irish Independence isn't too far off.

[@seanmckillen9090]

Id like to see one Ireland together for better with compromise for British unionist thinking people but some parts of NI r extreme loyalists British unionist whatever so I fear it might not happen ☘️

[@robk4598]

Thanks for taking the time to expose the world to irish history. Hope you cab cover the Irish civil War aswell. All your channels are amazing. Keep it up

[@gruntsffs1]

Having studied Irish and British history for years, your delivery of such a tinderbox of a topic was amazing as usual !!! Not sure if you’d recommend this book, back in 1995 when I was deployed to Bosnia, I came across a book called “Rebels, the Irish Rising of 1916”. It’s definitely slanted to the Irish point of view at the time. There’s also a good deal of poetry and memoirs from Collins, Pierce, de Valera, and many other Irish prisoners of the time. Keep em coming Simon!!!

[@sallyintucson]

Do you know when it was published and what publishing company made it?

[@gruntsffs1]

@@sallyintucson Peter De Rosa, published 1990. Hope you enjoy. Some of the letters and poetry written by those involved is amazing and heart wrenching

[@sallyintucson]

@@gruntsffs1 Thanks! Where are you serving?

[@gruntsffs1]

@@sallyintucson no problem 👍🏻 I joined the army infantry in 1992 and retired in 2014. I served in Germany, the US, Macedonia, Bosnia, and Iraq. I volunteered to be a recruiter for my last your so that I could be an applicant’s first contact. I never made the 20-22 enlistments in those 4 years, but in my heart I did. The soldiers I enlisted knew exactly what they were getting in to and, their likelihood of going to combat. I call that a win.

[@sallyintucson]

@@gruntsffs1 During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan I adopted three soldiers back to back. Amazing what you can fit in those little boxes with practice. I then dog sat for a Army Reservist for eight years. If/when we go back to war/military action I’ll be adopting again. Thank you for serving.

[@155hab]

As a Middle Easterner, I'm here to learn about the Irish struggle because I really admire their strong support of the Palestinian cause. 🇵🇸

[@johnroche7541]

The Black & Tans and Auxiliaries which were British veterans of WW1 committed war crimes in Ireland. After the Irish War of Independence hundreds of them including their Commander General Henry Tudour would join the Palestine Police Force.

[@Irishman0855]

Thank you brother💚🇮🇪🇵🇸

[@seonruiz4835]

As an Irish person we see what Israel is doing to the Palestinian people and how similar it is to what Britain did to the Irish.

[@Irishman0855]

@@NoWoke-JustWake wouldn’t wipe my arse with that flag😂👎🏻

[@draoi99]

Many of us Irish support the indigenous Jews against Arab Muslim imperialism. There's no such thing as a "Palestinian people." PLO spokesman Zuheir Mohsen made clear it is just a flag of convenience for imperial jihad.

[@teddtbhoy]

You should do a full video on the Troubles, there aren’t many videos about it on KZbin.

[@jezalb2710]

Loads of them

[@kgkg-nk6rd]

Although I had no relatives in the IRA during the war of independence , my grandparents hated the black and tans . My great grandfather was a baker and when the black n tans got pissed , they used to bang on his door at all hours of the morning and force him to cook them bread or they'd shoot him . After an ambush in a nearby town , the black n tans got pissed , drove to the town and burned most of it down and they killed a few civilians . My grandfather said they would've killed more except they couldn't shoot straight they were so drunk . Great video Simon 👍

[@klaykutsmaster]

As a history teacher from Ireland, i can attest to the fact that this is spot on. Very well done sir

[@joeyr7294]

Yesss more Ireland vids!!! Thanks Simon and Co. ☕🚬

[@HrZD16]

As an American, it's a shame we really don't get to learn about the Irish War of Independence or the Easter Rising in standard schooling. I only got a taste of the whole ordeal was a short story of two relatives on both sides of the conflict touched on in my junior literature class. Really fascinating stuff. Looking forward to the video on "The Troubles"

[@King_Cova]

You don't have to put quotation marks for the troubles, that's what it's called.

[@vainiancraze8416]

I've learned a lot of things watching documentaries on KZbin that they never taught me in American schooling.

[@zenolachance1181]

You're not from Boston are you? I am French Canadian from the Boston area and I know all of this. The right up to the IRA and Bobby Sands hunger strike

[@King_Cova]

@@zenolachance1181 Bostonians pretending to be Irish since for ever

[@King_Cova]

@@zenolachance1181 The best part is right up to the IRA, except the IRA were involved in everything, shows you what I said Bostonians are not Irish just pretending to be.

[@drabisan]

Only after I moved to Ireland I started learning its history. War of Independence is the pinnacle of making a dream becoming a reality. Can't respect enough all those people that had a dream and make it happen! I dream more Brits to dig deep and understand that part of the history! And Simon, like usual, did a great job! That would calm down some, if not a all, of "exceptionalism" former colonial powers still have (yeah, it's not only about Brits, French have it too, at the same level!). Being humble is the single lesson history can teach everyone of us! In a podcast I learned at one point discussion to impose apartheid in Ireland was took place in #10. Discarded, fortunately, for fear of international retaliation. Man, if that's true, those were crazy times! Yet, another credit to the Irish people who fought for Independence!

[@SharpeBalth]

Ireland would be an independent country now, full and entire, if not for the idiots that decided to use violence. They couldn't have cocked up this country more if they'd tried. Otherwise, lovely comment. :)

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@@SharpeBalth I have to agree. Although I think Post-seperation Ireland was a bit better than you put it (Apart from the economy certainly.) and the Irish were committed to democracy and such so the country remained surprisingly stable, it does seem the bloodshed was remarkably unnecessary and caused further bloodshed down the line. If nothing else, Irishmen seem to not realise how much of a relief loosing Ireland from British hands was.

[@padawanmage71]

When i hear the term for this period of Irish Independence, ‘The Troubles’ it seems like such an understatement. Like calling a nuke going off just a firecracker,.

[@niallkilkelly865]

The war of independence happened 50 years before the troubles

[@King_Cova]

Lol wrong time period. The war for independence was not called the troubles, the troubles are entirely different but has the same views.

[@padawanmage71]

@@King_Cova Sorry about that! Maybe Simon will cover that in the third segment in this series?

[@padawanmage71]

@@niallkilkelly865 Thanks, I didn’t know!

[@JamesHussey404]

@@padawanmage71 Part 3 will be about the civil war that happened after the signing of the treaty. Simon would also have to do eitheir a very well detailed video on The Troubles or split it into multiple parts itself.

[@notironic1616]

As a catholic Irish man from Kildare I appreciate you telling the brutal truths on both sides

[@BritainFirst_OM]

I love how these videos are absolutely balanced and unbiased, showing the good and bad done by both sides

[@joelmckinnon]

Don't know if it's already potentially in the pipe on biographics, but an episode on Michael Collins would be incredibly interesting!

[@ianmoore3470]

Definitely just more Irish history. Pearse and Tone would be interesting plus more recent. Hume, Gerry, Martin maybe

[@theawesomeman9821]

I think they did one on him

[@Kickback-dm7zt]

Would love to see a video on the siege of jadotiville on this channel

[@ranica47]

The Nine Years War was fascinating.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@@ranica47 You mean Tyrone's Rebellion (1593-1603) or the War of the League of Augsburg (1688-1697)?

[@hectorsmommy1717]

My family history is so wrapped up in Irish history. I am descended from original Irish, Anglo-Irish, and Ulster Protestants (in addition to English and a few others). For some reason I identify more with my Irish heritage than any other and find the history to be both fascinating and heartbreaking.

[@Avocadovr768]

You're not Irish

[@hectorsmommy1717]

@@Avocadovr768 I never said I was. I said I am descended from a variety of peoples who lived in Ireland at various points in history. I identify as a Wisconsin hybrid.

[@RazorMouth]

@@Avocadovr768 where did she say she was Irish? 🤡

[@terranceaddison4599]

​@@Avocadovr768 damn...what a way to put it 😕

[@comettamer]

This video explained so many things I never knew, or only knew a small bit about. Good for you Simon, making such a video that is both interesting and educational.

[@OneSocaJumbie]

Really well done Simon, glad to learn of this untold part of history of Ireland, but also sad to hear the horrific tales, sigh.

[@marcphelan9883]

Untold ? Maybe in the UK it's untold in Ireland we know our history and don't forget

[@TwentyNinerR]

15:03 "...instead, they declared the unrest was a policing matter..." I might be wrong, but I think this is similar to how the Dutch viewed their aggression towards Indonesia in 1947 and late 1948.

[@marktg98]

They did, even though they actually sent an army of about 150 thousand soldiers to Indonesia. It's just insane that we put up a bigger fight to keep one of our colonies than against our invasion by Germany. I'm ashamed of the history of my country sometimes....

[@vulpes7079]

Halo, halo Bandung...

[@vulpes7079]

@@marktg98 in 1940 your equipment was best suited to fighting a late 19th century war. By 1947 the British and Americans had armed and trained your soldiers and given some fun toys of war to your navy and air services. If the Netherlands had the same army in 1940 as it had in 1947, Indonesia would have won within the year

[@seanmccann8368]

If possible the Dutch were even worse than the brits.

[@aaronf8710]

“The darkness at the heart of the empire…” is such a good line. Not only representing the content described in the video, but also referencing Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,” which is widely seen as a critique of European colonialism.

[@johnmoloney5296]

As an Irishman, well done on the honesty of this, then again Simon I always enjoy your videos on your various channels, well done job this one,

[@conorbannon5024]

Well done Simon and the gang. Amazing documentary. This would be brilliant to show on irish classrooms. Can I suggest a biographics of Michael collins and countess markavich

[@ATLmodK]

Love Simon but had no idea he had yet another channel called warographics! Found this and it brings together two of my passions; Simon Whistler and Irish History. Thank you Simon, even though there were 800 more years uncovered.

[@mikeflannery7905]

Very well put together, well researched, balanced, and didn't pull punches, I hope it gets a wide audience in England

[@eamonncasey111]

Always nice to see a realistic account of that period by an English person. One of the points you hit on was the complete ignorance of Irish history, Britain s near neighbour, and first colonie's history, within the British education system. It is very frustrating talking to British friends of mine about anything to do with our joint history as they have zero idea about it and sometimes think its a humerus subject ! I wish it was. Anyway well done, good to see.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

Britain has other things to learn about. You got independence, you learn it.

[@jimheron007]

Well done Simon, it's a timely reminder of our joint history. It's specially important now post Brexit, the current government of the UK has been treating Northern Ireland and the Good Friday agreement with contempt. Ordinary British people need to know what their government is messing with.

[@GerSanRiv]

I wonder where this channel will land in tone. It seems obviously serious like into the shadows but hearing Simon's tangents regarding real history's most absurd stories would be so entertaining.

[@--enyo--]

I think given the topics I’d prefer if this channel stayed more serious. But if Simon wanted to restart the Biographics Podcast’s original iteration or some other casual history podcast I’d listen for sure.

[@alankelly9505]

Most of his channels are fully scripted, I think it's just the casual criminality and brain blaze where he adds his own off script and humour

[@jmeyer3rn]

I think I an French/German according to some casual family tree searches. But if you cut me I would hope to bleed green. I grew up in Saint Malachy Catholic Church school in central Indiana, and we were taught by mostly Irish Catholic nuns. And then there’s the Notre Dame faction, but I didn’t go there. I’ve traveled to Ireland once on my own with husband. Kilmainham Goal was a huge impression on me. And then just the gutted sad history and the still underdeveloped roads on which we traveled all left an impression. I love Ireland and hope to return just once before I die. ☘️🇮🇪💚☘️ Beautiful and thoroughly presented. I thank your writer. Great job.

[@cs7725]

As an American with a British grandmother and 25% Irish ancestry, I am embarrassed to admit that I know very little about Irish history. Thank you for making this very interesting video. Please keep them coming!

[@Urmashouldvswallowed]

Start learning you’ve a lot to catch up on

[@joprocter4573]

Keep that way as follow USA ppl funded ira and still raise money in covert ways for political wing of it.. In NI

[@windupmerchant1679]

@@joprocter4573 It's cute when uninformed people like yourself choose to ignore the existence of protestant terror groups such as the UDF, UDA, LVF, UPV, RHC or the RUC and the British army which were all funded by the British people. I applaud the people in the US for helping. 😁

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@@joprocter4573Why would you need to covertly raise money for a political party?

[@seankenno7]

This is so much more powerful impactful and educational coming from a British man Thank you Simon and team - from a proud Dubliner

[@edwardsheridan6913]

Fantastically informative,I am proud to be Irish and a huge Thank you for the Truth. WELL DONE 👏

[@ronaldobrien211]

Bravo Simon, very well explained, great accuracy and less unwanted photography!

[@davidslattery5168]

Awesome documentary. Very well written and presented. Another great topic is the Rineen ambush in co Clare, the last major engagement between the Black and Tans and the IRA the reprisals of which were so brutal they brought the cause of Irish independence to the worlds attention

[@jameskenny8821]

My great Uncle was the first casualty in the GPO. Second if you count the guy trying to climb up a window and shot. My great uncle James Kenny was only made a casualty because a volunteer from the lowlands accidentally shot him in the foot.

[@markhough1027]

Great video thank you Simon and co. Nice to see Irish history

[@owenthornhill9671]

I loved that you talked about it. Most English and Americans have no idea. You should cover Cromwell in Ireland

[@Candybit15]

Another excellent video on Ireland’s road to independence. If you could please make a video on Pedro Albizu Campos, a man held in high regard by both James Connolly and Eamon de Valera. De Valera, himself went so far as to ask Albizu Campos to consult on the constitution of the Irish Free State. Pedro Albizu Campos was fighting for his own country’s independence, he took many ideas from the Irish people’s fight for independence, and vice versa.

[@tezzasmif.]

Born English woman here (who doesnt like admitting that! ) with Irish parents and grandparents. So I was taught history at school from the British slant but given the attitudes and heart of the Irish at home. Ive been avidly learning about this period of Irish history- mainly blanked & defo glossed over, from A Level history I did. From where I sit you have done a splendid job covering this period of Irish history & with humour. Dirty weekend with Nigel Farage 🤣 I'd love to see this series on mainstream TV 🌟

[@TheBorderRyker]

“Every independent state, including Ukraine, has a sovereign right to decide its own foreign policy and seek its own alliances.” Boris Johnson, Feb. 9, 2022 ‘Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.’ George Santayana. Saor Alba 23 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@ianmoore3470]

TIocfaidh ar La 🇮🇪🤝🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Alba Go bragh. “We can still rise now and be a nation again”. Celtic brothers

[@TheBorderRyker]

@@ianmoore3470 Saor Alba agus Èirinn 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🤝🇮🇪

[@vulpes7079]

Yes, turn yourself into a banana republic at Brussels' mercy

[@TheBorderRyker]

@@vulpes7079 better than being a banana republic at Westminster’s mercy. They’ve been stealing from us and lying about it for longer than you can imagine. But, it’s no skin off my nose if you believe their lies. You see, up here, we actually research stuff and fact check our politicians. They’re far from perfect, but next to the hyenas in the commons and the unelected lords they’re bloody saint’s and if you think they have your best interests at heart then you are a fool. Saor Alba Gu Brath 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@ianmoore3470]

@@vulpes7079 oh I miss Brussels, better than Johnson at least

[@73dmonty]

I thought I knew of all the Simon channels. Clearly I did not!!! I was bummed when nothing from Simon showed up in my searches re: The Troubles . So glad YT decided to spit it out for me today!

[@noahcook3771]

I have been wanting to know what happened here for ages. I'm a map kind of guy so it has confused me to no end to see Ireland as part of the UK one page and then independent on the next. This is the kind of thing that I live for. Thanks for the info!

[@noahlogue3807]

Between 1909 and 1918 my Great Great Grandfather left but he was the only one and started his family here in the states. But i had cousins and uncles that fought or at least were in a unit. Simon you did a respectful job.

[@agent_meister477]

Excellent video Simon. Thank you. 🇮🇪☘️

[@MorganaWitchy15]

My family is from Roscommon (King House), but by now my Great-Grandfather had come to Canada and then America in 1924. I had no idea all of this happened. We learned only of WW1 in school during this time. Most of what I know of Roscommon and Ireland as a whole in this time comes from 1800s Era awards from the King and letters thst I inherited....and the King House website and book. Thank you so much for this amazing video full of knowledge.

[@roshaw87]

Genuine question not meaning any insult but if your family hasn't lived in Ireland for 100 years and the Kings history is well recorded as that of British settlers, how do you decide your family is from Roscommon Ireland and not Yorkshire England?

[@MorganaWitchy15]

@@roshaw87 I didn't decide it. History did. I understand the King's history is well documented. As with "The King's of King House." My American family is clearly written there as part of the Roscommon line. If you look up Debrett's and my name, I am in it. Burke's was out of print before I was born, but my mother is in it. Because my family is so easily traced through well documented history, and because we have a clear line written in Debrett's, it is quite easy to see that my family is from Roscommon. I do have a King's Cross from the 1820's given to my Great-Great-Great Grandfather from the King. Ireland was part of England at that time. Also, my Grandparents and Uncle were invited to the reopening of King House in 1995. They were invited by the curators because my Grandmother and Uncle were verified to come from that line. I also have been in recent contact with King House to figure out how to get our historical artifacts we have in America safely to them, as we have many that my Great-Grandfather brought with him when he inherited them from his Aunt Ina. I also have the history of my middle name going back each generation to Roscommon for 300 years. I hope that answers your question. If not, feel free to ask. I honestly have nothing to hide.

[@badluck5647]

British: It's not a war or an invasion. It's a "special operation". Putin: ....

[@patpierce4854]

Too true….

[@reasonsvoice8554]

Because of course we would let russia back the irish and makes bases with missiles there no problem at all obviously

[@conlaiarla]

Excellent observation. Well said.

[@internetzenmaster8952]

To be fair, at the time Ireland had not been internationally recognized as an independent nation. Policing your own backyard (even if you 'grounds keeper' is trying to carve off his own separate parcel of land) is a bit different than claiming your neighbor's yard as part of your property like what Putin's doing. And I say that as a man who will back the Irish over the damned tea-swilling Brits any day of the week.

[@haleyguthrie3113]

Says every single Native American for over 500 years..... Lolol

[@MrTexasDan]

Great video, we know so little about this history. I work at a US-based hi-tech company with a team in Cork. We would have conference calls frequently, and it always surprised me when their manager, with venom in his voice, would refer to the British as "those ... people". I guess I understand it a little more now.

[@caverly72]

Irish man here There is also a further 70 years of sectarian violence (the troubles) and segregation in the North of ireland between Republican Catholic's and Protestant Unionists (Catholic's were unable to get jobs in the North and were driven away from there homes there). Alot of people here in Ireland still harbour a lot of anger towards the British establishment over the 700-800 odd years of occupation, the famine and the more recent war crimes of the last 100 years (in fairness we ourselves did some shitty things during the troubles, the Omagh bombings being one instance) The whole Brexit thing really brought it to the surface again for a new generation for various reasons but in particular the question of the North of Ireland and whether it future lies with London or Dublin

[@King_Cova]

@@caverly72 Question northern or southerner? Because most people in the south honestly dont care too much about the north and if it will be incorporated into the country, I mean it's another 1.5 million people to add into to the country that's already drained financially, and FF and FG have zero interest in the north, now if SF get into power then the question of the north being powered by Dublin or London might come up again, but SF would have a lot of things to clear up and go forward with before ever turning to the north, so if the north was to be a part of a united Ireland again it's down a long road in the future.

[@caverly72]

@@King_Cova I'm a Southerner. I'll be honest I myself really didn't take an interest in reunification with the North until Brexit (where the prospect of a hard boarder was really a consideration for the British government for a while which made me sick). Now I'm of a different mind as I've taken more of a interest in the North and that now really is the right time for reunification because I strongly believe it might be done peacefully as I'd say there's more than a few moderate Protestants not happy with the British government right now. Your right SF probably would be the only ones to bring it home but as you said there are many issues here in the South, housing and health care are top issues to sort and SF have promised alot on both

[@FLV.USA.CONSTITITION.2ND.]

Bravo Simon,,Bravo!! What a fantastic job on this one!

[@keryeeastin4022]

Thank you Simon 😊 Irish- Iowa girl here

[@damiansweeney8537]

As a Irish man this video was very powerful it shows the hardship the Irish people went through to get Irish Independence and how if England had just agreed to there terms not all of the bloodshed would have happened but well history is never that easy is it huh

[@paulceglinski3087]

Greetings from Tennessee. Great video Simon, again. On my Mother's side of the family there is a huge Irish component and love of Erin was instilled by the whole mob. Always wanted to visit. We Americans only get the very broad outline of the Irish-British conflicts in school. Thanks again Lad.

[@craigyami]

If I was a history teacher I would use your videos in some of my lectures

[@jheck2722]

"Twas better to die 'neath an Irish sky than at Suvla or Sud-El-Bar"

[@IrishMike22]

Not that it's ever a problem, but kudos to you and the team Simon for not holding back and for telling it without bias. Love y'all 🙏

[@michaelmulligan0]

Correction the 6 counties of NI don’t all have a Protestant majority

[@ZAV1944]

Something you may consider covering on this channel would be The Battle of Hampton Roads(or the USS Monitor vs. CSS Virginia), the naval battle that would forever change how the war at sea was fought.

[@The_Republic_of_Ireland]

Simon since you're covering the War of Independence could you do a biographics on Mick Collins, Dan Breen and/or Tom Barry?

[@philipmcgrath9141]

Or Ernest O’Malley, one of the most interesting characters of the time.

[@marcphelan9883]

What did Dan Breen do ? Except self promote himself

[@paddycrackhead]

Fantastic work Simon!! Thanks for making this

[@jamiekelly4663]

Thank you Simon from an Irishman👏

[@SarahH28]

Thank you for covering this. Well researched and beautifully told. 😊

[@depza2795]

One thing to point out @14:00, the tactics of the War was to destroy British power, not simply eradication of all the British armed forces on the island. Burnings of Police Stations, Courthouses and the like, attacking British patrols and ambushing soldiers was just one aspect. The IRA was so badly armed in the beginning all they had was shotguns in most cases so they needed to get up close to soldiers and basically execute them in order to take their weapons. At the very beginning of the war, the IRA had been robbing Coast Guard huts because they had a couple rifles in them in those days.

[@Redtillimdead94]

One of your best videos, across all your chanels to date!

[@Rsama60]

The potatoe famine and the the poor conditions was not a missmanagement. This was done purposefully to keep the Irish poor and under control. Missmanagement would mean they would have done this because of incompetency.

[@JD-eq4dp]

An old Irish friend of mine says the problem with the english is they don't know enough of their history, good and bad, and the problem with the Irish is that they know 'too much of their history and not all of it is true'. His words not mine.

[@MJ-cv5ye]

There was also the sack of Trim(similar to ballbriggan), the shooting into a crowd at milltown malbay & the siege of Tralee, where aixillaries surrounded the town with snipers & told everyone to stay indoors or be shot. They then spent a week taking pot shots while people began to starve. They murdered anyone who left their house by sniper from the high ground around the town.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

The last one was in reprisal to the murder of two Royal Irish Constabulary men. Does not justify it of course.

[@garlandgarrison3739]

Good video, Simon. Love any tale of an oppressed people against their oppressors. See why the Irish are so proud of their island. Was there on the way to Afghanistan, what I saw was beautiful and clean. No litter anywhere. Kind people too.

[@Urmashouldvswallowed]

Well it’s a classic David and Goliath story, the English had tortured us for decades letting us starve to death in the famine degrading us to peasants to the point where our own cows an cattle were all being shipped over to England so we had to rely on potatoes to survive then the blight came and we were fucked they allowed more than 4million ppl to die, English was forced into our school we weren’t allowed speak Irish they invaded and stole 1/3 of our country from us and executed any1 who stood against them

[@garlandgarrison3739]

@@Urmashouldvswallowed Jesus....

[@travishylton6976]

are you an american?

[@garlandgarrison3739]

@@travishylton6976 yes

[@Clipgatherer]

One of the commanders of the British Auxiliaries during the rebellion was a certain Major Bernard Law Montgomery. He later wrote in his memoirs that his time in Ireland was not the proudest part of his career.

[@johnroche7541]

You are totally wrong. Major Bernard Montgonery never commanded any Auxiliary unit. He served with the regular British Army during the Irish War of Independence.

[@Clipgatherer]

@@johnroche7541 Well, maybe he did. But the fact is that written orders, signed by Montgomery, still exist, where strong measures against the Irish rebels are recommended. “Monty” may indeed have had some Irish blood on his hands.

[@johnroche7541]

@@Clipgatherer The Irish War of Independence is fascinating because some of the British officers who served in this conflict would later become famous or infamous in WW2. Obviously Major Bernard Montgomery who served with the 17th Infantry Brigade in Cork City would become famous for defeating General Erwin Rommel at the Battle of El-Alamein in WW2. Major Arthur Pervival of the 1st Bn Essex Regiment based in Cork would later as Lt-General Percival surrender Singapore to the Japanese. The "blackest day in the history of the British Empire" according to Churchill. There is famous footage of Percival in tropical uniform and wearing shorts surrendering to the Japanese. Major Douglas Wimberley who served with the 2nd Bn Cameron Highlanders based in Co.Cork would later command the 51st Highland Brigade at the Battle of El-Alamein. Major John Holland and Major Colin Gubbins served in Dublin and were so influenced by the IRA tactics that they would adopt similar tactics when they set up both the Commando's and SOE(Special Operation Executive) which in Churchills words were to "set Europe ablaze".

[@davidsheeran5144]

Your videos are well explained about history , keep up the good work

[@Loki_Morningstar666]

Awesome episode!!!! I always wondered why Northern Ireland was still under British control.

[@karolw.5208]

Although I knew a bit about the Easter Uprising, I had no idea what happened just a few years later. Very well done - and I am almost getting used to Simon's machine-gun style of delivery.

[@belfastbhoy5679]

Brilliant video, great balance and honesty, especially so from an Englishman. Would love to see one on the troubles, where the build up, and the actions during it, by the british government where almost exactly the same as with the war of independence. Major events most won't even be aware of like Bloody sunday and Ballymurphy, the Shankill butchers, bloody Friday, Michael Stone in Milltown, the mob killing of 2 soldiers in Andytown, Enniskillen, Warrington, La Mon, the hunger strikers and the role of british informants and the shadowy army groups FRU and MRF. It's a bit of a can of worms but the reality is, all sides committed brutal atrocities, and when that is acknowledged, noone can argue with it. Once again, appreciate the videos on my islands history, to this day a lot of English refuse to accept, or acknowledge, the crimes committed in Ireland.

[@That_One_Guy-STL]

Great video as always. I'd like to suggest a Warographics on the Seven Years' War with detail of the French and Indian War. Not as glamorous as some but still interesting in my opinion.

[@weywey3318]

Please post part 3 soon! I want to know what happens! :D (Great channel)

[@netrolancer1061]

Michael Collins is the GOAT.

[@chriss377]

On the day of Meghan and Harry's wedding I found myself apologizing to my African American neighbors who we celebrating the first ever black member of the British royal family. That part didn't occur to me as I scoffed "eff the crown, we booted them out in 1776!" The shock on their faces didn't rattle me. It want until I got home that I realized they had no clue my apathy toward the British crown was rooted in my Irish Catholic lineage. Upon returning I explained some of what you talked about here as well as Irish slavery aka "indentured servitude" and the horrible treatment of my ancestors on two continents. Not only was my apology accepted our friendships strengthened. I hold no hatred for the British, but I have no love for the crown either. I also have German, Polish, and Ukrainian roots making Putin's crimes somewhat personal for me. And while I have no desire to send American boys off to yet another European war if I were a younger man I surely would have signed up to go fight this tyranny and atrocity.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

The Crown was not doing especially much though. It just became a symbol, a potent one for both sides. For the British it represented the people and for the Irish the British/Anglo-Irish establishment. The government is what you should be angry at.

[@pineappleshake8305]

When will we be getting an opium wars or a boxer rebellion episode?

[@falconmclenny7284]

I've got a vague memory of a geographics opium war video

[@WayneimusPrime]

This was really really well covered

[@robertharrington703]

Video quality: 10/10 *Pronunciations: 1/10* Just joking, great video Simon and just in time for Paddy's Day 🇮🇪

[@cybervader3582]

I see WhistlerTube is one step closer to fruition lol. Great content 😁 (this just appeared in my recommended, now to binge)

[@CupOhCoffeeTwitch]

It's so sad to remember the history of Ireland. Brother fought brother. And for what? Religion and the British crown. My family name comes the county Cork but my family can trace our move to the United States because of the "great British potatoe steal". I'm proud of my Irish heritage because it brings me honor to know I have so many brave and honored men to look up to

[@henryward5457]

The Irish Potato Famine (which I assume you refer to) is what I learned most about Ireland in history class in America, due to the resulting emigration. (Well, that and we read "A Modest Proposal" in literature class).

[@anthonymcgills7037]

if you want a better understanding, watch the movie, The wind that shakes the Barley.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:25 - Chapter 1 - An unequal partnership 5:35 - Chapter 2 - Losing the peace 9:50 - Chapter 3 - 1st blood 13:35 - Chapter 4 - A bitter harvest 17:50 - Chapter 5 - The age of blood 22:05 - Chapter 6 - From the ashes

[@williamcullen4035]

i have to thank you ... you are ore far more ballanced then many i hear speek on this subject thank you

[@theawesomeman9821]

The English politicians who wanted to decolonize the British Empire, deserve credit for Irish Independence too. The Irish freedom fighters fought bravely but even their leaders knew they couldn't beat the British militarily after the Easter Rising. The leaders of the Irish independence movement ended up achieving their objective by diplomatically persuading English politicians to be sympathetic to their cause.

[@CountScarlioni]

Were it not for the Tories and their goddamned "orange card" powergaming, Irish Home Rule would have probably been a reality as far back as the 1880s.

[@theawesomeman9821]

@@CountScarlioni don't know what Tories are however I do know independence was accomplished by both Irish and English

[@CountScarlioni]

@@theawesomeman9821 "Tory" is the long-standing nickname of the British Conservative party. Many political attempts were made in the 19th century by sitting British governments to grant Ireland "Home Rule" making it independent for all intents and purposes. However whenever it looked like a Home Rule bill could pass a Commons vote, the Conservatives had a nasty habit of deliberately whipping up the Ulster Unionists into a frenzy, and threatening major political schisms in Westminster. They basically threatened to spark a civil war if the bill passed. As a result, despite actually having majority political support of the elected government, the bill could never get through parliament due to the second chamber kicking it out in endless delaying tactics. This civil conflict that eventually broke out was the result of these decades of deliberate political sabotage. So you are right, there was much high level support in the rest of the UK for Irish self government, but in the end that was never quite enough to avoid bloodshed.

[@theawesomeman9821]

@@CountScarlioni thanks for educating me

[@waylonjennings5063]

God this is such a snooty English thing to say

[@debratansey6074]

It is very difficult to find a completely unbiased informative documentary this seems to be exactly that informative and unbiased

[@EAWanderer]

All our Irish viewers will love this 1 haha 😁 🇮🇪☘️ I'm from Leeds in West Yorkshire UK but I am of Irish descent! - my own background traced to county Donnegal Next or soon do, Battle of Trafalgar! If you plz!

[@johnroche7541]

Over a quarter of Nelson's Jack Tars(sailors) at Trafalgar were Irish and some were from the Caribbean.