The history of Roscommon in the 1912-23 period is one of transition to
new political allegiances while retaining old economic desires. Almost
wholly dependent on agriculture to fuel the local economy and sustain
the county's people, the fight for land was the ever-present backdrop to
Roscommon's recent history. By 1912 the organization that had provided
leadership in that fight--the Irish Parliamentary Party--was on the cusp
of achieving Irish home rule, a measure believed to have the potential
to settle the land issue. The need to protect the bill saw thousands in
Roscommon join the Irish Volunteers and proclaim their opposition to
anti-home rule unionists. The First World War led to the suspension of
home rule and a call by Irish MPs for their followers to support the
British war effort. However, a combination of increasing wartime prices,
inadequate food production, ongoing land issues, as well as the
toleration of partition by local MPs and the draconian British response
to Easter 1916 caused many in Roscommon to reassess their political
allegiance. Sensationally, in February 1917, Roscommon elected the first
Sinn Fein-backed MP. This proved a decisive step in the demise of the
Irish Parliamentary Party and the success of Sinn Fein, which
reinvigorated the fight for the land as part of its efforts for a
republic. In 1919, Roscommon men took up arms against the British to
pursue Sinn Fein aims, only to turn the weapons on one another three
years later when conflict over the continued pursuit of the Irish
Republic led to civil war. In tracing the history of Roscommon during
these years of instability, Burke's careful research has produced a
comprehensive and accessible study that illuminates and explains the
changes and continuities that defined the period.
