In 1924, three years after Ireland won independence in 1921, New York Times Magazine reported on how many traces of old Britishness were disappearing from the new nation.

The Irish War of Independence took place from 1919 to 1921, ending when the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in December 1921. While Ireland technically still remained part of the British Empire, they gained “dominion” status, effectively providing for home rule when it came to domestic affairs. Australia had previously gained this status in 1901, followed by New Zealand in 1907, plus South Africa in 1910.

The journalist William George Fitz-Gerald, writing under the pen name Ignatius Phayre, described the changing Ireland in 1924:

The street letter boxes of Dublin are no longer a lurid British scarlet. They are now painted a dark green, and the very warning notices on a fresh and smeary coat are in the Gaelic characters. The streets of Ireland’s metropolis are now renamed bilingually.

…

A truly Irish Ireland, the new government feels, can only be achieved by restoring a purely Gaelic civilization, alike on the cultural and material sides. Thus the new Irish trademark is an invitation to all to “support home industries,” even where stuffs and goods cost a good deal more than the imported article.

Britain wouldn’t officially relinquish its powers over Ireland until 1949.

As for Fitz-Gerald (a.k.a Phayre), his journalistic legacy today is largely remembered for burnishing Hitler’s reputation to American audiences in a series of 1930s articles.

 

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The Irishing of Ireland

Published: Sunday, April 27, 1924