Partition of Ireland
Beginning on 21 January 1919 with the Soloheadbeg ambush, through the Irish War of Independence, Irish republicans attempted to bring about the secession of Ireland from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Meanwhile, Irish unionistsmost of whom lived in the northeast of the islandwere just as determined to maintain the Union. The British Government, committed to implementing Home Rule, set up a cabinet committee under the chairmanship of southern unionist Walter Long. The Long Committee recommended the establishment of two devolved administrations, dividing the island into two territories: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. This was implemented as the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The act entered into force as a "" on 3 May 1921 and provided that Northern Ireland would consist of the six northeastern counties, while the remainder of the island would form Southern Ireland. It was intended that each jurisdiction would be granted home rule but remain within the United Kingdom. The government of Southern Ireland never functioned: the war for independence continued until the two sides agreed a truce in July 1921, ending with the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921.
Flag of Ireland
In 1921, Ireland was partitioned, with the unionist-dominated north-east becoming Northern Ireland, while later, in 1922, the remainder of Ireland left the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to form the Irish Free State. Northern Ireland continued to use the UK's Union Flag and created its Ulster Banner derivation of the flag of Ulster with a crown on top of a six-pointed star. Furthermore, for many years the tricolour was effectively banned in Northern Ireland under the Flags and Emblems (Display) Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 which empowered the police to remove any flag that could cause a breach of the peace but specified, rather controversially, that a Union Flag could never have such an effect. In 1964, the enforcement of this law by the Royal Ulster Constabulary at the behest of Ian Paisley, involving the removal of a single tricolour from the offices of Sinn Féin in Belfast, led to two days of rioting. The tricolour was immediately replaced, highlighting the difficulty of enforcing the law.