The Irish Civil War

2022•52m•8.5/10

Documentary

Ratings

🎬TMDb

8.5/10(4)

The 3-part documentary series The Irish Civil War tells the epic and often challenging story of the origins, conflict and legacy of the civil war that took place in Ireland in 1922 and 1923. Narrated by Brendan Gleeson, produced in partnership with University College Cork by RTÉ Cork as part of the Decade of Centenary commemorations and based on UCC’s “mammoth and magnificent” Atlas of the Irish Revolution, this documentary series features extensive archive film footage, photographs and materials, interviews with leading academics, archive interviews with contemporary participants and witnesses, firsthand witness accounts read by actors, detailed and dynamic graphic maps based on those featured in the Atlas of the Irish Revolution, and stunning cinematography of the very locations where events took place.

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Production

Tyrone Productions, RTÉ, Create One

Language

Status

Ended

First Aired

December 11, 2022

Last Aired

December 13, 2022

Networks

RTÉ One

Created By

Ruán Magan

Where to Watch

Region US · Lang EN

No providers available for this region.

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Seasons & Episodes

Select a season to view episodes. Reddit links may contain spoilers.

Season

One People, Many Voices

Air date: 2022-12-11

This episode explores the events leading up to the outbreak of hostilities between those who supported and those who opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which was signed in late 1921.

The End of a Dream

Air date: 2022-12-12

This episode explores the conventional phase of the civil war. The fledgling Government, egged on by Churchill, opens fire against rebels installed in the Four Courts. Rebels take de facto control of the southern Munster Republic. The Army goes west and south to reassert its supremacy. Battle is joined and brother fights brother, to the horror of the war-weary citizenry.

Divided at Birth

Air date: 2022-12-13

This episode explores the guerrilla phase of the Civil War. After the pro-treaty forces retook many large towns, republicans were forced to change tactics against overwhelming odds. Though a ceasefire was declared in 1923, atrocities and reprisals from both sides left a terrible legacy that continued to influence Ireland generations later.