[3][4] The early years of the Free State, when it was governed by the pro-Treaty party Cumann na nGaedheal, have been described by at least one historian as a counter-revolution.

[5] Home Rule seemed certain in 1910 when the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) under John Redmond held the balance of power in the British House of Commons.

Before the war ended, Britain made two concerted efforts to implement Home Rule, one in May 1916 and again with the Irish Convention during 1917–1918, but nationalists and unionists were unable to agree to terms for the temporary or permanent exclusion of Ulster from its provisions.

[22] In May 2010, the Institute for British Irish Studies in University College Dublin organised a conference on the theme A Decade of Centenaries: Commemorating Our Shared History.

[23] Taoiseach Brian Cowen addressed the conference:[24] This coming decade of commemorations, if well prepared and carefully considered, should enable all of us on this island to complete the journey we have started towards lasting peace and reconciliation.

With the centenaries of the Ulster Covenant, the Battle of the Somme, the Easter Rising, the War of Independence, the Government of Ireland Act and the Treaty, the events which led to the political division of this island come up for re-examination.

We will also reflect on the crucial roles played by the Labour movement in that defining decade.He later said "We believe that mutual respect should be central to all commemorative events and that historical accuracy should be paramount.

"[25] The Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement discussed commemoration on 13 October 2011, at which Ian Adamson said "The main problem that persists is one of two narratives.

"[32] In a debate on the programme in the Seanad in June 2012, Martin McAleese said "It may be more accurate to regard not alone the decade from 1912 to 1922 but rather the 13-year period from 1911 to 1923, as representing the turbulent years that had such a dramatic impact on the course of our island's history.

There are approximately 62 events in that period which constitute the package of centenary celebrations, from the arrival of James Connolly in Belfast in 1911 through to the ending of the Civil War in 1923.