[4] Some of the primary concerns for those unsatisfied with the state of Ireland at the time included a government unconcerned with the republican ideals the nation was created with, widespread poverty in Ireland, and a general inability for the nation to be a major player on the world stage capable of defending itself.
The shortage of sugar, soap, tea, paraffin, tobacco, meat, flour, bread and biscuits has prompted many people to move.
[citation needed] Many Irish artists rejected the established institutions and sought philosophical inspiration from other fields, particularly that of literature.
The White Stag Group, formed by Kenneth Hall and Basil Rakoczi, had middle-class English roots that spread to Dublin and the rest of Ireland.
The organisations of the IELA and White Stag Group are cited as responsible for non-traditional Irish art being displayed in a way that was accessible and popular.
[9] While not all of them subscribed completely to the modernism of the rest of western Europe and the United States, these artists did seek to stray off the path established by Irish art institutions.
Many artists that founded the IELA were influenced by the dissenting Impressionist art circles in Paris who broke away from the French Academy.
[10] In some instances, this division was deeply entrenched, especially in the National College of Art, which was opposed to modernist movements for some time.