In this extract from Root of All Evil – the book\u2019s title is drawn from Northern Ireland Prime Minister and Ulster Unionist leader James Craig\u2019s vivid description of the Commission – Dr Moore sets the scene for an intriguing and infuriating story that continues to resonate today\u2026<\/p>\n
Article 12 of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty states:<\/p>\n \u201cA Commission consisting of three persons, one to be appointed by the Government of the Irish Free State, one to be appointed by the Government of Northern Ireland, and one who shall be Chairman to be appointed by the British Government shall determine in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants, so far as may be compatible with economic and geographic conditions, the boundaries between Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland, and for the purposes of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, and of this instrument, the boundary of Northern Ireland shall be such as may be determined by such Commission.\u201d<\/p>\n The Irish Boundary Commission<\/a> was offered by the British government as a concession to Sinn F\u00e9in and Irish nationalism during negotiations on the Anglo-Irish Treaty, in the hope of bringing about a permanent peace between Britain and Ireland.<\/p>\n The Sinn F\u00e9in plenipotentiaries accepted the Boundary Commission as a way to limit the consequences of the partition of Ireland, while for the British signatories it offered a path to an agreement on the troublesome Irish question that had dominated British party politics for decades. <\/p>\n Ireland had been arbitrarily partitioned by the British government under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 to appease Ulster unionists, whose opposition to a Home Rule government had been resolute since the Third Home Rule crisis ten years earlier.<\/p>\n Irish nationalists had never accepted this partitioning, but once the already established Northern Ireland government rejected British calls for the inclusion of the six counties in an all-Ireland parliament, the Treaty negotiations pivoted towards the establishment of a boundary commission on Ulster to overcome the impasse and go some way to meet the demands of the nationalists.<\/p>\n Read more: <\/b>How the Boundary Commission became the \u2018root of all evil\u2019 for nationalists<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Although boundary commissions had helped to resolve border disputes in post-First World War Europe, the nature and wording of the commission agreed to by Sinn F\u00e9in was at the heart of many of the subsequent problems Irish nationalists encountered. The devil was in the details.<\/p>\n Under the Treaty, the Irish Boundary Commission was to consist of three commissioners, one appointed by the Irish Free State government, one by the Northern Ireland government, and the chairman by the British government.<\/p>\n The job of the commissioners was to deliberate on the boundary question in Ireland. They were afforded full powers to redraw the boundary line based on those deliberations.<\/p>\n The vague wording of Article 12 gave great latitude to the commissioners to interpret the Boundary Commission\u2019s terms of reference as they saw fit, and with the Free State and Northern government representatives cancelling each other out, considerable control was vested with the British-appointed chairman.<\/p>\n Irish nationalists had never accepted this partitioning, but once the already established Northern Ireland government rejected British calls for the inclusion of the six counties in an all-Ireland parliament, the Treaty negotiations pivoted towards the establishment of a boundary commission on Ulster to overcome the impasse and go some way to meet the demands of the nationalists<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Boundary Commissioners worked intensively for a year, receiving submissions, interviewing witnesses, visiting contested areas and using different tools and data to reach a decision on a new boundary line.<\/p>\n Most of their work, as with the work of the governments beforehand, particularly that of the Free State government and its North Eastern Boundary Bureau, came to nought as there was no change to the border from the one provided for under the Government of Ireland Act 1920.<\/p>\n Despite those efforts and the considerable political controversy that surrounded the Irish Boundary Commission throughout its existence, not one person or acre of land was transferred under the Commission\u2019s remit.<\/p>\n Read more: <\/b>Fermanagh Nationalists make their case to the Boundary Commission – On This Day in 1925<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n While the tale of the Irish Boundary Commission could be accused of being one about nothing, given the ultimate outcome, the complex and fascinating story reveals much about the nature of Ireland\u2019s partition and about the Free State\u2019s attempts to assert its independence on the one hand and the British government\u2019s efforts to maintain the reach of its global empire on the other.<\/p>\n The Irish Boundary Commission, in the words of Kieran Rankin, \u201cserved as a crucial catalyst in defining the Irish Free State\u2019s relationship with the British State and in entrenching the territorial framework of Northern Ireland\u2019s six counties that exists to this day\u201d.<\/p>\n The Boundary Commission was a crucial high-stakes matter for the British, Free State and Northern Irish governments from the moment it became a component of the Treaty in late 1921 through to its termination four years later.<\/p>\n Read more: <\/b>Boundary Problem \u2013 Can Free State territory be interfered with? – On This Day in 1925<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Nevertheless, this is not only a story of high politics but one of how the decisions from above impacted on people on the ground. Through the different reactions and inputs of people from multiple perspectives, who engaged with the Boundary Commission before and during its convening, the rich source material provides key information on the consequences of the partition of Ireland on day-to-day life, particularly for those who lived close to the border. <\/p>\n The Boundary Commission saga also revealed much about the Irish Free State\u2019s efforts to forge its identity as a newly independent nation of the world while attempting to increase the size of its territory and the amount of people who resided in it, with an ultimate aim of ending par\u00adtition<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/TRYZSIHMINDLDK6ZFVM3C7MMLQ.jpeg\")
<\/a>![\"Hope](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/XIE7I72F4FHEVOHUH2P4KIW36Y.png\")
<\/a>![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1747460594_678_SXIUENXQNVBSDEQO5EERNMOEN4.png\")
A map produced during deliberations by the Boundary Commission showing religious breakdowns of areas in determining the border <\/p>\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1747460594_459_OUFR7CKAQ5CSTGAQAUYWWXGY3Y.png\")
The Morning Post newspaper published details of the Boundary Commission’s recommendations <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1747460595_155_RJEZ7QPOYBFCZFFOOKZYLQQ7ZA.jpeg\")
A map showing the Boundary Commission’s proposed changes to the border, including areas marked for transfer to Northern Ireland and to the Free State <\/p>\n\n
![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/6B6Z23FKZ5EFFEA5KTZZIBD7KM.jpg\")
James Craig and fellow members of the Northern Ireland cabinet meet at his English home, Cleeve Court, to discuss the appointment of a representative to the Boundary Commission. Picture: E Bacon\/Topical Press Agency\/Getty Images (E. Bacon\/Getty Images) <\/p>\n![\"Judge](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/PQLY4K3CXJEZ7O52WCXZEV6FAA.png\")
The Boundary Commission was chaired by Judge Richard Feetham <\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1747460597_266_FSAQRA4BCNGDFOT45MORHGKLPM.jpeg\")
The Root of All Evil: The Irish Boundary Commission, by Cormac Moore is out now <\/p>\n