The continued violence by all sides during the War of Independence and the lawlessness that prevailed generated considerable interest in the international press, with many sending correspondents to witness events at first hand.

In Britain, there were varying reports about the cycle of violence and in June radical newspapers such as the Irish Bulletin published extracts from some. The excerpts gave an insight into popular opinion about the progress of the war and also about the conduct of the military. The London Daily Herald claimed that ‘British rule there (Ireland) is a stark regime of oppression’, that the military were ‘running amok’ in Ireland and doing so with ‘viciousness’. The Manchester Guardian believed that Ireland wanted to restore here ‘dignity and her full prosperity’; while the London Globe claimed, that Sinn Fein was winning the war everywhere. Newspapers such as the London New Witness went as far as claiming that ‘the union is broken: England can never govern Ireland again’. They also quoted British politicians who were also of the same opinion including, for example, Philip Snowden, an MP was quoted as saying that Ireland was being ruled ‘like a conquered province’.   Source: The Irish Bulletin,28th June 1920, page 1+2 IrishBulletin_28June1920  IrishBulletin_28June1920Page2