The Root of All Evil: The Irish Boundary Commission

Described by Ulster Unionist leader James Craig as the ’ root of all evil’, the Boundary Commission that convened in 1924 was a symbol of hope for nationalist Ireland and fear for unionist Northern Ireland. Offered to Sinn Fé in plenipotentiaries to help push the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty over the line, it was believed the Commission would transfer large tracts of the six counties back to the newly established Free State. However, delayed by the Civil War and Unionist non-cooperation, and hampered from the start by the vague and ambiguous wording of the clause in the Treaty, by the Irish government’s naivety, by the intransigence of unionists, and by the duplicity of successive British governments, it ultimately bolstered the unionist cause, leaving the border unchanged. Swathes of Northern nationalists were abandoned to their fate, their trust in both British and Free State governments irrevocably damaged. One hundred years on, Cormac Moore illuminates the fascinating and infuriating story behind the Boundary Commission’s momentous failure, which would have long-lasting, catastrophic consequences for the entirety of the island of Ireland.

Dr Cormac Moore is an historian-in-residence with Dublin City Council and a columnist with The Irish News who also edits its ’ On This Day’ segment. He has published widely on Irish history, including the books, Laois: The Irish Revolution, 1912- 1923 (Four Courts Press, 2025), Birth of the Border: The Impact of Partition in Ireland (Merrion Press, 2019), The Irish Soccer Split (Cork University Press, 2015), and The GAA V Douglas Hyde: The Removal of Ireland’s First President as GAA Patron (The Collins Press, 2012).