Irish statesman. He was the founder and leader of the Sinn Fein movement, which aimed for the independence of Ireland. Griffith was of the opinion that Ireland would gain independence as a result of passive resistance, not through legal struggle methods carried out by the Irish members of the British House of Commons.
Arthur Joseph Griffith (31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor, and politician who founded the Sinn Féin political party.
He led the Irish delegation in the negotiations that formed the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 and served as president of Dáil Éireann from January 1922 until his death in August.
He was born in Dublin on 31 March 1872 and died in the same city on 12 August 1922. Between 1896 and 1898, he worked as a typesetting operator in London and as a journalist in South Africa. In 1899, he began publishing the weekly magazine The United Irishman, which later became Sinn Fein (Us).
Arthur Joseph Griffith (31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that produced the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, and served as the president of Dáil Éireann from January 1922 until his death later in August.
Griffith was of the opinion that Ireland would gain independence as a result of passive resistance, not through legal struggle methods carried out by the Irish members of the British House of Commons. He advocated the establishment of independent courts, non-payment of income taxes, and that Irish members of the British House of Commons should form a national parliament in Ireland. At the meeting of the Gaelic Association held in Dublin in 1902, his views on independence were accepted and the movement he led took the name Sinn Fein.
Although Griffith's failure to participate in the 1916 Easter Rising caused him to lose his influence over radical nationalists, he regained his influence when he was arrested in May 1916 and sent to a prison camp in the Welsh region. After his release in December 1916, De Valera was appointed chairman of the Sinn Fein Party. Griffith, who started working as a journalist again, was arrested again in 1918 due to his articles against British rule.
Most historians opt for 28 November 1905 as a founding date because it was on this date that Griffith first presented his 'Sinn Féin Policy'. In his writings, Griffith declared that the Act of Union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1800 was illegal and that, consequently, the Anglo-Irish dual monarchy that existed under Grattan's Parliament and the so-called Constitution of 1782 were still in effect. Its first president was Edward Martyn.
After the Sinn Fein Party achieved great success in the December 1918 elections, as the first step towards independence, the Irish Assembly (Dâil Eireann) was established by the Irish members of the House of Commons, and the republic was declared. The parliament announced that De Valera, who was both in prison, was elected president and Griffith was elected vice president.
Griffith, who was released from prison after a while, took over the management during De Valera's stay in the USA in 1919-1920 and tended to implement the independence policy envisioned by the Sinn Fein movement. During this period, independent local courts were established, income taxes were not paid, resistance units were formed and an armed struggle was launched against British rule.
Griffith headed the Irish delegation, together with Collins, during the independence talks held in London in 1921. At the end of the negotiations, with the agreement signed on 6 October 1921, the British proposal that the 6 provinces in the Ulster region remain loyal to England and the establishment of a Free Irish State with dominion status was accepted.
De Valera, who opposed the treaty, resigned after the treaty was approved by the parliament in January 1922. Griffith replaced De Valera as president. Collins was elected head of the interim government. Civil war broke out in the country on June 22, 1922, when those who opposed the treaty launched armed actions. Griffith died shortly after the start of the Civil War.