Scratches across the Heart

RRThis chapter clarifies the concept of partition, and then evaluates the partition of Ireland, comparing it with the colonial partitions of Palestine and British India, as well as other cases. Types of partition are carefully distinguished, and explanations for their emergence are evaluated, as well as the justifications that usually accompany them. The actual partition of Ireland is appraised against potentially fairer partitions. The failure of the Irish Boundary Commission provided for in the Treaty of 1921 ratified by the Westminster and Dublin parliaments is explained. An assessment is made of the degree to which fraud and deceit occurred in the making of the treaty that specified how partition might be modified.