This work addresses a gap in the historiography of the Irish revolution: the use of intimidation and assassination by the IRA. Although some studies have focused on whether IRA assassinations were justified, little scholarship exists about their effect on British policy in Ireland or their role in altering public perception of the conflict in Ireland. Historians have written even less about IRA intimidation during the Irish revolution, even though people were more likely to be a victim of intimidation than to be involved in a gun battle. This thesis examines the ways in which IRA intimidation and assassination affected British public opinion of the conflict in Ireland, and it considers the role that these actions played in forcing the British government to seek a truce with the Irish republicans. I argue that the IRA's campaign of intimidation and assassination was the most important tactic in forcing the British government to seek a treaty with the members of the provisional Irish Republican government.
