"The Sniper," by Liam O'Flaherty is historically relevant
because he was writing about very real occurrences in Ireland during the Irish Civil
War, where fighting took place between the Republicans and Free Staters—when families
were divided and innocent people were literally "caught in the
cross-fire."
Historically, the war in Ireland had been
raging in one form or another for hundreds of years. In the twelfth century, an English
"king" had declared Ireland to be property of the British and over the several
centuries, colonization by the English took place in Ireland. Ireland's native
inhabitants were not happy about this. The northern part of Ireland was predominantly
Protestant, while the southern part of Ireland was predominantly Catholic. Because so
many people had settled in northern Ireland, and major businesses as well, it was
impossible—as time went on—to allow Ireland to become an independent nation. And while
things have changed—the battles are no longer raging in the streets and the form of
government has changed—there are still some tensions remaining
there.
Before the Civil War in Ireland, in 1922,
"twenty-three of Ireland's thirty-two counties were [declared] Irish Free States." The
Anglo-Irish Treaty had been signed to bring peace, but not everyone in Ireland was in
agreement with adoption of the treaty. The "Free Staters" supported the treaty, while
the Republicans (connected to the IRA, the Irish Republican Army) did
not.
The story of "The Sniper" tells of the cruel realities
of the Irish Civil War, where innocents were killed and families were divided, father
against son and brother against brother—very similar to the American Civil War. In the
story, the sniper—the main character—is a member of the Republican forces, and his
brother, the other sniper, is a Free Stater.
This is the
historical relevance of the short story, helping the reader to understand why citizens
of Ireland were at war with each other.
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