Freedom’s just another word to the elite who ruined our republic

Ernest Blythe was the Fine Gael (or Cumann na nGael) Minister for Finance in 1923.

The Civil War had just ended, and had left the country in debt — largely because of the size of the army still considered necessary. When Blythe decided he had to balance the books, it wasn’t the army he cut. Instead, he knocked 10% off the pay of every teacher in the country and five shillings off the old age pension.

Fianna Fáil didn’t exist at the time — the party wasn’t founded until four years later. But they campaigned vigorously against the cut as Sinn Féin and the memory of Blythe’s meanness helped Fianna Fáil sweep into office in the first election they fought after being founded.