Hello! As our roleplay officially moves into 1921, I've been giving a lot of thought to the real-world historical events of this period and how they would realistically impact our magical world. Specifically, I'm thinking about the Anglo-Irish Treaty. For background context;
So, what does that mean for Magical Britain and Ireland? As we have seen, the magical world, is often parasitic on the Muggle world, and thus quite naturally would have had to adapt to this new reality. After all, the British Ministry suddenly finds itself with a chunk of its territory now belonging to a different Muggle government. In canon, one of the Minister for Magic's duties was to correspond with the British Prime Minister regarding any ongoing events in the wizarding world that would or could affect the United Kingdom as a whole, such as Voldemort's return. This included introducing themselves to the Muggle Prime Minister when there was a change in office on either side.
But this raises a big question: if the magical world is indeed parasitic on the Muggle world, what happens when the Muggle world splits?
Prior to 1921, this relationship was likely just straightfoward. One magical government corresponding with one Muggle government about magical affairs affecting one unified territory. But the Anglo-Irish Treaty shatters this simple arrangement. Suddenly, there are two Muggle governments with legitimate claims to know about magical affairs affecting their respective territories. The British Prime Minister still needs to know about magical threats to Britain, but now there's also an Irish Free State government that presumably has the same right to know about magical affairs affecting Irish soil.
Yet the magical world hasn't split. There's still just one Ministry of Magic in London, still governing magical affairs across the entire archipelago as if nothing has changed. This creates an odd situation: how can a single magical authority properly shadow/serve two separate, and potentially competing, Muggle governments?
The obvious solutions are equally problematic. Maintaining a single British Ministry that governs the entire archipelago without contention is too simplistic a model—it just ignores the centuries of conflict that led to partition in the first place, and the very real political reality that half of Ireland's magical folk now live under a different Muggle government. But a completely independent "Irish Ministry" doesn't fit either. Such a system would struggle to explain several key things. First, there's the continued cultural dominance of institutions like Hogwarts. For centuries, Irish magical children have been educated alongside their British counterparts, currently are being educated at Hogwarts, and Irish magical families have marriages, business partnerships, and friendships that span the Irish Sea. You can't simply sever those overnight with a political decree.
Moreover, you cannot tell me that the magical communities of the UK haven't developed complex, interdependent relationships over centuries. The magical economy doesn't respect Muggle borders—Irish potion ingredients flow to British/Scottish apothecaries, British/Scottish-trained Healers work in Ireland, and the Floo Network has created a unified form of magical travel that predates any political partition. A completely independent Irish Ministry would face the sheer monumental, near-impossible task of creating an entire magical state from scratch. E.g., establishing its own comprehensive legal framework, economic infrastructure, professional accreditation bodies, educational institutions, and seeking international magical recognition - however that works. It would either need to maintain these existing British systems and frameworks (making independence somewhat hollow) or sever them entirely (causing massive, disruptive upheaval to magical life on both sides of the Irish Sea).
The most realistic scenario, reflecting the messy compromises of actual history, would be something far more complex. Which, I believe to be a two-tiered system born from a magical equivalent of the Anglo-Irish Treaty itself.
Naturally, this would necessitate a formal response from the British Ministry of Magic. Following the Muggle Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Ministry's governing body (perhaps the Wizengamot Council, or a specially convened committee) would have been compelled to address this new political entity, particularly from, say Irish magical leaders who saw an opportunity in the Muggle conflict. After intense debate and negotiation, I would say they would have drafted and ratified a magical equivalent, something such as - the "Magical Governance Accord of 1922."
This Accord would formally establish the Irish Department of Magical Affairs (IDMA) in Dublin. It would be a semi-autonomous body responsible for the day-to-day governance of the magical community within the 26 counties of Ireland. They would handle local law enforcement (like dealing with magical creature disputes or minor dark arts infractions), regulate potion ingredients, and manage the Irish Floo Network domestically. However, and this is the crucial point of contention, the Accord would force them to cede authority on several key areas to the British Ministry of Magic in London. These would include foreign policy, defense against major dark threats (explaining why British Aurors might have jurisdiction during wars, etc), and, most importantly, education. Hogwarts would be enshrined in the treaty as the sole accredited institution for all magical children in Britain and Ireland.
And what about travel? In the HP books, we've seen instances of seamless Floo travel within Britain and Scotland. But what about Ireland under this new arrangement? With an established governance like the IDMA, the Floo Network within the 26 counties of Ireland would be managed entirely by the IDMA. This means that for Irish witches and wizards, internal travel between private hearths or public Floo stations across the Free State remains as free and unmonitored as it always was within a single magical jurisdiction during peacetime.
However, the Floo Network between Ireland and Britain would be connected, but far from seamless. Think of it like the phone networks before the EU standardized everything, or indeed, like crossing a physical border. To travel from a private hearth in Ireland to a public one in London like the Leaky Cauldron (or vice-versa), the connection has to be routed through an official exchange point monitored by both the IDMA and the British Ministry. It's not a full customs check with wands being confiscated, but it is a monitored system. Every cross-channel Floo trip is logged, creating a record of movement between the two magical jurisdictions. This adds a layer of bureaucracy and oversight that would have been entirely absent before the Accord.
So, yeah, I'm just wafing, but really curious to see people's thoughts on this!
The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 was an agreement signed on December 6, 1921, between the British government and the Irish Republic, which had been declared by Irish nationalists in 1919. The treaty brought an official end to the Irish War of Independence (21 January 1919 – 11 July 1921) and established the Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion within the British Empire, similar in status to Canada. This meant that Ireland would have its own parliament and government, while still recognizing the British monarch as head of state. One of the treaty’s most significant and contentious provisions was the confirmation of the island’s partition: six counties in the north, with a Protestant Unionist majority, were given the choice to remain part of the United Kingdom, forming Northern Ireland, which they promptly did.
The treaty, of course, led to growing divisions among Irish leaders and citizens. Supporters, led by Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith, viewed it as a practical step toward full independence, believing it offered Ireland the freedom to develop and eventually achieve complete sovereignty. Opponents, led by Éamon de Valera, condemned the agreement for requiring an oath of allegiance to the British Crown and for falling short of the fully independent republic they had fought for. These disagreements ultimately fractured the Irish nationalist movement and led to the outbreak of the Irish Civil War (1922–1923).
The treaty, of course, led to growing divisions among Irish leaders and citizens. Supporters, led by Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith, viewed it as a practical step toward full independence, believing it offered Ireland the freedom to develop and eventually achieve complete sovereignty. Opponents, led by Éamon de Valera, condemned the agreement for requiring an oath of allegiance to the British Crown and for falling short of the fully independent republic they had fought for. These disagreements ultimately fractured the Irish nationalist movement and led to the outbreak of the Irish Civil War (1922–1923).
So, what does that mean for Magical Britain and Ireland? As we have seen, the magical world, is often parasitic on the Muggle world, and thus quite naturally would have had to adapt to this new reality. After all, the British Ministry suddenly finds itself with a chunk of its territory now belonging to a different Muggle government. In canon, one of the Minister for Magic's duties was to correspond with the British Prime Minister regarding any ongoing events in the wizarding world that would or could affect the United Kingdom as a whole, such as Voldemort's return. This included introducing themselves to the Muggle Prime Minister when there was a change in office on either side.
But this raises a big question: if the magical world is indeed parasitic on the Muggle world, what happens when the Muggle world splits?
Prior to 1921, this relationship was likely just straightfoward. One magical government corresponding with one Muggle government about magical affairs affecting one unified territory. But the Anglo-Irish Treaty shatters this simple arrangement. Suddenly, there are two Muggle governments with legitimate claims to know about magical affairs affecting their respective territories. The British Prime Minister still needs to know about magical threats to Britain, but now there's also an Irish Free State government that presumably has the same right to know about magical affairs affecting Irish soil.
Yet the magical world hasn't split. There's still just one Ministry of Magic in London, still governing magical affairs across the entire archipelago as if nothing has changed. This creates an odd situation: how can a single magical authority properly shadow/serve two separate, and potentially competing, Muggle governments?
The obvious solutions are equally problematic. Maintaining a single British Ministry that governs the entire archipelago without contention is too simplistic a model—it just ignores the centuries of conflict that led to partition in the first place, and the very real political reality that half of Ireland's magical folk now live under a different Muggle government. But a completely independent "Irish Ministry" doesn't fit either. Such a system would struggle to explain several key things. First, there's the continued cultural dominance of institutions like Hogwarts. For centuries, Irish magical children have been educated alongside their British counterparts, currently are being educated at Hogwarts, and Irish magical families have marriages, business partnerships, and friendships that span the Irish Sea. You can't simply sever those overnight with a political decree.
Moreover, you cannot tell me that the magical communities of the UK haven't developed complex, interdependent relationships over centuries. The magical economy doesn't respect Muggle borders—Irish potion ingredients flow to British/Scottish apothecaries, British/Scottish-trained Healers work in Ireland, and the Floo Network has created a unified form of magical travel that predates any political partition. A completely independent Irish Ministry would face the sheer monumental, near-impossible task of creating an entire magical state from scratch. E.g., establishing its own comprehensive legal framework, economic infrastructure, professional accreditation bodies, educational institutions, and seeking international magical recognition - however that works. It would either need to maintain these existing British systems and frameworks (making independence somewhat hollow) or sever them entirely (causing massive, disruptive upheaval to magical life on both sides of the Irish Sea).
The most realistic scenario, reflecting the messy compromises of actual history, would be something far more complex. Which, I believe to be a two-tiered system born from a magical equivalent of the Anglo-Irish Treaty itself.
Naturally, this would necessitate a formal response from the British Ministry of Magic. Following the Muggle Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Ministry's governing body (perhaps the Wizengamot Council, or a specially convened committee) would have been compelled to address this new political entity, particularly from, say Irish magical leaders who saw an opportunity in the Muggle conflict. After intense debate and negotiation, I would say they would have drafted and ratified a magical equivalent, something such as - the "Magical Governance Accord of 1922."
This Accord would formally establish the Irish Department of Magical Affairs (IDMA) in Dublin. It would be a semi-autonomous body responsible for the day-to-day governance of the magical community within the 26 counties of Ireland. They would handle local law enforcement (like dealing with magical creature disputes or minor dark arts infractions), regulate potion ingredients, and manage the Irish Floo Network domestically. However, and this is the crucial point of contention, the Accord would force them to cede authority on several key areas to the British Ministry of Magic in London. These would include foreign policy, defense against major dark threats (explaining why British Aurors might have jurisdiction during wars, etc), and, most importantly, education. Hogwarts would be enshrined in the treaty as the sole accredited institution for all magical children in Britain and Ireland.
And what about travel? In the HP books, we've seen instances of seamless Floo travel within Britain and Scotland. But what about Ireland under this new arrangement? With an established governance like the IDMA, the Floo Network within the 26 counties of Ireland would be managed entirely by the IDMA. This means that for Irish witches and wizards, internal travel between private hearths or public Floo stations across the Free State remains as free and unmonitored as it always was within a single magical jurisdiction during peacetime.
However, the Floo Network between Ireland and Britain would be connected, but far from seamless. Think of it like the phone networks before the EU standardized everything, or indeed, like crossing a physical border. To travel from a private hearth in Ireland to a public one in London like the Leaky Cauldron (or vice-versa), the connection has to be routed through an official exchange point monitored by both the IDMA and the British Ministry. It's not a full customs check with wands being confiscated, but it is a monitored system. Every cross-channel Floo trip is logged, creating a record of movement between the two magical jurisdictions. This adds a layer of bureaucracy and oversight that would have been entirely absent before the Accord.
So, yeah, I'm just wafing, but really curious to see people's thoughts on this!
