So Sinn Fein win the popular vote in the Irish elections.

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

Fine Gael were pro-Treaty (Michael Collins, etc), while Fianna Fail were anti-Treaty (DeValera). They were the sides in the Civil War, basically. And yes, FF are more likely to get into bed with SF - almost certainly will, in fact (despite saying they wouldn't) because they're lying, crooked, devious, culchie scum.

Varadkar was FG.

Cheers. So Gael - go on with the treaty. Fail - foil partition. So basically, after partition, they all just started killing each other in the South? What did FF want to do? Take control of the South and then start a war with the UK for control of the North?

[Burney]

Cheers. So Gael - go on with the treaty. Fail - foil partition. So basically, after partition, they all just started killing each other in the South? What did FF want to do? Take control of the South and then start a war with the UK for control of the North?

Essentially, yes. The anti-Treaty forces wanted to continue the war until all war aims (ie a united, independent Ireland) were met. The war took the form of skirmishes, assassinations and ambushes (in one of which Collins was killed in West Cork). There was one instance of a rising in Dublin, where the Anti-Treaty forces seized the Four Courts. Amusingly, the British Army had to lend the Pro-Treaty government artillery in order to put this down.
Ultimately, it was a war between pragmatic compromise and impossible, die-hard idealism

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

Essentially, yes. The anti-Treaty forces wanted to continue the war until all war aims (ie a united, independent Ireland) were met. The war took the form of skirmishes, assassinations and ambushes (in one of which Collins was killed in West Cork). There was one instance of a rising in Dublin, where the Anti-Treaty forces seized the Four Courts. Amusingly, the British Army had to lend the Pro-Treaty government artillery in order to put this down.
Ultimately, it was a war between pragmatic compromise and impossible, die-hard idealism

But if the anti-treaty lot had got control of the south, and then fought for the north, they'd have been at war with the UK. Which had a huge number of battle hardened men, a RN that done for the Krauts, more heavy artillery that you could shake a stick at and planes.

Don't fancy their chances.