Ireland during World War I And the Role Britain Played - Research Paper Example

In the years leading up to World War I, nationalists had been advocating for home rule over a number of years. The Irish parliament was dissolved in the year 1800 and over the next century Ireland faced many social and economic problems but very little attention was paid by British Government to those problems. Faced with the problems a growing fraction of the Irish people called Nationalists wanted to set up a parliament on their own. However, opposition to this was formed by the unionists who did not want to set up home rule in the country. Eventually, it was in the 1914 that nationalists gained a victory over the Unionists and the Ireland Home Rule Act was passed1. However, the implementation of the act was postponed until the end of the world war. The nationalists were committed to the war effort by their leader John Redmond in the year 1914. The support by the nationalists was led by the fact that the legislation for the home rule had been passed. The following research paper is set to explore the below mentioned research question Research question: What was the role of Ireland in World War I and what was its relationship with the Britain in the build up to the war and after the war? Nationalists under John Redmond wanted to establish an Irish parliament and it was their principal political aim for most of the 19th century. They were led to the war effort by their leader John Redmond in the year 1914. Unlike the case of North American colonies that wanted to establish a completely independent country, the Irish Parliamentary party under Redmond wanted to establish home rule while remaining part of the United Kingdom2. Thus, they participated in the world war and fought for their king. Ireland was one of the colonies of Great Britain. However despite being a colony Ireland had a separate constitution. However, it was in the year 1801 that the parliament of Ireland was abolished and Ireland became a part of the new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the act of the Union. However in the following years United Kingdom was burdened under debts of war and the UK felt that the only way to get freedom from the debt was to increase revenue from the colonies. In order to pursue this objective UK followed Mercantilist policies and imported raw materials from the colonies only to export finished materials to them and thus have a favorable balance of trade as a result. It was at this time that Ireland was too reeling under the war debt and wanted assistance from Great Britain. However, the United Kingdom did not offer any help. It was at this time that a great famine occurred in the year 1840. It was in this period that 2 million people died in Ireland and this served as a turning point in the relation of Ireland and United Kingdom. The neglect of the Ireland’s problem by the United Kingdom led to the fact that there emerged a fraction of the Irish population led by a fraction of Nationalists under the leadership of John Redmond who wanted to set up home rule in the country in order to manage their problems by them. On the other hand there was another group of people called Unionists who wanted to remain with the United Kingdom. Thus it was quite natural that they would support Britain in its war efforts. Until the year 1918 most of the nationalists were in support of Redmond’s moderate stand, his program of home rule; i.e. of Irish parliament within United Kingdom. However, it was in the year 1905 that a small group of Irish nationalists established Sinn Fein. The aim of this group was to seek independence from United Kingdom and set up the Republic of Ireland. After the abolition of the parliament of Ireland in the year 1800 the country faced severe social and economic problems. The war efforts led by UK in America had created great debt burden for the country. It was at this time that the country looked forward to Britain for support. However Britain neglected the problems of the country and this led to a greater cry by the Nationalists for establishing home rule in the country. On the other hand there were Unionists who did not support the idea of Home rule or a separate parliament for Ireland. The Unionists were particularly concentrated in the Northern Province of Ulster. In the year 1912, they formed a sizeable armed paramilitary force for opposing home rule and defending the Union with Great Britain. This paramilitary force was named the Ulster Volunteer Force. In the build up to the First World War, Nationalists had an upper hand over the Unionists and home rule was granted to Ireland by the passing of the Ireland Home Rule Act. However the act was suspended for the duration of the war. The Nationalists having achieved their objective of home rule and victory over the Unionists were committed to the war effort of the United Kingdom by their leader John Redmond3. The commitment of the Nationalists to the war effort was on the grounds that the necessary legislation had been passed. Unlike the case of United States, Redmond wanted home rule for Ireland within the United Kingdom. However, not all responded to the call of Redmond and joined. There were some who took the opportunity to rebel resulting in Easter Uprising. They were only briefly successful before being crushed. As compared to the Nationalists it was quite obvious that the Unionists who had formed a paramilitary force in order to oppose union would not sit idly by when Britain was at war. A significant part of the UVF enlisted in order to form the 36th division which was predominantly unionists and almost all of them were protestant. Most of the Nationalists were Catholics and they joined other two divisions of Lord Kitchener’s new army divisions. They were part of 10th (Irish) and 16th (Irish) divisions. The stand of Ireland regarding the war and the British entry into the war was divided in between the stand of the two parties. On one hand there were nationalists who did not support the rule of Ireland and wanted home rule and on the other hand there were unionists who did not want Ireland to get separated from Britain. However, at the start of the war both the sect supported the British in their endeavor. When Britain decided to enter the World War I both the fractions in Ireland decided to support Britain. However, the reason behind the support of the nationalists and the unionists were entirely different. Nationalists supported due to the fact that they had encountered a recent victory in the fact that the British Parliament had passed the Home Rule Act. Another fact which can be closely related to the issue is that Ireland never wanted complete freedom but wanted home rule within the United Kingdom. The Unionists were loyal supporters of British Empire and never supported the home rule. At the time Britain went to war it was natural for the Union to support Britain. However, there was one fraction of the nationalists who believed that the war was the perfect opportunity to seize independence for Ireland and launched an attempted revolution which was termed as Easter Rising. The nationalists and the Unionists in Ireland formed three divisions namely the 10th, 16th and the 36th division. The 36th division was mainly composed of the Unionists and the 10th and 16th divisions were composed of the Nationalists. Britain had a major role in influencing the decision of Ireland to enter the world. When Britain decided to enter the war Ireland was divided in between two different parties. The Unionists favored the rule of Britain over Ireland and the Nationalists demanded home rule. At the time of Britain entering into the war the unions obviously favored the move and vouched for their support to Britain. In order to influence Nationalists into joining the war, Britain granted them temporary home rule and promised to grant them home rule to Ireland after the end of the war. With the start of the war the home rule act was suspended and both the Nationalists and the Unionists were puzzled about their next course of action. Both decided that fighting alongside the British in the war would give them a tool they could use to get a better bargain after the war. Most of the people under the Nationalists and the Unionists joined the war effort. However there was a small group of Nationalists who disagreed with the policy of helping the British and stayed back at home. They planned a coup a on the event of Easter in the year 1916. However the coup was foiled and the British executed all the leaders of the coup on charges of conspiracy. The British government wanted to impose conscription on Ireland which was regarded as a military draft4. This draft was vigorously opposed by the trade unions, Roman Catholic bishop and the nationalist party of Ireland. Although a law in this regard was drafted it was never adopted. This law and the fervor against the same led to the Irish war of independence in later period. The dissolution of the parliament of the Ireland and subsequent neglect of the country by the Britain and the British Empire led to the fact that there was a strong cry for home rule by the people of Ireland. The famine which took place and the subsequent death of 2 million people led to further souring of the relationship between Britain and Ireland. The cry for home rule got louder and there were two separate groups formed in the country. On one hand there were unionists who strived to remain with the Britain and on the other hand there were the nationalists who vouched for home rule. The Nationalists gained victory over the Unionists when the home rule act was passed in the year 1914. However, it was immediately suspended for the war efforts. The passing of the act was seen as a positive side by the Nationalists and they responded by supporting Britain in its war efforts. Ireland was temporarily granted home rule by Britain in the year 1914 only to suspend it for going into the war. At the onset of the war the Nationalists led by John Redmond felt that their objective had been achieved and thus they should support the Britain in its war efforts. However, not all the nationalists followed the lead of Redmond. There was a small minority of Separatist republican radicals who broke away in order to form the Irish Volunteers. They believed in the National adage that “England’s extremity was Ireland’s opportunity”. They seized the opportunity when Britain was busy in its war efforts. It was at this time that they began to plan a rebellion against British rule in Ireland. These factors led to the Easter Rising of 1916 which some 1800 volunteers participated and was led by James Connolly and Patrick Pearse. On the eve of Easter in 1916, 1800 volunteers led by James Connolly and Patrick Pearse attacked and seized the general post office and other important buildings in Dublin. They proclaimed Ireland a free republic and read the declaration of independence. However, they had to surrender in a period of 7 days due to overwhelming force. Some 55 people mostly civilians, were killed in the crossfire upon the defeat of the revolutionaries, the Irish nationalists people initially hurled abuses at the rebels. However, following the execution of 15 leaders, the sympathy of the people swung against the British Empire towards these revolutionaries. This in turn fuelled the support of the people of Ireland for a republican separatist state. The home rule act was passed before the World War I and was suspended during the commencement of World War I. The decision of the Britain to enter into the war left both the parties in Ireland puzzled. However, both groups of people decided to take part in the war and later use the same as bargain after the war was over5. However there was a fraction of the nationalists who believed that the war was an opportunity for them to stage a revolution against the Britain. It was also fuelled by another reason. At the beginning of the war the government felt that the war would not last more than a year. However, the war was showing no signs of ending and this prompted the revolutionaries to try desperate measures and launch the coup. After the rising on the eve of Easter there was a brief battle in between the rebels and the British army. There was Irish who fought on both sides and after the rebellion was heavily crushed by Britain the rebels accepted defeat. There were about 500 casualties in the battle. After the battle Britain heavily dealt with the revolutionaries for treason and conspiracy. Fifteen leading rebels including Connolly and Pearse were executed after nominal trials. Britain followed a policy of sharp oppression in order to crush the rising. It was mainly fuelled by the belief that the rebels were acting with German connivance and help. However the execution of the revolutionaries by the government resulted in widespread public revulsion. This exacerbated the growing alienation of the Irish from the British administration. This in turn led to Irish popular support for the republican separatist movement Sinn Fein. Strong suppression of the Easter Rising by the British fueled popular support in Ireland for the Republican separatist movement Sinn Féin6. It was due to this fact and the conscription crisis of 1918 that Sinn Féin was able to defeat the Redmondite nationalists in the general elections of December 1918 and won most of the seats. In short it can be said that the strong suppression of the rebellion alienated the British from the Irish. The political background of the Irish Revolution was set in the strong suppression of the rebellion by the United Kingdom. Strong suppression of the rebellion by the British Empire led to the fact that people of Ireland began to have sympathy for the revolutionaries and their agenda which led to the electoral victory of Sinn Féin. Sinn Féin was subsequently victorious over Redmondite nationalists and this led to the outbreak of the Anglo Irish war between a nascent Irish Republican Army on one side led by Michael Collins and British government on the other side. As a consequence of the strong approach to kill the leaders of the Easter Rising Sinn Féin gained popularity and were able to form majority after gaining victory over the Redmondite nationalists7. They decided to declare a war of Independence against Britain. The war was fought between Irish Republican Army and the British Government. The war of independence finally came to an end with an agreement between Michel Collins and the British government. This led to the partition of Ireland and the creation of the Irish Free State. Conclusion After looking at the legislative measures passed during World War I and the events of Irish Revolution, it is evident that World War I was giving Britain too many problems. These developments ultimately gave the Irish people an opportunity to force Britain so that free Republic state of Ireland could be formed. References Primary sources: Government of Ireland Act, 1914. UK House of Parliament. Ch. 90. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/4-5/90/contents/enacted. Pennell, Catriona. A Kingdom united: popular responses to the outbreak of the First World War in Britain and Ireland. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.  Redmond, John E. and R. Barry O’Brien. Home Rule, the Speeches of John Redmond, M.P.London: T.F. Unwin, 1910. Sheppard, Walter James. “The Government of Ireland (Home Rule Bill).” The American Political Science Review 6, no. 4 (1912): 564-573. Secondary sources: Bew, Paul. “Moderate Nationalism and the Irish Revolution, 1916-1923.” The Historical Journal 42, no. 3 (1999): 729-749 McCaffrey, Lawrence J. The Irish Question: Two Centuries of Conflict. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1995. Newsinger, John. “‘In the Hunger-Cry of the Nation’s Poor is Heard the Voice of Ireland’: Sean O’Casey and Politics 1908-1916.” Journal of Contemporary History 20, no. 2 (1985): 221-240. Read More