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After the executions of the ringleaders of the Easter Rising in 1916, Irish Nationalist opinion harshly condemned the British. The rebels came to be seen as brave (though misguided) patriots, while the British were seen as brutal oppressors. Irish people began to stop joining the British Army (to fight in World War I) and start joining Sinn Fein and the Irish Volunteers.

The British Government believed the best way to solve the Irish problem was to grant Home Rule (which the Third Home Rule Bill had promised to do before the outbreak of World War I). The Deputy Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, told John Redmond, the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, that the Partition of the six counties of Northern Ireland was temporary. However, he secretly told the Ulster Unionist Party leader, Edward Carson, that Partition was permanent.

Irish Nationalists were angered that Home Rule would not be applied to all of Ireland. Since Redmond, as leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, had agreed to Partition, many Irish people felt betrayed by him.

In December 1916, the Prime Minister of Britain, David Lloyd George, released over 500 of the rebels who had taken part in the Easter Rising. On their release, most of these rebels joined Sinn Fein.

Sinn Fein had not taken part in the Rising and wanted to achieve independence through peaceful methods. Their manifesto stated:

No Partition of Ireland

Sinn Fein MPs would not sit at Westminster

Britain to have no authority over Ireland

Many people who felt betrayed by Redmond, the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party (he accepted Partition) joined Sinn Fein.

The first Sinn Fein MP to be elected was Count Plunkett, the father of the martyr Joseph Plunkett. This was the first time in decades the Irish Parliamentary Party had been defeated in a Nationalist electorate. Plunkett refused to take his seat in Westminster, as stated in the manifesto.

Sinn Fein’s aim of a united, Republican Ireland was at odds with British and Unionist ideas. Unlike the Irish Parliamentary Party, they were simply not prepared to accept Partition and they refused to recognise Britain’s authority.

In October 1917 Eamon de Valera became President of Sinn Fein, replacing Arthur Griffith who became Vice-President. By 1918 Irish politics was dominated by the Irish Parliamentary Party and Sinn Fein, both of whom were fighting for control of Ireland.

In January 1918, the British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, introduced a policy which united all of Ireland against the British: conscription (forcing men to join the British Army).

Many Irish people had previously joined the ranks of the British Army, however, by 1918 there had been a high number of casualties and the British had turned opinion against themselves by executing the martyrs of the Easter Rising. The Irish Parliamentary Party (which encouraged people to join the war effort) had also lost support, while Sinn Fein (which was against war) had increased in popularity.

1918 was a crisis year for the British in the trenches. The Germans were winning at this point and British casualties were high (mostly due to the Army Generals’ policy of sending troops over the top to certain death). Conscription was already in place in Britain, so they needed to extend it to Ireland as well.

The Partition of the six counties was seen as a betrayal to those who had voluntarily joined the British Army before 1918 and Irish Nationalist opinion hardened against it.

Two million people, almost half the population of Ireland, signed a petition against conscription called The National Pledge (organised by Eamon de Valera).

Even the Unionists felt conscription was a bad idea, not because they did not support the British, but because, as Carson argued, it would cause too much bloodshed to be worth thinking about.

There were not enough British troops in Ireland to enforce conscription, so Lloyd George had to back down. Although no Irish people were conscripted into World War I, the issue had united Irish Nationalists against the British.

By 1918, the British had decided that Sinn Fein was dangerous and they needed to destroy it, so they arrested over 70 Sinn Fein leaders (including Eamon de Valera, Arthur Griffith and Count Plunkett) on a false charge that they had been planning a rebellion with German help. They used forged evidence to imprison the members of Sinn Fein and turn public opinion against them, however, this only showed how desperate they were to destroy Sinn Fein. The British government wanted the Irish people to go back to supporting the more moderate Irish Parliamentary Party, which had accepted Partition.

In the end the Sinn Fein leaders let themselves be arrested on the false charges because they knew that it would actually increase their popularity.

In December 1918 the British held their first general election for eight years. It was called the Khaki election because so many soldiers voted. The Irish Parliamentary Party was unpopular since they had agreed to Partition, so in Ireland Sinn Fein won a resounding victory. Many people in Ireland still thought some of Sinn Fein’s policies were too aggressive, however they also thought that the Irish Parliamentary Party was too quick to compromise.

However, the Sinn Fein victory was controversial because although it seemed like they had won, many Irish soldiers who would not have voted for them (because they were seen as pro-German) never got their voting papers, and only 73% of the Irish population voted. Therefore only 47% of Irish voters actually supported Sinn Fein.

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Home Rule

Sinn Fein

Conscription & The National Pledge

The Khaki Election

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