Understandably the introduction of a third home rule bill sparked a major political crisis and the time between the bill being rejected and the time it became law was more than enough time for both Unionists and Nationalists to mobilise support and opposition for the bill.
Unionists in Ulster had began preparations for a resistance to the bill as early as September 1911 and was lead by two key leaders Edward Carson, leader of the Irish Unionist Parliamentary Party and James Craig, Leader of the Ulster Unionist Council. These two people organized mass rallies in order to put pressure on the government to stop the bill bring put forwards. Edward Carson even drew up a covenant which 250,000 people signed committing them to oppose the bill using all means possible. By January 1913, Unionists had set up the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) – a paramilitary group with the sole purpose to oppose the Home rule bill. Its senior officers were made up of people who had served with the British army. This group by March 1914 had around 100,000 members. In reaction to this the Nationalists in the south set up their own paramilitary group, the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) who sought to defend the bill.
The UVF had a lot of support back in Britain from the Conservative party who had made it perfectly clear that they opposed the bill and Randolph Churchill had used the slogan ‘Ulster will fight and Ulster will be right’ to gain support for the UVF. But due to the fact that the home rule bill treated Ireland as a single country and had no separation for Ulster and the Nationalists made it clear that’s how they wanted it lead to great tension between them, the government policy was a ‘wait and see’ one.
Support for the UVF was so great that when British soldiers many of whom had homes in Ulster were ordered that they may need to use force against the UVF caused the requested dismissal of 58 officers at a military camp in Curragh, although it was not directly mutiny the message it sent out was loud and clear the British army could not be relied upon to take military action against the UVF.
This seriously undermined the governments power to retain law and order in Ulster which lead the successful operation performed by the UVF on the night of 24-25 April 1914 they managed to smuggle 20,000 rifles into the country and several million rounds of ammunition infuriated Nationalists and when they attempted the same thing the police supported by the army harassed them no end, this lead to the army opening fire on a crowd of civilians killing three and injuring thirty more. These events provoked deep resentment amongst Nationalists.
By 1914 the UVF were well armed and in a strong position to defend Ulster and the Unionists demands where being treated very seriously which basically stated that six of the nine counties of Ulster been permanently excluded from the home rule bill.
Had the First World War not started which caused the suspension of the home rule bill until the end of the war the situation without doubt would have lead to full civil war between Unionists and Nationalists.
