• Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

Ireland and World War 1

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

Ireland and World War 1 By 1912 different Irish groups were still fighting over the matter of Home Rule. Unionists, lead by Edward Carson and James Craig, wanted to stay loyal to Britain and remain under British rule, they said that if Home Rule did come about, that Ulster should be treated separately. John Redmond, leader of the Irish Nationalists, wanted some power given to Ireland but they said that they would still remain loyal to Britain and the monarchy. Padraig Pearse and the IRB (Irish Republican Brotherhood), who were Irish Republicans, wanted more than Home Rule, they wanted total separation from Britain and they wanted a free Ireland. In Westminster, Conservatives (supported by Unionists) and Liberals (supported by Nationalists) were fighting over the Third Home Rule Bill in 1912, Herbert Asquith (leader of the Liberals) who was Prime Minister at the time, was in favour of Home Rule because he needed the support of Redmond and the Home Rule Party or the IPP (Irish Parliamentary Party). But the Home Rule Bill was never passed because Conservatives took power (with Bonar Law) and they were opposed to Home Rule. With both, Unionists and Nationalists, having militant organisations (the UVF & Irish Volunteers), the race for arming was frantic in Larne and Howth. ...read more.

Middle

However, Carson was a brilliant public speaker and a very clever leader. The first chance most Ulster Unionists got to hear Carson was in September 1911 when he spoke to 50,000 Orangemen gathered at Craigavon, James Craig's home outside Belfast. James Craig was a perfect deputy for Carson. Craig was quiet, solid and reliable, and he was a terrific organizer. He used his talents to organise a number of mass protest meetings. Even though the two men were different they both lead the Ulster Unionist stand against Home Rule. When the Third Home Rule was discussed in parliament, nearly every Unionist speaker raised the question of Ulster. They claimed that there were two different sets of people in Ireland. Not only were there two religions, there were two races or even two nations in the country. For the Unionists it followed that if Ireland was to be given Home Rule, then Ulster should also receive special treatment for Ulster, but to use Ulster opposition to force the Liberal government to drop Home Rule altogether. Fighting in World War 1 was important for Unionism because they wanted to show that they are loyal, In return, they expected the British government to allow most of Ulster to remain outside of the Home Rule arrangements for Ireland when the war was finally over. ...read more.

Conclusion

A lot saw it as an easy job but that was far from the truth. Some young people just wanted to help Britain in the war and some were influenced by British propaganda. A lot of Irish young people died in the war. f. Farmers-- A big percentage of Irelands economy was agricultural and the war created a lot of work and therefore money for farmers. Irish farmers helped the British war effort by sending them food i.e. eggs, milk, bread etc. Also, farmers made uniforms and other materials for the British, usually from Linen. There was one aspect of the war which farmers feared, conscription. It meant they had to abandon their work and fight, so their farm was unattended and therefore they lost money. g. Women-- A lot of southern women in Ireland didn't like that their husbands and sons might die in the war for the British but in the North most (protestant) women were proud to see their men go and fight for Britain. Women found work in the factories making the materials for war after the Munitions Ministry was set up and conscription introduced (1916), since there was a shortage of men in the factories. Women also did other 'men jobs' like driving the buses and tarring the roads. 'Land Girls' helped to grow and harvest the food, which was desperately needed due to German submarine attacks on the British merchant ships.. ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Northern Ireland 1965-85 section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

or


Here's what a teacher thought of this essay

3 star(s)

This response covers a great number of groups and is clear and accurate in its evidence. There is a lack of focus at times though, and the author takes too long to link points to WW1. Some explanations are better supported than others. 3 out of 5 stars.

Marked by teacher Natalya Luck 09/04/2013

Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related GCSE Northern Ireland 1965-85 essays

  1. Outline the main features of Direct Rule and discuss its strengths and weaknesses.

    Direct Rule is run by the Secretary Of State and not by Westminster meaning it is not directly ruled from Westminster. In Northern Ireland each province has their own City Council, which controls some of the things occurring in their province meaning that the S.O.S.

  2. Causes of conflict in Northern Ireland.

    In 1968 most violence occurred on the streets i.e. petrol bombs, rocks, etc, however since then terrorism has become more upscale for example they now use snipers and deadly weapons started to be used in 1968 - 1972. After b****y Sunday Catholic Nationalists saw no point in demonstrations that lead to their own death and so the IRA turned towards terrorism to get the British out of Northern Ireland.

  1. Development of Irish Nationalism 1798-1921

    Parliamentary pressure b**t was a complete failure. He did not command a sense of loyalty either from the Irish population or his party. His leadership and authority was poor, and many members of his party were not committed Home Rulers.

  2. the Irish question

    Elizabeth I was scared that Ireland would ally with England's Catholic enemies and attack or invade England ,so she decided to take land from the Irish Catholics and give it to Protestants who moved there, land was power and taking it from the Catholics helped Queen Elizabeth to rule over Ireland firmly.

  1. Ireland's incredible economic success has left many countries in complete fascination.

    Indeed John Fitzgerald has played down the success of Ireland believing that the current boom is better seen as a belated catching up rather than an "economic miracle"6. In order to assess the factors involved in Ireland's success it

  2. Northern Ireland Assignment Section 1: How have groups within each community tried to achieve ...

    There was the DUP, Democratic Unionist Party and the OUP, Official Unionist Party which were the two main Unionist parties. The Orange Order is the largest protestant organisation in Northern Ireland and was formed in 1975 with the aim of protecting the Protestants.

  1. Describe the disadvantages faced by the Catholics in Northern Ireland in the mid-1960s.

    The Protestants were afraid what would happen to them if this event occurred. In the 1930s there was a worldwide economic depression, due to the "Wall Street Crash" in America. Both Irish Catholics and Protestants were affected very seriously, the economic depression lasted 20 years.

  2. "How important was Catholic Emancipation in religion and politics in Englandand Ireland between c1820 ...

    In Ireland, the issue of Emancipation was given a lot of importance and it mobilised the Irish people for fighting for their right. The Act of Union was passed in 1801 to bind Ireland securely with Britain and was most probably agreed to by bribing the corrupted Protestant Irish MPs.

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work