Conscription, US Intervention and the Transformation of Ireland 1914-1918

This book analyses the relationship between the Irish home rule crisis, the Easter Rising of 1916 and the conscription crisis of 1918, providing a broad and comparative study of war and revolution in Ireland at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Destenay skilfully looks at international and diplomatic perspectives, as well as social and cultural history, to demonstrate how American and British, foreign and domestic policies either thwarted or fed, directly or indirectly, the Irish Revolution. He readdresses-and at times redresses-the well­ established, but somewhat inaccurate, conclusion that Easter Week 1916 was the major factor in radicalizing nationalist Ireland. This book provides a more nuanced and gradualist account of a transfer of allegiance: how fears of conscription aroused the bitterness and mistrust of civilian populations from August 1914 onwards. By re-situating the Irish Revolution in a global history of empire and anti-colonialism, this book contributes new evidence and new concepts. Destenay convincingly argues that the fears of conscription have been neglected by Irish historiography and this book offers a fresh appraisal of this important period of history.

Emmanuel Destenayis Associate Researcher at Sorbonne University, France.

List of illustrations Preface Acknowledgements Note on Translation Biography of France's Representatives Introduction Echoes of Sarajevo Conventional narratives Plea for a new historiography of the Irish Revolution Diplomatic sources and French narratives 1 Political Crisis, British Intentions and Wartime Uncertainties (January 1913-March 1916) Home Rule and Ulster Unionism: the impossible settlement War breaks out: Asquith's strategy, recruitment, and the leap into the unknown A distant war: propaganda and the war economy Laissez-faire policy and French concerns Conclusion 2 Was the Rebellion a Turning Point? (April 1916-October 1916) Allegiance and opportunities: US neutrality and the preparation for an insurrection Rebellion, reactions and extrapolations? Aftermath and executions: the transformation of Ireland? Partition: ongoing deadlock and critical solutions Procrastination and the end of the old administrative regime Conclusion 3 All Changed, Changed Quietly (October 1916-March 1917) October 1916 and the threat of conscription Opposing conscription, supporting Redmond The decline in recruitment The North-Roscommon by-election: the twilight of Sinn Féin Conclusion 4 Resisting Conscription, Redefining Ireland (March 1917-October 1917) March 1917: the Home Rule controversy Re-organizing Sinn Féin: towards the Árd Fheis The South Longford by-election: the men of Easter Week saved your sons from conscription Tightening the grip: the East-Clare election The Kilkenny by-election Árd Fheis: the Sinn Féin Convention in October 1917 The shifting position of the Roman Catholic clergy The growing number of Sinn Féin sympathizers Conclusion 5 The Wartime Internationalization of the Irish question (April 1917-March 1918) US intervention: a blow to the separatist movement? Colonel House and Ireland The April 1917 Irish Convention: a 'flat failure' or a 'political camouflage'? British procrastination From fear of another black '47 to fear of conscription (January-March 1918) Unholy alliances, survival, and despair The goal of the Peace Conference takes hold Conclusion 6 Conscription, Betrayal and the Agony of the Irish Parliamentary Party (April 1918) From the Ulster 'conscription cry' to the German offensive Heated debates and some revelations A stab in the back of the dead man: a second execution of dead heroes 'The miracle has been performed' Preparing the fight here and abroad An unpopular move among the British authorities in Ireland Conscription: a counter-Wilsonian move? Conclusion 7 Endgame (May 1918-December 1918) The German plot On the road to victory: summer 1918 December 1918: the triumph of the Internationalists Conclusion Epilogue How the Great War transformed Ireland Diverging destinies National minorities, post-war order and disillusions Bibliography Index