The Irish War of Independence lasted for about three years from 1919 to 1921.It all began shortly after the 1916 Easter Rising, when nearly 1,300 Irish Volunteers and 219 members of the Irish Citizen Army took control of several buildings in Dublin. One group of men captured the General Post Office, where James Connolly, founder of the Irish Socialist Republican Society, was announced the head of the army and Patrick Pearse, a long-time Irish Nationalist, read the declaration of independence. The British were quick to put an end to this act of defiance and did not hold back when terminating the movement. In the end, more than 450 people were killed before Pearse decided to call it quits and surrendered. In a matter of weeks most of the leaders of the revolt were hunted down and shot for treason. After the executions, the soldiers collectd the dead bodies and
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Originally the leaders of the Easter Rising assumed that everyone in southern Ireland were utterly against British rule, this was not true. Even in Dublin, many people relied on the British for work- whether they liked it or not. However, England’s harsh response to the uprising led many to sympathize with the movement. Not to mention that in early 1918 the British government was going to force thousands upon thousands of Irish men to take part in a dangerous war on England’s behalf. More than 250,000 Irishmen had already volunteered to fight in World War I and the British had hoped they could draught another 30,000 through compulsory service. The introduction of forced service in Ireland resulted in a severe backlash from the Irish people, the Catholic clergy and several political groups. As a result, The Irish republicans were flooded with support. It also united diverse Irish Nationalist groups such as the socialists, radical Republicans and moderates under an anti-conscription
Originally the leaders of the Easter Rising assumed that everyone in southern Ireland were utterly against British rule, this was not true. Even in Dublin, many people relied on the British for work- whether they liked it or not. However, England’s harsh response to the uprising led many to sympathize with the movement. Not to mention that in early 1918 the British government was going to force thousands upon thousands of Irish men to take part in a dangerous war on England’s behalf. More than 250,000 Irishmen had already volunteered to fight in World War I and the British had hoped they could draught another 30,000 through compulsory service. The introduction of forced service in Ireland resulted in a severe backlash from the Irish people, the Catholic clergy and several political groups. As a result, The Irish republicans were flooded with support. It also united diverse Irish Nationalist groups such as the socialists, radical Republicans and moderates under an anti-conscription