Irish Volunteers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

The Irish Volunteers (Óglaigh na hÉireann) were a paramilitary organization established by Irish Nationalists in 1913 "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland", and to help enforce the imminent Home Rule Act. Óglaigh na hÉireann (IPA: ) is Irish language for the Irish Volunteers. ... A paramilitary is a group of civilians trained and organized in a military fashion. ... An Irish nationalist is generally one who seeks (greater) independence of Ireland from Great Britain, including since 1921 the goal of a United Ireland. ... 1913 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Devolution or Home rule is the pooling of powers from central government to government at regional or local level. ...

The Volunteers were formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteer Force by Edward Carson and James Craig the same year. The Ulster Volunteers were founded by (exclusively) Protestant Unionists in the northeast in order to prevent the enactment of the Home Rule Act. It was seen that with armed men in Ulster threatening force to counter Home Rule, a similar force would be prudent to pressure Britain in the other direction. To this end Eoin MacNeill published an article The North Began, arguing for the necessity of such a force. His friend The O'Rahilly encouraged him to follow through with this idea, and on November 11, 1913, at Wynn's Hotel in Dublin, eleven prominent nationalists sat down to plan the formation of the Volunteers, among them were Patrick Pearse, Eamonn Ceannt, and Sean MacDermott. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is a Northern Ireland loyalist paramilitary group. ... Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson (February 9, 1854 – October 22, 1935) was a leader of the Irish Unionists, a Barrister and a Judge. ... Cover of Time Magazine (May 26, 1924) James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon (8 January 1871 - 24 November 1940) was a prominent Irish unionist politician and the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... In the Irish context, Unionists form a group of largely (though not exclusively) Protestant people in Ireland, of all social classes, who wish to see the continuation of the 1801 Act of Union, as amended by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, under which the Northern Ireland provincial state created... Ulster (Irish: Cúige Uladh) is one of the four provinces of Ireland. ... Eoin MacNeill (May 15, 1867 - October 15, 1945) was an Irish scholar and revolutionary. ... November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 50 days remaining. ... Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath),is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Irelands east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin region. ... Patrick Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (known as Pádraig Pearse or by his Irish name Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais) (November 10, 1879 – May 3, 1916) was a teacher, poet, writer and political activist who led the Irish Easter Rising in 1916. ... Eamonn Ceannt (September 21, 1881 - May 8, 1916) was an Irish nationalist and rebel. ... Sean MacDermott (February 28, 1884 – May 12, 1916) was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916 in Ireland. ...

On November 25 the Volunteers had their first public meeting and call for enlistments at the Rotunda in Dublin. The turnout was beyond what anyone expected. The hall was filled to its 4,000 person capacity, with a further 3,000 spilling onto the grounds outside. Over the course of the following months the movement spread throughout the country with thousands more joining every week. November 25 is the 329th (in leap years the 330th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

From its inception, the leadership of the Volunteers was heavily influenced by the radical Irish Republican Brotherhood (although MacNeill was not among them). This was the IRB's plan from the beginning, but it had a major drawback when the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, John Redmond demanded that the Volunteers accept his own personal appointments to the Provisional Committee, effectively placing the organization in his control. While the moderates didn't like the idea, they were prepared to go along with it in order to prevent the very popular Redmond from forming his own similar organization that would draw away most of their support. The IRB was completely opposed, as it would end their control of the Volunteers, but were unable to prevent the motion from being carried in Redmond's favor. The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) played an important role in the history of Ireland. ... In 1882 Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, formed the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), replacing the Home Rule League, as a parliamentary party with strict rules. ... John Redmond, MP John Edward Redmond (1856 – March 1918) was the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party from 1900 to 1918. ...

Arming the Volunteers

Shortly after the formation of the Volunteers, British Parliament banned the importation of weapons into Ireland. The Ulster Volunteers were able to get away with it nevertheless, and the Irish Volunteers realized they would have to as well if they were to be a serious force. Many commentators of the time found amusing the fact that "loyal" Ulstermen were arming themselves and threatening to defy the British government through force. Pearse famously replied that "the Orangeman with a gun is not as laughable as the nationalist without one." Thus O'Rahilly, Sir Roger Casement, and Bulmer Hobson worked together to coordinate a daylight gun running expedition to the port of Howth, just north of Dublin. The plan worked beautifully, and Erskine Childers brought nearly 1,000 rifles to the harbor and distributed them to the waiting Volunteers without interference from the authorities. As the Volunteers returned to Dublin, however, they were met by a large patrol of the Dublin Metropolitan Police and the British Army. The Vounteers escaped largely unscathed, but when the army returned to Dublin they fired on a group of unarmed civilians who had been heckling them. This massacre caused enlistments in the Volunteers to soar. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... The Orange Order is a Protestant fraternal organisation largely based in the Ulster region of Ireland and in western Scotland but which has a worldwide membership. ... Sir Roger Casement, commemorated on an Irish stamp Sir Roger David Casement (September 1, 1864 - August 3, 1916) was a British diplomat by profession and a poet, Irish revolutionary and nationalist by inclination. ... Bulmer Hobson (1882 - 1969) was a leading member of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) before the Easter Rising in 1916. ... Howth (Irish: Binn Éadair) is an upmarket residental area in County Dublin, Ireland. ... Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath),is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Irelands east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin region. ... // Overview Robert Erskine Childers Robert Erskine Childers (June 25, 1870 - November 24, 1922) was an author and Irish nationalist who was executed by the authorities of the newly independent Irish Free State during the Irish Civil War. ... The Dublin Metropolitan Police was formed in 1836, after twenty years of attempts to create an effective policing force in Ireland Rural policing in Ireland began when Chief Secretary for Ireland, Robert Peel created the Peace Preservation Force in 1816. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British military. ...

The Split

The outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 provoked a serious split in the organization. Redmond, in the interest of the Home Rule Act 1914 now on the statute books, encouraged the Volunteers to support Britain's War committment under the Triple Entente and join the proposed Irish Brigade of the new British Army divisions, an action vigorously opposed by the founding members. The majority however supported the War effort and the call to restore freedom to "small countries" in Europe and left to form the National Volunteers and fight in Irish regiments side by side with their volunteer counterparts from the northeast. Unlike them however, they were not allowed their own officers and were commanded by Englishmen. World War I was a basically European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns and poison gas. ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Government of Ireland Act 1914, more generally known as the Third Home Rule Act (or Bill) or the (Irish) Home Rule Act 1914, was an Act of Parliament passed by the British House of Commons in May 1914 which sought to give Ireland internal self_government within the United Kingdom... The Triple Entente was the alliance formed in 1907 between the United Kingdom, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente. ... The National Volunteers is the name taken by the group of the Irish Volunteers that sided with Irish Party leader John Redmond after the group split in the wake of the question of the Volunteers role in World War I. While Redmond took no role in the creation of the... (Redirected from 16th (Irish) Division) The British 16th (Irish) Division was a New Army division formed in Ireland in September 1914 as part of the K2 Army Group. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Ethnicity...

A minority believed that efforts were best applied to restoring freedom in one small country in particular. They retained the name "Irish Volunteers", were led by MacNeill and called for Irish neutrality. The National Volunteers kept some 175,000 members, leaving the Irish Volunteers with an estimated 13,500. This split proved advantageous to the IRB, who were now back in control. The National Volunteers joined the British army in large numbers, and ceased to exist.

Following the split, the remnants of the Irish Volunteers were often, and erroneously, referred to as the "Sinn Féin Volunteers", or "Shinners", after Arthur Griffith's political organization Sinn Féin. The term began as a derogatory one, but soon became ubiquitous in Ireland. Although the two organizations had some overlapping memberships, there was no official connection between Griffith's then moderate Sinn Féin and the Volunteers. Arthur Griffith (Árt Ó Gríofa in Irish) (31 March 1871 - 12 August 1922) was the founder and first leader of Sinn Féin. ... The name Sinn Féin (pronounced in English, in Irish), which means ourselves or we ourselves (not as sometimes incorrectly translated, ourselves alone or we alone) has been applied to a series of political movements since 1905 in Ireland, each of which claim or claimed sole descent from the original...

The Easter Rising

The official stance of the Irish Volunteers was that action would only be taken if the British authorities at Dublin Castle attempt to disarm the Volunteers, arrest their leaders, or introduce conscription to Ireland. The IRB, however, was determined to use the Volunteers for offensive action while Britain was tied up in the First World War. Their plan was to circumvent MacNeill's command, instigating a Rising, and hope to get MacNeill on board once the rising was a fait accompli. Pearse issued orders for three days of parades and manoeuvres, a thinly disguised order for a general insurrection. MacNeill soon discovered the real intent behind the orders and attempted to stop all actions by the Volunteers. He succeeded only in putting the Rising off for a day, and limiting it to about 1,000 active participants, virtually all within Dublin (The Irish Citizen Army supplied slightly over 200 more). The Easter Rising (Irish: Éirí Amach na Cásca) was a militarily unsuccessful rebellion staged in Ireland against British rule on Easter Monday in April 1916. ... Dublin Castle in Dublin, Ireland was the seat of British rule in Ireland until 1922. ... The Easter Rising (Irish: Éirí Amach na Cásca) was a militarily unsuccessful rebellion staged in Ireland against British rule on Easter Monday in April 1916. ... The Irish Citizen Army, or ICA, was a small band of trained volunteers established in Dublin for the defense of worker’s rights. ...

The Rising was a failure, and large numbers of the Irish Volunteers were arrested, even ones that did not participate in the Rising.

In 1919 the Irish Volunteers became the Irish Republican Army, along with the ICA. 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The West Cork Flying Column during the War of Independence. ...