How Did World War I Contribute To The Conflict In Ireland?

During the early twentieth century, the armed conflicts that held many people’s attentions were those going on in France, Belgium, and Germany, and rightly so. However, just a couple years after World War One began, the United Kingdom found itself dealing with another conflict within its own borders, the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916. That conflict existed was no surprise, for political tensions had been high even before the beginning of the war, but the actual event itself may have been startling and generated much debate and change. Although the conflict in Europe and the conflict in Ireland are sometimes treated as very separate events, they were closely linked as pre-war tensions, wartime decisions, and changing attitudes affected the build-up of the Rising. At first, it seemed that World War One would bring about unity between conflicting groups, but it also increased division and anger between them, which may have contributed to the Rising. After 1916, the Rising would then go through a similar process of unifying some, dividing others, and possibly contributing to further conflict. At first, when the United Kingdom declared war in 1914, it seemed that the effect it would have on Irish political issues would be positive. With a much larger conflict looming on the horizon, the issue of Home Rule
One issue in particular was the apparent hypocrisy of the British policy in that it was prepared to accept Irishmen into an army sent to fight for the freedom of foreign countries, but resisted giving that freedom to the same Irishmen when they returned home. Another problem was dissatisfaction with the terms of Home Rule, which offered only a limited Irish government. These problems and the growing political divisions may have encouraged revolutionary leaders to look for the opportunity to undertake a revolution, and the war provided a very good