1918 - by-elections

A speech given by Sir Horace Plunkett in Dundalk, June 25th 1917 on the subject of the Irish Convention on Home Rule.

Pamphlet by William O'Brien M.P. on the subject of Home Rule.

A pamphlet by Alice Stopford Green on political matters in 1918.

An account and summary of the results of the 1918 General Election, as published in the Catholic Bulletin in January 1919.

By the end of 1917 it had become clear that there would be long term effects from the 1916 Rising as the Home Rule or Nationalist Party struggled electorally against the expanding Sinn Féin while the Nationalist electorate became more militant with a corresponding hardening of attitudes on the Unionist side. By the end of 1918 the stage would be set for a prolonged conflict between Ireland and Britain.

Ironically, the year of their swansong began on a hopeful note for the Nationalists with a victory over Sinn Fein in a by–election that took place in South Armagh. SF faced formidable opposition and in early February the Nationalist candidate was elected with a majority of one thousand. Two more by-elections went against SF in the following months but those Nationalist victories came in unique local circumstances and Sinn Fein would sweep the polls ten months later.

Disorder broke out in various parts of the country as the year moved on and Clare was one of a number of counties where military rule was proclaimed. The unexpected death of their leader John Redmond in March was another setback for the Nationalists and his successor John Dillon found himself overtaken by some big events. The party had participated in the Irish Convention which had been established in the previous year to find a settlement acceptable to all sides but the report published in April proved inconclusive, to the advantage of SF who had boycotted it. Events took a more dramatic turn the following week as the British PM Lloyd George announced plans to extend conscription to Ireland. This produced rare unanimity throughout Ireland where, with the exception of the Unionists, all shades of opinion combined to resist the proposal.

John Dillon lead the Irish Parliamentary Party out of the House of Commons on April 16^th and two days later the Lord Mayor of Dublin Lawrence O’Neil chaired a meeting at the Mansion House, where an anti-conscription pledge drafted by Éamon De Valera was signed by all, including clergy and Home Rulers. However the latter gained no popularity for their stance because of their earlier support for the war effort and the beneficiaries of the campaign would be SF, the trade union movement and women’s organisations. A one day strike held on April 23^rd was successful (except in Ulster) as was “Lá na mBan” on June 18^th which was administered by Cumann na mBan. The women’s action took the form of rallies in various cities where tens of thousands of women signed a pledge not to do the work of any man who might be conscripted, with banners proclaiming that “No Woman Must Take a Man’s Job”. On June 20^th the conscription plan was dropped.