"Who is Ireland's Enemy?" Irish Nationalism and Identity in the First World War

The Irish Revolutionary Period (1911-1927) includes the period of the First World War, one of, if not the most monumental event of the twentieth century. One of the major catalysts of the period, the Easter Rising, occurred in 1916, in the midst of war. Despite this, study of this time period often overlooks the First World War and the influence it had on Irish nationalism of the time period. The Irish republican movement entered the war led by the Irish Parliamentary Party, and advocating for Home Rule. By the end of the war, dissatisfaction with the status quo and the current position of the Irish republican movement and culminated in the landslide victory for the radical Sinn Fein party in the 1918 elections. A combination of the discrimination Irish soldiers on the front received, British cruelty in dealing with the aftermath of the Easter Rising and the failure of the Irish Parliamentary Party to effectively deal with the political crises of the Easter Rising and the Conscription Crisis were the primary causes of this shift