The Military Service Act ushered in Conscription in Britain in January 1916. Two years later, in the face of heavy losses on the front line, Britain decided compulsory military conscription should be extended to include Ireland. At the time, anti-British sentiment was high, with the Irish public still stinging from the execution of the leaders of the 1916 Rising.
Lorcan Clancy interviewed Historian Paul O’Brien for The History Show. Paul catalogued the “colossal” losses British forces were suffering.
“The casualty rates were colossal amongst the Allies…They couldn't replace the men that they had lost as quick as the Germans could so they had serious manpower problems at the start of 1918.“
A panel featuring historian Ciarán Wallace of Trinity College Dublin, labour historian and author Padraig Yeates, and historian Liz Gillis discussed this attempt at conscripting Irish civilians on The History Show.
Listen back to the full discussion on The History Show here.