Collection
The Events of 1918
4 items
Waterford Elections
The Waterford by-elections, March 22nd 1918: An enthusiastic crowd of people gather and cheer in excitement outside as Sinn Féin candidate Dr. Vincent White, exits a building alongside Captain William Redmond (son of John Redmond). Captain William Redmond, from the Irish Nationalist Party defeated Sinn Féin candidate Dr. Vincent White in the by-election but campaigns began shortly afterwards when the General Election was called. The government decided to introduce conscription into Ireland which was hugely unpopular. The Irish Parliamentary Party which had called for men to join up, were opposed to the Bill and on April 17th1918 a cross-party nationalist party meeting at the Mansion House condemned the Bill. The threat of conscription boosted support for Sinn Féin.
Crowds Protest Against Compulsory Military Service
The Conscription Crisis of 1918 stemmed from a move by the British government to impose conscription (military draft) in Ireland in April 1918, during the First World War. In this newsreel we see vigorous opposition from crowds of people. These protests were primarily led by trade unions, Irish nationalist parties and Roman Catholic bishops and priests. A conscription law was passed but was never put into effect, no one in Ireland was drafted into the British Army. The proposal and backlash galvanised support for political parties which advocated Irish separatism and influenced events in the lead-up to the Irish War of Independence.
Countess Markievicz: The Only Woman Candidate Returned
In this newsreel, Countess Markievicz is elected as MP for the St Patrick’s Division of Dublin. She was the first woman to ever be elected into British Parliament. But she refused to take her seat but rather joined other Sinn Fein TDs and formed the first Dail Eireann. Constance Georgine Markievicz, known as Countess Markievicz was a Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail politician, a suffragette, socialist and revolutionary Nationalist. As a founding member of Fianna Eireann and Cumann na mBan she was an active contributor to the 1916 Easter Rising, second-in-command at St Stephen’s Green. After Surrendering she was arrested and sentenced to death, but this was then changed to life imprisonment on account of her gender.In 1917 she was released.