The consequences of the Irish Easter rising of 1916

[dagger_happy]

Considering that it was a total military failure, how did the Easter Rising change Ireland?

[froggequene]

Politically it changed things just a little bit. Previously the IRA (or IRB) and Sinn Fein had been previously regarded as a fringe group. Both wanted independence for Ireland which was a change from previous political campaigns, if you review previous political campaigns in Ireland they focused on Home Rule, bringing a parliment back to Ireland. As Tartanwizard pointed out the executions of those involved in the Rising caused the Irish people to turn against the British government and the IRA (IRB) and Sinn Fein (it had in all probability been infiltrated by the IRA anyway) which had very little to do with it suddenly found its numbers swelling as people associated the party with the Rising. Eventually surviving members of the IRA managed to obtain leading roles in Sinn Fein and the rest as they say is history.

[froggequene]

If you also look at the Easter Rising in terms of World War 1 it was a disaster for Irish men who fought in the British Army. Although many Irish had supported the war, with the tide turning against the British Army Irishmen who returned home from the war were ostracised, their loyalties were questioned for many years afterwards. The Easter Rising also had an effect on Irish populations among what would become the Commonwealth coutries, if you look at the Irish population in Australia for instance, as a protest against British behaviour in Ireland they voted en masse against conscription for the war effort. I'm going to leave it now, I'm getting boring.