Conscription Crisis of 1918: The triple alliance

In the first of his articles covering the conscription crisis of 1918, Ryle Dwyer explained how heavy-handed British politicians looked towards Ireland to solve their army’s manpower crisis during a vital stage of the war on the Western Front.

Today, in part two of the series, he looks at how opposition by the Catholic hierarchy inspired organised labour and trade unions and politicians to join the campaign against the military draft with a national strike, and helped lay the foundations for Irish independence.