Irish Home Rule and the Road to War [audio 15min]

"Empire" 81st of 90: Because Irish MPs could sit and vote at Westminster this meant a considerable lobby in the Commons committed to Home Rule. The opposition to them in Ireland came from the Unionists, the mostly northern Irish MPs and their supporters who didn't want Home Rule. The Home Rule Bill went through in 1914 but was suspended for the duration of World War I. In the middle of that war came the 1916 Easter Rising, when 2,000 nationalists led by Padraic Pearse and James Connolly occupied central Dublin and Pearse proclaimed the Irish Republic. Within a week it was over and 15 were executed. The rebellion was not a popular rising. Many innocent Irish were killed. It was largely the British harsh reaction that turned public favour towards the rebels. "This Sceptred Isle: Empire" is a narrative history of the British Empire from Ireland in the 12th century to the independence of India in the 20th, told in 90 programmes written by historian Christopher Lee and narrated by actor Juliet Stevenson. ~Visit website to listen again to 5 most recent episodes, plus interactive maps and timeline, biographical dictionary, image galleries, quizzes, sources, resources, listeners' comments.