"Where is your proof they are facts"

You mean apart from the fact that those things actually happened Jim - or are you going to deny that those things happened?

After all you did say that the Home Rule Bill was never passed by the Westminster Parliament didn't you? That it was defeated and thrown out by the Lords and the Tories - those were your facts and they have been conclusively proved wrong.

You also stated categorically as a fact that those responsible for the 1916 Easter Rising never colluded with the Germans - that too has been proven wrong. I could go on but won't apart from this one:

enforced conscription was first introduced in Britain in January 1916 - three months before the Rising - it was inevitable that, should it be deemed necessary, it would be introduced into Ireland

1: The Military Service BILL 1916 was introduced to Parliament on the 27th January 1916 it became the Military Service Act 1916 on 2nd March, 1916 and became Law THEN - Not in January _ you see Jim those are the facts of the matter - not your ill-informed ramblings - see here - Military Service Act 1916

2: From the above Act - who it applied to:

Every British male subject who

- on 15 August 1915 was ordinarily resident in Great Britain*** and who had attained the age of 19 but was not yet 41 and
- on 2 November 1915 was unmarried or a widower without dependent children

unless he met certain exceptions or had met the age of 41 before the appointed date, was deemed to have enlisted for general service with the colours or in the reserve and was forthwith transferred to the reserve. He now came under the controls specified in the Army Act. This was as of Thursday 2 March 1916.

Provision was made under Section 20 of the Reserve Forces Act 1882, for information being obtained from the man with regard to his preference for service in the Navy. The Admiralty had the first right of call on men who expressed this preference.

Men were encouraged to voluntarily enlist under the Group System (Derby Scheme) before the Act came into place.

Schedule of Exceptions (i.e. categories of men who were not deemed to have enlisted)

1. Men ordinarily resident in the Dominions abroad, or resident in Britain only for the purpose of their education or some other special purpose.

2. Existing members of the regular or reserve forces or of the Territorial Force who are liable for foreign service or who are, in the opinion of the Army Council, not suitable for foreign service.

3. Men serving in the Navy or Royal Marines or who are recommended for exception by the Admiralty.

4. Men in Holy Orders or regular ministers of any religious denomination.

5. Men who had served with the military or Navy and been discharged on grounds of ill-health or termination of service.

6. Men who hold a certificate of exemption or who have offered themselves for enlistment since 4 August 1914 but been rejected."

*** - ordinarily resident in Great Britain, i.e. Mainland Britain - NOT Great Britain & Ireland.

3: The decision to mount an armed rising was taken when by the IRB? Here I'll give you a hint:

The Supreme Council of the IRB met on 5 September 1914, just over a month after the British government had declared war on Germany. At this meeting, they decided to stage an uprising before the war ended and to secure help from Germany. - Source: "The Easter Rebellion" by Max Caulfield, page 18

So if they had already decided to rebel on the 5th September 1914 just WTF had the introduction of a Military Service Act that only applied to mainland Britain in 1916 have to do with it? Reasonable question based on Facts.

Jim Carroll - 22 May 16 - 06:47 AM

Now who was it that laughed when I pointed out that the Irish Volunteers who fought that Easter were well trained and drilled, and that the soldiers sent against them had only just finished their basic training - that was you wasn't it?