GSS, what Keith A states is correct. By July 8th 1914 all parties had reached agreement, later that month as Europe was going into meltdown the IVF landed their weapons at Howth. That action in response to the UVF landing of arms earlier prompted no response at all from the UVF or from the pro-unionists.

The Amending Bill that would have been included in the statute version of the 1914 Government of Ireland Act was abandoned when Great Britain went to war. Home Rule for Ireland was to be the first order of business on conclusion of hostilities - IT WAS, but because the "men of the gun" decided to kill policemen on duty and because of the 1916 Rising Unionist attitudes had hardened - a new Act was required.

Had neither of these things happened and had either the 1914 or even a new 1920 Act been followed then both parties as a Dominion within the Empire they would have had between 6 to 11 years to reach a mutually agreeable compromise and in 1931 under the terms of the Statute of Westminster Ireland would have become an independent sovereign united country.

As it stands today the "men of the gun" only succeeded in making that independent united Ireland impossible, they are further away today than they were on the morning of the 24th April 1916 just before those seven men put their idiotic, ludicrously confused and selfish plan into action and destroyed the lot.