Conscription in Ireland

Military conscription has never applied in Ireland. The Irish Defence Forces are small and recruitment is entirely voluntary. Irish neutrality means Ireland has never fought in a war since independence, though it has participated in United Nations peacekeeping missions.

History

Impressment of Irish sailors into the English and British Navy was practised in the 17th and 18th centuries. It occurred in Cromwell's Commonwealth and under Charles II; after the Williamite War it stopped, but recurred in later wars.[1] The ranks of the Irish Militia, formed in 1793 for defence during the Napoleonic Wars, were supposed to be filled by local "ballots" (lotteries), but widespread violent opposition prompted an amendment to allow "fines", levied by parish and used to pay volunteer replacements.[2]

The Irish Volunteers founded in 1913 took the name of the 18th-century Irish Volunteers; both militias saw the free choice of their members to participate as a source of pride. The term "volunteer" is used as a title for members by physical force Irish republican paramilitary groups descended from or inspired by the Irish Volunteers, like the Irish Republican Army.

The Conscription Crisis of 1918 arose when Lloyd George's UK government attempted to extend to Ireland the conscription which was already in place in Great Britain because of the First World War. The Mansion House Conference to oppose conscription was organised by Irish nationalists, including Sinn Féin, the Irish Parliamentary Party and the Catholic hierarchy. Sinn Féin's perceived leading role helped it to win most Irish seats in the 1918 general election.[3][4][5]

During the Second World War, the Irish state remained neutral and under a state of emergency. The Emergency Powers Act 1939 gave the government sweeping powers to bypass the Oireachtas (parliament) and the Constitution for the duration of "the Emergency". However, both military conscription and industrial conscription were excluded from the scope of the act by a section added at committee stage.[6][7]

In May 1941, there were reports that Churchill's UK government was considering extending to Northern Ireland the conscription which was already in place in Great Britain because of the Second World War. On 26 May, the 10th Dáil was recalled for a special sitting to protest.[8] On 27 May, Winston Churchill told the House of Commons "it would be more trouble than it is worth" to introduce it.[9]

Contemporary debate

Many supporters of Irish neutrality oppose the deepening of the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union. Supporters of EU integration have accused opponents of stirring rumours about conscription into a European army.[10][11][12][13] Such claims were made regarding the Treaty of Lisbon by some fringe groups during the 2008 referendum campaign and believed by "48% of 'no' voters and remarkably 26% of 'yes' voters".[14]

References
  1. Brunsman, Denver Alexander (2013). The Evil Necessity: British Naval Impressment in the Eighteenth-century Atlantic World. University of Virginia Press. pp. 78–79. ISBN 9780813933511. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  2. Cookson, J. E. (1997). The British Armed Nation, 1793–1815. Clarendon Press. p. 104. ISBN 9780198206583. Retrieved 18 January 2018.; Bartlett, Thomas (May 1983). "An End to Moral Economy: The Irish Militia Disturbances of 1793". Past & Present. Oxford University Press on behalf of The Past and Present Society. 99 (99): 41–64. doi:10.1093/past/99.1.41. JSTOR 650584.
  3. Yeates, Padraig (November–December 2011). "Oh What a Lovely War! Dublin and the First World War". History Ireland. 19 (6): 22–24.
  4. Travers, Pauric (1983). "The Priest in Politics: the Case of Conscription". Irish Culture and Nationalism, 1750–1950. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 161–181. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-17129-3_11. ISBN 978-1-349-17131-6. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  5. Laffan, Michael (1999-12-02). The Resurrection of Ireland: The Sinn Féin Party, 1916–1923. Cambridge University Press. pp. 128–129, 163–168. ISBN 9781139426299.
  6. "Emergency Powers Act, 1939, Section 2(5)". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 13 December 2016. Nothing in this section shall authorise ... the imposition of any form of compulsory military service or any form of industrial conscription
  7. "Committee on Finance. - Emergency Power Bill, 1939—Committee". Dáil Éireann Debates. Oireachtas. 2 September 1939. Vol.77 No.1 p.12 cc.144–5. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  8. "Adjournment Motion—Conscription in the North". Dáil Éireann Debates. 26 May 1941. Vol.83 No.7 p.4 cc.970–978. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  9. "Northern Ireland (Conscription)". Hansard. 27 May 1941. HC Deb vol 371 cc1718–9. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  10. Franklin, Mark; Marsh, Michael; McLaren, Lauren (1994). "Uncorking the Bottle: Popular Opposition to European Unification in the Wake of Maastricht". JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies. 32 (4): 455–472. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5965.1994.tb00509.x. ISSN 0021-9886.
  11. Sinnott, Richard (25 November 2008). "Constitutional Referendum Process: Discussion". Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Constitution. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  12. Brugha, Cathal M. (2008). "Why Ireland rejected the Lisbon Treaty". Journal of Public Affairs. 8 (4): 303–308. doi:10.1002/pa.304. ISSN 1472-3891.
  13. Quinlan, Stephen (2012). "The Lisbon Experience in Ireland: 'No' in 2008 but 'Yes' in 2009 – How and Why?" (PDF). Irish Political Studies. 27 (1): 139–153. doi:10.1080/07907184.2012.636185. ISSN 0790-7184. S2CID 143170096. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  14. Doyle, John (2012). "Defence, Security and the Irish EU Presidency, 2013" (PDF). Defence Forces Review. Irish Defence Forces: 7–14: 11. ISSN 1649-7066.
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