November 25th , 1913
The Irish Volunteers (Irish: Óglaigh na hÉireann), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland.
The official founding date of the Provisional Committee of the Irish Volunteers is generally associated with a public meeting that took place at the Rotunda in Dublin on November 25, 1913. During this meeting, the decision was made to establish the Irish Volunteers, a paramilitary organization formed in response to the political tensions of the time, particularly the threat of civil conflict in Ireland.
This marked a pivotal moment in Irish history as it was a precursor to the establishment of the Irish Volunteers, a paramilitary organization that played a significant role in the events leading up to the Easter Rising in 1916 and, eventually, the broader struggle for Irish independence. The Provisional Committee was initially formed to address the issue of the potential imposition of Home Rule for Ireland and to ensure the rights and interests of the Irish people.
At the meeting, Eoin MacNeill proposed the formation of a volunteer force to secure the implementation of Home Rule for Ireland. The Provisional Committee was then established to organize and lead this volunteer force. The Irish Volunteers aimed to defend Home Rule and resist any attempts to subvert it, particularly from those who opposed it, including Ulster unionists.
Its ranks included members of the Conradh na Gaeilge, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican Brotherhood.
It was ostensibly formed in response to the formation of its Irish unionist/loyalist counterpart the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was “to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland”.
Increasing rapidly to a strength of nearly 200,000 by mid-1914, it split in September of that year over John Redmond’s support for the British war effort during World War I, with the smaller group opposed to Redmond’s decision retaining the name “Irish Volunteers”.
This event was a crucial moment in the lead-up to World War I and had significant implications for Irish history, as the Irish Volunteers played a role in later events such as the Easter Rising of 1916 and the broader struggle for Irish independence.
