Dillon speaks out against ‘evil’ conscription

Limerick, 26 July 1915 - There will be no conscription in Ireland, the leading Irish Parliamentary Party MP, John Dillon, told a meeting in Limerick yesterday evening.

Mr. Dillon declared that the idea of conscription to the British Army was ridiculous and he also condemned all those in Ireland who had complained of the level of recruitment. He said that insulting those who had not enlisted was the very worst possible way of encouraging people to join. Ultimately, he said, the issue of recruitment could not be resolved by conscription, which he said ‘would be prolific of evil results’.

He concluded that the manner in which the Irish had been treated for more than a century - resulting in famine, emigration and eviction - makes it remarkable that so many had actually joined the army.

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]