November 11, 1918

World War I famously came to an end on this day in 1918. Ireland’s part in the First War was complex. Still part of the United Kingdom, the movement for Irish independence began before and during the war. Nationalists who joined the Irish Volunteers instead of the British Army during this period were somewhat aided by axis forces like the Germans. They staged the Easter Uprising in 1916 during WWI. However, over 200,000 Irishmen fought in World War I for the British Army and about 30,000 of them died. The Irish War of Independence would begin a year following the end of World War I in 1919 and last until 1922.