1918 Timeline
8 Jan: US President Woodrow Wilson announces his so-called ‘fourteen points’, outlining the proposed contours of a post-war international order, in an address to the US Congress.
From the International encyclopaedia of the First World War: The fourteen points.
2 Feb: South Armagh by-election won by Patrick Donnelly for the Irish Parliamentary Party, defeating Sinn Féin’s Patrick McCartan.
From Century Ireland: Irish Party victory in South Armagh halts Sinn Féin’s progress.
6 Feb: Representation of the People Act and Redistribution of Seats Act extends the electoral franchise to all men over 21 and most women over 30, with constituencies being adjusted in proportion to size of electorates to ensure equality of representation.
From Century Ireland: Parliament says yes to women voters, but no to proportional representation.
6 March: Death of John Redmond.
From Century Ireland: John Redmond.
12 March: John Dillon elected chairman of Irish Parliamentary Party.
5 April: Final meeting of Irish Convention in Dublin.
From Century Ireland: Irish Convention draws to a close.
9 April: Military Service Bill introduced in Westminster, raising prospect of conscription being extended to Ireland.
From Century Ireland: Conscription is coming to Ireland.
12 April: Final report of Irish Convention published.
From Century Ireland: Irish divisions laid bare in convention report.
18 April: Conference takes place in Dublin’s Mansion House to co-ordinate a broad opposition to conscription, with both major nationalist parties, the labour movement and the Catholic Church all hostile to its introduction.
From Century Ireland: How Ireland was lost in the 1918 conscription crisis.
23 April: One day general strike against conscription, though not in Ulster.
From Century Ireland: The 1918 general strike against conscription.
17-18 May: ‘German Plot’ arrests.
From Century Ireland: Sinn Féin leaders arrested over alleged ‘German plot’.
20 June: East Cavan by-election won by Arthur Griffith for Sinn Féin.
From Century Ireland: Arthur Griffith wins East Cavan by-election.
5 July: Official proclamation declares Cumann na mBan, the Gaelic League, the Irish Volunteers and Sinn Féin to be ‘dangerous’ organisations, thereby facilitating restrictions on the their activities.
From Century Ireland: Banned.
15 July: Second battle of the Marne begins.
From Century Ireland: Germans on march again.
4 August: ‘Gaelic Sunday’: GAA organises mass programme of games in protest at government restrictions on public assembly impinging upon their activities.
From Century Ireland: ‘Gaelic Sunday: The GAA vs the British Empire’.
15 Aug: First publication of Irish Volunteer organ An tÓglach.
From the Military Archives: Explore An tÓglach online, 1918-33.
10 October: Sinking of RMS Leinster by a German U-Boat outside Dublin Bay, with the loss of over 560 lives.
From Century Ireland: Commemorating the sinking of the RMS Leinster, 1918-2018.
1 Nov: Labour Party agrees to withdraw from contesting post-war general election in Ireland.
4-9 Nov: ‘German Revolution’.
11 Nov: Armistice between Allied and Central powers ends hostilities in First World War.
14-28 Dec: General election held in the United Kingdom; Sinn Féin win 73 out of 105 Irish parliamentary seats on an abstentionist platform.
From Century Ireland: Ireland decides.