The Howth Gun-Running (1914)

1. Cause: The Howth gun-running was a direct response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers, who had imported rifles from Germany to resist Home Rule. Nationalist groups felt the need to arm themselves in response.

2. Irish Volunteers: The Irish Volunteers, a nationalist militia, were formed in 1913 to uphold the implementation of Home Rule, in contrast to the Unionist Ulster Volunteers.

3. Erskine Childers: Childers, a writer and Irish nationalist, used his yacht, the Asgard, to smuggle weapons into Ireland.

4. Purchase of Arms: The Irish Volunteers, with the help of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, purchased 1,500 rifles and 45,000 rounds of ammunition from Germany.

5. July 26, 1914: The Asgard landed at Howth, near Dublin, and the guns and ammunition were successfully unloaded and distributed to the Irish Volunteers.

6. British Response: The British authorities in Dublin were informed of the gun-running and attempted to intercept the Volunteers and seize the weapons.

7. Bachelors Walk Massacre: Later that day, as a column of British soldiers returned to their barracks after failing to intercept the guns, they opened fire on a crowd of civilians at Bachelors Walk, Dublin, killing three and wounding dozens.

8. Public Outrage: The Bachelors' Walk Massacre led to widespread public outrage and increased support for the Irish Volunteers.

9. World War I: A week later, the outbreak of World War I led to the postponement of Home Rule and a split in the Irish Volunteers between those who supported the British war effort and those who did not.

10. Easter Rising: The Howth gun-running is seen as a significant step on the road to the 1916 Easter Rising, as it showed the increasing militarisation of Irish nationalism and the willingness of the British authorities to use force against it.