Photo: Flock of sheep

• Livestock exports from Ireland increased during the pre-war years but fell during World War I.
• The number of cattle exported rose from an annual average of 692,604 during 1887-9 to reach 847,023 by 1907-9, before falling during the war years to 791,410 by 1917-9.
• The number of sheep and pigs exported during this time period followed a similar pattern.

Photo: Arundel Square, Waterford city 1900

• Butter and margarine were among the main agricultural items manufactured in 1916. Butter exports increased between 1910 and 1914 but during the war years exports fell back slightly.
• By 1916 exports of butter in volume terms had declined to 764,456 cwt from 855,608 cwt in 1914. (A cwt or hundredweight, is an Imperial unit of measure equal to 8 stone, 112 pounds or 50.8 kg.)
• The scarcity of butter during the war years created a strong demand for butter substitutes such as margarine. The quantity of margarine imported rose from 54,376 cwts in 1910 to 141,751 cwts by 1916.

• During the years 1915-1918 the number of people engaged in ship-building in Ireland ranged from 13,000 to 20,000. While a number of different firms were involved in ship building, the principal ones were Harland and Wolfe Ltd. and Workman Clark & Co. Ltd., both located in Belfast.
• Table 4.3 above shows the scale of activities over the time period 1910 to 1919. To put these figures into context, the Titanic (which was built in Belfast and completed in 1911) had a tonnage of 46,000 tonnes, (a quarter of the ship-building output in 1911).
• Thus the output of ship-building in Ireland in 1914, at 256,547 tonnes, was the equivalent of over 5 Titanics.
• It is important to note that although commercial ship building was very low in 1916, at just 10,900 tonnes, this excludes work carried out for the Government for military purposes.       
• Government related work during the war years was very substantial and some indication can be obtained from the trade data for the export of ships in 1916.
• The value of ships exported in 1916 was over £6 million compared to just over £3 million in 1913. Even after allowing for price changes this suggests a considerable rise in ship-building activity in 1916.

• Linen production was a particularly important activity in Ireland in 1916 and there were about 85,000 people employed in flax mills and factories. In 1916, over 18 million lbs of linen yarn was exported, with a value of over £2 million.
• More than 1 million cwts of linen goods were exported in 1916 with a value of over £16 million. (A cwt, or hundredweight, is an Imperial unit of measure equal to 8 stone, 112 pounds or 50.8 kg.)
• Prior to the outbreak of World War I in 1914, about 70% of these exports were to the United States of America. However between 1914 and 1918, linen was in great demand for military purposes by the British Army for items such as tents, haversacks, hospital equipment and aeroplane fabric.
• Most of the linen production was concentrated in the counties of Ulster.             

• Government restrictions governing the production of beer and the distillation of spirits were introduced during the war years.
• The table above shows how these restrictions reduced the number of barrels of beer produced in Ireland from 3.5 million in 1914 to just 2.9 million by 1917. (A barrel of beer was defined as 36 Imperial gallons or 163.7 litres.)
• These production restrictions had a knock on effect on exports of beer, ale and porter. Exports of porter fell from 887,591 hogsheads in 1915 to just 490,422 by 1918. (A hogshead was a unit of measure and was defined as a barrel and a half.)
• The Guinness brewery was the main brewery in Ireland and in 1916 it had the largest output of any brewery in the world, brewing more than two-thirds of all beer brewed in Ireland.
• The levels of duty per barrel of beer rose from 7 shillings 9 pence in 1913 before the war to 25 shillings by 1916 and ultimately rose to 70 shillings by 1919.

Photo: Downings pier, Co. Donegal

• There are no National Accounts available for Ireland in 1916. However a number of key indicators can be used to assess economic conditions in Ireland and assess how the Irish economy was faring in 1916.
• The table above on the value of imports and exports gives a good indication of economic activity.
• There was a deficit in 1910 of £2.7 million in the balance of trade, i.e., the value of imports was greater than the value of exports.
• The deficit grew to £6.5 million by 1912 before falling in 1913 and turning to a surplus by 1914 of £2.1 million. By 1916 the surplus in the balance of trade stood at £1.5 million.                  

• This table shows a detailed analysis of the growth in exports between 1904 and 1916 for the principal exporting sectors.
• The woollens sector grew in volume by over 200% between 1904 and 1916. Other sectors with strong growth include brewing (increased by nearly 72%), butter (+56%) and bacon (+51%).
• Several sectors had a decline in exports between 1904 and 1916, including horses (decreased by 74%) and pigs (decreased by 45%).

• The trend in prices is an essential element in understanding the economic performance in 1916. As 1916 is mid-way through the First World War, a considerable level of inflation would be expected.
• There is no Consumer Price Index available for 1916, however the Wholesale Price Index from 1916 is given in the table above.
• This Wholesale Price Index shows that by the end of 1916 prices had risen by 124% since June 1914, (the war started on July 28 1914).
• Unless wage inflation was outpacing price inflation in 1916, which is very unlikely, in general families must have experienced a real reduction in the purchasing power of their £.
• These increases in prices were driven up by war time scarcities and also by Government policy which increased taxes and duties on various products.

Photo: Custom House, Dublin City

• The Government spent £11.5 million on the island of Ireland in 1911 and raised £10.7 million in revenue, giving a deficit of about £0.8 million. By 1916 the overall fiscal situation in Ireland was very favourable for the British Government with a very substantial surplus in the government accounts of £11 million.
• The deficit of £0.8 million in 1911, (before the start of World War I), had turned to a surplus of £5.3 million in 1915, (one year after the start of the war).
• By 1916 nearly £24 million was raised in Ireland by the British government but just over half of this, £12.6 million, was spent in Ireland, giving a surplus of over £11 million towards the war effort in Britain.
• Taxes on imported goods such as tea, sugar and tobacco and increased duties on alcoholic products, as well as a lowering of the exemption limit for income tax, contributed to the large increase in Government revenue between 1913 and 1916.
• Total revenue collected by the British Government in 1916 was £564.7 million and revenue raised in Ireland accounted for about 4% of this.