The Curragh incident of 1914 brought Attentive into the political crisis over Irish Home Rule. She deployed with Pathfinder while Winston Churchill threatened that naval gunfire could devastate Belfast if the Ulster Volunteers rose against British forces. Whether the two small cruisers alone could have delivered such destruction is doubtful, though more ships could have followed. The episode shows how warships could serve as instruments of domestic coercive signalling before firing a shot.
Notable Point · 39:09-39:43
Attentive and naval coercion during the Curragh crisis
Attentive and Pathfinder were sent toward Ireland as Churchill threatened naval bombardment if Ulster Volunteers resisted British forces.