Herbert Charles Tippet War I engaged in second-line duties but that was to change in the spring of 1916 when he was to see action for the first time. On 24 April 1916 the Easter Rising occurred in Dublin and the following day, Tippet's Battalion was one of a number of units sent in to suppress the uprising. They forced their way into the centre of Dublin and fought the insurgents along the railway line from Broadstone Station to Cabra Bridge. After the rebels withdrew, 4th Battalion formed a cordon around the area until the rising ended. Shortly after, Tippet left Ireland. The
John Redmond after 1916 was increasingly eclipsed by ill-health, the rise of Sinn Féin and the growing dominance of Dillon within the Irish Party. June 1917 brought a severe personal blow to Redmond when his brother Willie died in action on the front at the onset of the Battle of Messines offensive in Flanders; his vacant seat in East Clare was then won in July by Éamon de Valera, the most senior surviving commandant of the Easter insurgents. It was one of three by-election gains by Sinn Féin, the small separatist party that had played no part in the Rising, but was