There were fears higher up that the Rising could affect the Irish, but, to my knowledge, nothing came of it. The men who organized the Easter Rising still represented a minority of Irish opinion, with the majority waiting on the Third Home Rule Bill.

In his book "Through German Eyes: The British & The Somme", Christopher Duffy describes how the Germans interrogated some numbers of Irish POWs, the majority of whom were captured in action, with few numbers of deserters. Most expressed indifference, or were generally committed to serving Britain.

These sentiments, but don't quote me here, could probably be applied to the rest of the population in Ireland. The British, unfortunately, took this for granted, and the harsh treatment of the chief conspirators, most of whom were shot, galvanized Irish opinion against the British.