The Condition of Ireland & Anglo-irish Relations Flashcards
What was the Home Rule movement like up to 1886?
-Movement for Home Rule gathered momentum during 1870s & during 1880s focus was directed towards campaign to fight for Ireland’s right for some measure of political independence from Westminster parliament
-1886; Charles Parnell, the leader of the Irish Nationalists, was the dominant figure of the Home Rule movement
-After Gladstone’s conversion to Home Rule after 1885 election, Parnell withdrew his support from Conservatives and allied w/ Gladstone after realising Salisbury was playing along w/ the idea of Home Rule to gain Parnell’s support in the election
Opposition to Home Rule; what was Ulster’s opposition to Home Rule and why?
-In Ireland, Unionist supporters were mainly Protestant & were centred in province of Ulster in the north. There were also pockets of Unionists in the south among old Anglo-Irish aristocratic families; few wealthy industrialists like Guinnesses & Trinity College academics in Dublin. Although they were allied to northern Unionists, their geographical isolation denied them political clout
-Ulster had traditionally enjoyed more econ prosperity than largely poor agricult south, particularly after great industries of Industrial Revolution (textiles, shipbuilding, etc) came to Ulster & Belfast
-Close trading links w/ empire gave them GB rather than Irish identity
-Feared Home Rule would overwhelm Ulster’s special relation w/ GB & dilute prosperity
-So, Unionists hardened against any compromise over Home Rule, leading to polarisation betw Unionists (north) & Nationalists (rest of Ireland)
Opposition to Home Rule; what was the Liberal opposition to Home Rule like?
-Number of liberals disagreed so strongly w/ Home Rule that in 1886, they split from the party and renamed themselves Liberal Unionists
-Key figure was Lord Hartington, leader of the Liberal right wing & brother of -Lord Frederick Cavendish who’d been murdered in Phoenix Park in 1882
-Hartington declared his unwavering opposition to home rule
-Joseph Chamberlain, leader of the Radical Libs, left party due to opposition to Home Rule. These libs later joined Conservative & Unionist party
Opposition to Home Rule; what was the Conservative/Unionist opposition to Home Rule like?
-As PM from 1886-93 & 1896-1902, Lord Salisbury maintained a ruthless attitude to the whole Irish question, believing political & financial incertitives ‘raised Irish expectations’ that they’d be given some form of Home Rule
-Conservatives were concerned that giving Ireland Home Rule could impact adversely on GB’s imperial policy & potentially weaken its tight control on the Empire & challenge its world power status
-One of the most outspoken Conservatives on Ireland in Salisbury’s gov was Randolph Churchill
When did Gladstone introduce the first Home Rule Bill and what mistake did he make?
-February 1886
-Drove forward, undeterred by lack of support from right wing of the party & without securing support of Joseph Chamberlain, his heir apparent & leader of the Radical wing of Liberals
-This was possibly a mistake as it would’ve been better for Gladstone to have had him as an ally
What did the first Home Rule Bill propose and what was the opposition to it?
-Ireland should have its own parliament in Dublin & take charge of all internal Irish affairs
-Foreign affairs, defence & external trade would be left under control of Westminster gov
-There would be no rep of Irish MPs at Westminster
-Bill met w/ opposition from all sides. Randolph Churchill led Conservative attack by stirring divisions betw Protestant Irish in Ulster & Catholic-dominated south
-Chamberlain resigned his cabinet post & led devastating attack on bill, which was defeated by 343 votes to 313
What did the failure of Gladstone’s first Home Rule Bill result in for the Liberal party?
-Was a personal blow for Gladstone & split the liberal party
-Defecting liberals called themselves Liberal Unionists & in future voted w/ Conservatives
-In Ireland & Irish politics it created the conditions far an increasingly bitter divide betw those who wanted independence from GB & those who wanted to stay in the union
What did the failure of Gladstone’s first Home Rule Bill result in for Ireland?
-Setback for Parnell & the Home Rule movement. Parnell wasn’t in good health & a further distraction was agrarian unrest in rural Ireland + subsequent ‘plan of campaign’ that he believed threatened stability of the Home Rule movement
-When Parnell put forward proposals to Parliament to ease distress of Irish tenants who suffered from continuing effects of agricultural depression, he was rebuffed by Salisbury
-So, a ‘plan of campaign’ in Ireland was seized on by 2 nationalist MPs John Dillon & William O’Brien in December 1886. All tenants of 1 landlord would act together to refuse to pay high rents & give support to those evicted as a result; it was almost a re-run of the land wars
What allowed Salisbury to come into office in 1886 and what was his method of government?
-The Liberal party split over Home Rule, allowing Salisbury to form a second gov after the general election in July 1886
-He entered office determined to give Ireland a ‘resolute government’; in his previous minority gov, he’d appeared to consider some sort of home rule but it was only to gain Parnell’s support
-He thought the gov had become too soft on Ireland & he adopted a hard-line policy from the start by planning to use tough action to deal w/ perpetrators of violence & unrest, only then would it be appropriate to deal w/ Irish grievances
What 3 main lines did Salisbury pursue in his policy?
-Firmness, via Coercion Acts to deal w/ anyone who resisted paying due rents
-‘Killing Home Rule with kindness’ via number of Land Purchase Acts betw 1886-1905. The idea was to satisfy the Irish tenant by enabling him to buy land on favourable terms, thus weaken support for Home Rule
-Attacking Parnell’s reputation
Who was appointed as Secretary for Ireland in 1887 and what actions did they take?
-Salisbury’s nephew, Arthur Balfour
-Introduced generous Land Act in July 1887 to demonstrate to Irish tenants the Gov’s desire to address their main grievance. It improved on Gladstone’s 1881 Act & allowed for further rent review
-Outlawed plan of campaign & followed up w/ Crimes Act; gave police & magistrates special powers to deal w/ troublemakers. When violence escalated w/ riot at Michelstown in Sep 1887, police killed 3 demonstrators
Why did Balfour earn the nickname ‘Bloody Balfour’ and what did he do after levels of violence subsided?
-Never flinched from carrying out tough measures he’d introduced
-Shock at imprisonment of well-known Irish poet, Wilfrid Blunt for flouting new law
-1890; relaxed Crimes Act, tried to inject rescue plan to deal w/ distress & unemployment by introducing public works
-Congested districts board set up, gave grants for industrial development in overpopulated western areas
-Light railways were constructed, opening up remote parts of the country
-Rewarded Irish peasantry w/ further financial assistance for voluntary land purchase scheme. 1891; £33m set aside to guarantee tenants loans for buying land. By 1890s, prices were rising again & w/ lower rents + more peasant proprietors, conditions were improving in rural Ireland
Why did Parnell’s leadership come to an end?
-The Times newspaper suggested in several articles that he was involved in inciting violence in Ireland; culminated in them printing a forged letter supposedly written by Parnell. He denied the accusation but it wasn’t until a special commission in early 1896 investigated & the forger was revealed
-A few months later, has was named as co-respondent in Captain O’Shea’s divorce from his wife Kitty. The Home Rule campaign was jeopardised by the scandal & it upset the Catholic Church, weakened its support
What did Parnell’s scandal and end of leadership lead to?
-Gladstone refused to work w/ Irish Nationalists as long as Parnell was leader
-Parnell hung to leadership & created split in Nationalist Party that continued through 1890s, long after his death betw his supporters, Parnellites & majority who followed new leader Justin McCarthy, his right-hand man
-John Redmond picked up leadship of minority Parnellites after his death, while rest were led by McCarthy. For the remainder of the 1890s, the Nationalists were utterly demoralised, quarrelled constantly & remained divided; the Home Rule movement was in ruins
How did the Second Home Rule Bill of 1893 come about and what were its proposed terms?
After the 1892 general election the liberals returned following 6 years of Conservative rule, w/ Gladstone as PM
Home Rule was at the top of his agenda but his majority was so small that he was fully dependent of the Irish Nationalists
Proposed Irish Parliament in Dublin like before, but for Irish MPs to sit at Westminster Parliament, reducing number to 80
What was the criticism around the Second Home Rule Bill and why was it unsuccessful?
-Argument centred on what rights the Westminster Irish MPs would have on non-Irish matters & aroused fierce debate in Commons for weeks
-Passed Commons but overwhelmingly rejected by Conservative-dominated House of Lords
What was the position of the Home Rule movement by 1900?
-Irish Nationalist push for self-government faded after failure of second Home Rule Bill & bitter internal feuding kept the party weak & divided
-Party hadn’t recovered from the split after the death of Parnell in 1891
-Underlying support from Home Rule remained but there was little open rebellion; Salisbury’s policy of tough measures to deal w/ disorder followed by sturdy reform had quietened calls for Home Rule
-Issue of Home Rule had been replaced at top of political agenda by other more pressing issues, largely as result of continued Conservative domination of GB politics
What was the position of the Home Rule movement from 1900-14?
-By 1900 John Redmond succeeded in reuniting Irish Nationalist Party but its influence during the first Lib gov (1906-10) was non-existent, due to huge Liberal majority
-In early 1900s, under Balfour’s premiership, Conservative policy of killing Home Rule w/ kindness’ continued, to extent. In 1903, Wyndham’s Land Purchase Act finally brought in terms favourable to majority of tenants to buy land they worked & made landlords content w/ amount they were paid
-To achieve this, Gov poured massive £86 million into scheme. By 1914 almost 2/3 of Irish farmers owned their land
-Ireland appeared to be experiencing period of peace & calm, but in 1904 a conference on subject of giving more powers to Ireland again stirred up Unionist fears. There was no immediate outcome, but underlying this initiative was gradual strengthening & re-emergence of Irish nationalism
What new nationalist movements emerged and what did they have in common?
-Gaelic League in 1893, encouraged Irish Literary revival
-Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), the remnants of the Fenians, resurfaced
-Sinn Fein party founded by Arthur Griffith in 1905 & argued for separate independent Ireland, made little impact before 1914
-Group led by James Connolly, leader of Irish WC & Labour movement, campaigned for socialist society he believed should be established before independence. He set up the Irish Citizens’ Army
-Nothing much was heard from these groups until the Home Rule crisis after 1912; there was dissent among them but they all shared dislike of British domination & preferred independence to Home Rule
What was the significance of the 1910 election to the Home Rule movement?
-Change to Liberal gov in 1906 didn’t reignite Home Rule until 1910 election reduced Lib majority to such extent that nationalists, w/ 80 seats, once more held balance of power between Liberals & Conservatives
-Asquith needed promise of the nationalists vote in the commons to ensure the people’s budget, already rejected by the Lords, would be passed; promise was given by Redmond
-Reward was promise in return of a Home Rule Bill
-The Parliament Act of 1911 bought end to power of Lords to block bill once it passed the Commons; they could not stop a Home Rule Bill becoming law
What was the opposition to Home Rule following the 1910 election?
-Conservatives continued to support cause of Ulster Unionists & maintained opposition to any compromise over Home Rule under leadership of Balfour (1902-11) & Bonar Law from 1911, who had resented influence of Irish Nationalists in passing of 1911 Parliament Act
-Ulster Unionists strengthened their position via formation of Ulster Unionist Council (UUC) in Belfast, 1905, which drew together all local Unionist constituency branches & reps of the Orange Order, aimed to be ready to take action to preserve the Union
-This marked the official formation of the Ulster Unionist party. Sir Edward Carson, a Protestant lawyer, took on leadership in 1912
How did the Ulster Unionists resist Home Rule introduction and how were the Ulster Volunteers created?
-Mobilised forces; Carson whipped up support for separate treatment for Ulster
-After sanction from UUC in Dec 1912, he built up an ‘army’ of 100,000 from Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF); an illegal organisation prepared to use force & Carson brought guns from Germany
-Carson organised signing of Ulster Solemn League & Covenant; Protestant pledge to defend right to remain part of Union.
-Bonar Law dropped a bombshell by promising Conservative help for Ulster rebels in their defiance of will of Parliament
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