Nationalism & Unionism in Ireland

Nationalism & Unionism

Nationalism

Wanted to self - govern from Dublin

Mainly Catholics

Liberals

Unionism

Keep system as it was, Westminster makes laws

Mainly Protestants

Conservatives

Abstentionism

Sinn Féin

Arthur Griffith founder

When Sinn Féin refused to attend the British parliament

British Parliament

House of Commons

Rich, Appointed

Liberal

House of Lords

Working - Class, Elected

Had the power to stop laws from passing through (VETO)

Would not leave the Home Rule bill pass

Conservative

Irish Parliamentary Party

Largest in Ireland

Opposed by the Unionist party

Parnell/John Redmond joins forces with William Gladstone and puts the 1st home rule bill into the house of commons, and defeated 1886

2nd Home Rule bill

1893

Gladstone/Redmond gets it past the house of commons, but rejected by the House of Lords

3rd Bill

1906

House of Lords refuse to pass a budget taxing the rich

King gets angry

Parliament Act 1911

House of lords can only delay a bill for 2 years

Becomes law after 2 years

Finally , since 1801, 113 years later, the Irish get a parliament in Dublin in 1914

John Redmond

Leader of Irish Parliamentary Party

Main Opposers to Home Rule

Edward Carson

Barrister and land owner

James Craig

Edward's Right hand man

40,000 Acres of land

1911

Parliament Act passed

1912

3rd Home Rule bill introduced

Ulster Solemn League and Covenant

Petition, Anti - Home Rule

250,000 Women

200,000 Men

1913

Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) Formed

Set up by Carson and Craig

Army set up to protect their position in the United Kingdom

13th January

Ages 18-65

Signed the Covenant

Trained by British Army Officers

100,000 Men

Andrew Bonner Law, leader of conservative party

Supports the Unionists

Larne gun - running (Supplied by Larne)

5 Million Rounds

35,000 Guns

From Germany

Irish Citizen Army Formed

100,000

November 1913

To combat the UVF

Equal Force (not supply wise though)

Arms imported from Germany in 1914

Because Germany is about to declare war (WW1)

Boat (the asgard), boat used for the smuggling of the guns, (sailing boat)

900 rifles

25,000 Rounds of Ammo

Howth

3 Killed 38 Injured

Eoin MacNeill

Irish National Volunteers Formed

First meeting in 25th November 1913

May 1914, 25,000 Members

Women

Unarmed (Mainly)

Medics (Mainly

John Redmond

Founder

Gets most IVF and Citizen Army to join British Army

Solitude

10,000, 10%, dont

These become involved in the 1916 Rising

1914

The Curragh Munity

Creation of UVF faced possibility of armed uprising in Ulster

Government Wanted to send the Army up North to enforce Home

57 out of 70 officers refused to go North to enforce Home Rule

Not sent North by Government

Confidence Booster for UVF and Unionists

Asquith

Prime Minister at the time