Prelude to the Crises
In 1801 the separate kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were joined in an act of Union. However, the matrimony between Ireland and Britain was one constantly characterized by Irish dissent. Well throughout the nineteenth century, Ireland experienced three separate revolts in which it failed to win its independence. In the 1870s, a new autonomy movement began to emerge under Charles Stewart Parnell. Parnell’s Irish Parliamentary Party advocated for Home Rule in which Ireland would receive greater political autonomy. Parnell put pressure on British Prime Minister William E. Gladstone in 1886 and 1893 to pass the first home rule bill. Unfortunately, both times the liberal government would fail to secure a successful home rule bill.
The debates would come to head again with the introduction of the Third Home Rule Bill in April of 1912. The bill called for the establishment of a bicameral Irish Parliament in Dublin. In return, the number of Irish MPs (members of parliament) would be decreased from 103 to 42. Furthermore, Dublin Castle a dreaded symbol of British rule would be abolished. The Home Rule bill however, would come under fierce opposition by the protestant majority of Ulster. Northern Ireland was overwhelming Unionist and feared their voices would be squelched in overwhelmingly southern Irish Parliament.
This website is a survey of how each side viewed Home Rule. It will explore the events leading up to the crises and how each side maneuvered to achieve their political objectives. While Home Rule did not materialize in 1914 and was eclipsed by the outbreak of World War I, it would set the stage for the Easter Rising in 1916.
