Parnell

PARNELL

THE RISE OF PARNELL

ORIGINS OF HOME RULE

1870 Butt founded the Home Rule Association

1873 became the Home Rule League 1874 won 59 parliamentary seats 1874 became properly constituted as

the Home Rule Party

PARTY WAS INEFFECTIVE BECAUSE…..

Had no real unity of ideas, organisation or membership

Only one third were genuine H Rulers. The rest were a mixture of Fenians and crypto-Liberals

Butt was a weak leader He began to lose influence to more

dynamic H Rulers like Parnell

THE LAND LEAGUE

Agricultural depression in 1879 transformed the situation and linked the cause of H R with the agrarian crisis

Depression led to farmers being unable to pay rents and this in turn led to evictions

This led to formation of a popular agrarian movement against the landlords and so the Land War had begun

MICHAEL DAVITT

Had been a Fenian and imprisoned for 7 years

On his release he rejoined the Fenians but believed in working with the constitutional nationalists

Determined to put the land question at the centre of politics

Believed that agrarian agitation could force the government to agree to demands for constitutional change as well as land reform

DAVITT

Encouraged Parnell to support the land campaign

Arranged a meeting between Parnell, Devoy and himself which led to agreement to support tenants’ demands and self-government

This is sometimes referred to as the “New Departure”: a fusing together of representatives of constitutional nationalism, revolutionary nationalism and agrarian agitation

NEW DEPARTURE

“The fusing into one national movement of all the elements of Irish protest and grievance”

THE LAND LEAGUE

Founded in Oct 1879 by Davitt Parnell became president Agreed with the three Fs but was never as

radical as Davitt. After all he was a landlord himself

Parnell’s main motives were political: support for the Land League would encourage the cause of constitutional nationalism and give leverage to the H Rulers at Westminster

PARNELL’S MOTIVATION

“I would not have taken off my coat and gone to this work if I had not known that we were laying the foundation in this movement for the regeneration of our legislative independence”

Believed he would be able to win over the landlords to the nationalist cause and cooperate with them

Davitt believed landlords would have to be eliminated

ACTIVITIES OF THE LAND LEAGUE

Large scale occurrence of agrarian outrages against landlords

Difficult for the police to act for the Land League was a legal organisation and couldn’t easily be prosecuted

Created difficulties for Parnell, the constitutionalist, who was also president of the Land League which was committing this violence

LEADER OF THE PARLIAMENTARY PARTY

1880 Parnell was elected leader of the parliamentary party although it was a split vote

Provides evidence that moderate H Rulers disapproved of his connection with the Land League violence and with the Fenians

THE SECOND LAND ACT

When Gladstone became P.M. for the second time in 1880 he had no clear programme for Ireland

Continuing violence convinced him of the need for a new land act

As an immediate step he introduced a tough new Coercion Bill which Parnell and the H R party opposed.

SECOND LAND ACT

Using the new Coercion Act, Gladstone had Davitt arrested and 36 MPs, including Parnell, expelled from the Commons

This unified and strengthened the IPP and made Parnell more popular.

Gladstone then passed the Second Land Act, granting the three Fs.

This was a political masterstroke, wrong-footing Parnell and removing the Land League’s raison d’etre.

PARNELL’S DILEMMA

If he supported the Land Act he would alienate the radicals in the party who wanted much more sweeping land reform

If he opposed the Land Act he would antagonise the moderates and all those tenants who had fought to get the three Fs

Parnell played for time and was fortuitously rescued by Gladstone

IMPRISONMENT

Parnell was arrested and imprisoned in Kilmainham Gaol on the grounds that he was deliberately trying to wreck the workings of the Land Act

It was the best thing that could have happened to him, turning him into a martyr

While he was in prison the Land League was banned and gradually disintegrated

THE KILMAINHAM TREATY

During the 6 months of his imprisonment violence escalated and Gladstone came to realise that only Parnell could control the violence

Parnell accepted that the Land Act had defeated the Land League and was now ready to resume his role as the purely constitutional leader of a purely constitutional party

THE KILMAINHAM TREATY

Agreed in April 1882 Government agreed to release Parnell

and relax the Coercion Act Parnell agreed to use his influence to

end the violence and to accept and support the carrying out of the Land Act

PHOENIX PARK MURDERS

May 1882 Lord Cavendish and the Under-Secretary were murdered in Phoenix Park

Parnell’s horror at and condemnation of the murders went down well in Westminster

A general reaction against violence set in

Politics superseded the agrarian struggle and the fate of Ireland centred on the House of Commons