1 August 1870
1st Land Act

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The Land Act finally gives limited rights to all tenant farmers in Ireland. Whereas Protestant tenants in the northern province of Ulster have security of tenure, can sell their interest in the land and must be compensated for any improvements they have made, the (overwhelmingly Catholic) tenants in the rest of Ireland have no such protection. They are often evicted at short notice – and sometimes this is their reward for improving the land and inspiring the landlord to increase the rent. Through the 1850s and 1860s, the Irish Tenant League and the Independent Irish Party have campaigned for the '3Fs': fair rent, free sale and fixity of tenure.

Gladstone introduces the Land Act as a compromise measure. Ulster custom now applies to the rest of Ireland, but the devil is in the detail. For example, a limit of £250 is put on compensation and 'fair' rent is set by magistrates, who also happen to be landlords.

Landowners are furious that their property rights are being chiselled away, and tenants continue to be exploited. In 1877, agriculture goes into depression and large numbers of tenants are evicted for not paying their rent. Two years later, the Land War breaks out, and the government has to pass the fairer 1881 Land Act.

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