Who was to blame for Parnell’s fall?

Many historians have argued over whether Parnell was brought down by his own party, the Catholic Church, the Irish people, or by Gladstone and the Liberals. Others maintain that his own stubbornness led to his downfall. In investigating this question, the following facts should be considered:

• Captain O’Shea knew of his wife’s affair with Parnell for some time before he decided to ask for a divorce.
• Many of Parnell’s party knew of the affair before the divorce, and when the news broke his MPs unanimously backed his leadership.
• It became known that Gladstone felt he could not continue to back the Irish Party with Parnell as its leader; a week later the Irish MPs voted against Parnell by 45 to 27.
• The next day the Catholic bishops called on the people to reject him.
• Friendsadvised Parnell to retire for a time until the storm blew over, but he insisted he must continue to fight his cause.
• In the next few months Parnell’s supporters lost four out of five by-elections.
• In 1891, when Parnell’s body was returned to Dublin, thousands took to the streets in mourning.
• In the 1892 General Election, Parnellites won nearly a third of nationalist votes.

Concluding Activity

The poet WB Yeats blamed ‘the bishops and the party’ for Parnell’s downfall.

Study the statements below. How far do you agree with each? Place them in order, and justify your order.

• The Catholic Church turned the people against Parnell.
• The Irish Party put short-term political gain before loyalty, right, and freedom of action.
• The Irish electorate ‘threw Parnell to the wolves’.
• The Liberals ‘dictated’ Parnell’s downfall.
• Parnell was himself to blame.

Question 2

How strong was unionist opposition to Home Rule?

In investigating this question, the following facts should be considered:

• Since 1885 Home Rule had been a real possibility, so unionists had a long time to organise their opposition.
• The unionists had close ties with the Orange Order and were able to use its grass-roots network to mobilise support.
• Wealthy interests in both Ireland and Britain helped set up a Million Pound Fund for the unionist cause.
• Unionists from the north and south sought to keep Ireland in the Union, but the outlook of the landed gentry in the south was sometimes different from that of the industrially-orientated northerners.
• Carson, a Dubliner, was a leading British public figure with considerable influence: a prominent lawyer and a former Conservative cabinet minister.
• Craig, his second in command, was a very effective organiser of unionist resistance.
• The unionists had strong ties with the Conservative Party. Bonar Law, the Conservative leader, threatened a civil war in England if Home Rule was pushed through.
• Many people in Britain felt that if Ireland were granted self-government, it might lead to the break-up of the British Empire.
• There were signs that by 1914 the Liberal leadership was less determined to see Home Rule through than Gladstone had been.
• The UVF was led by former British soldiers; in March 1914 a group of serving British officers made it known that they would not be prepared to fight against the unionist rebels.

Concluding Activity

Under the headings ‘democratic politics’ and ‘acts of rebellion’, list in your own words the various steps taken by unionists to resist Home Rule.

Explain why you put each of these activities under the heading you did.

Were Carson and his followers ‘loyalists’ or ‘rebels’?

Question 3

Would Home Rule in 1914 have satisfied nationalist demands?

In investigating this question, the following facts should be considered:

• In 1911, in the last General Election before the war, the Home Rule Party won all seats in Ireland except for those won by unionists.
• The majority of Irish people supported Britain at the outbreak of the war against Germany.
• During the early years of the twentieth century many people’s sense of Irishness was deepened by involvement in organisations like the Gaelic League, the Gaelic Athletic Association and other cultural and artistic movements.
• As the progress of the Home Rule Bill faltered after 1912, in the face of unionist resistance, there were signs that nationalists were becoming disillusioned with the Home Rulers’ Liberal Alliance.
• The Sinn Fein movement was attracting support from younger nationalists who wanted Ireland to be more independent of Britain.
• Many nationalists were impressed by what Carson’s supporters had achieved by the threat of force, and felt that nationalists should be doing the same.
• The formation of the Irish Volunteers was very popular with nationalists.
• Behind the scenes, the revolutionary Irish Republican Brotherhood was working to move the Volunteers towards taking violent action to achieve an Irish Republic.
• The great Home Rule leader Parnell had himself been unclear as to whether he thought Irish freedom could stop at Home Rule.

Concluding Activity

Look again at the bullet points listed under Question 2. Place each under one or other of the following headings:

Factors which indicate Home Rule would satisfy nationalist opinion.

Factors which indicate Home Rule would not satisfy nationalist opinion.

Study each column. Complete three paragraphs beginning:

• Home Rule would probably have satisfied nationalist wishes because...
• It would have been difficult for Home Rule to satisfy nationalist wishes because...
• Home Rule would probably not have satisfied nationalist wishes because...