To what extent was there an Ulster dimension to the Irish problem prior to the crisis over the Third Home Rule Bill?
Uploaded by Kerrytom on Aug 10, 2013
When discussing the ‘Irish Question’, one must consider the ‘Ulster Question’ as being paramount to the understanding of the complexities of the problem. The problem in question is the contentious issue of Irish Home Rule. The Ulster dimension of this, very basically, stems from the fact that there was a Protestant majority in Ulster, and if they were to be governed by Dublin then they feared their interests would not be accounted for by the Irish Nationalists in power. This is the very simplified and broad view on the issue, which has had a vast amount of academic scrutiny over the years. The issues are far more complex and deep than to simply take this view as the only issue, with many different aspects which need to be examined. In order to get to the crux of these issues, one must firstly discuss the trigger which set off the fear in Ulster of Home Rule for the whole of the island of Ireland.
In 1884, Charles Stewart Parnell’s Irish Parliamentary Party turned their attention towards gaining Home Rule for Ireland. “With the land issue beginning to resolve itself Parnell concentrated on the political aim of Home Rule and, with the aid of his new National League, Nationalism was properly organised at constituency level.” This party pledged to act and vote in unison, which would was to be of great importance to gain influence in Westminster. The question for Parnell now was who to align the party with in Westminster, to best serve the ambitions of the IPP. In the end his mind was made up for him by the actions of the Liberal party’s leader, W. E. Gladstone. His son Herbert declared in the press that his father had converted his stance and was now in favour of granting Home Rule to Ireland. The power the IPP had at the time was that they had enough seats in parliament to decide who would have power in Britain. “The 1885 general election gave the Liberals 335 seats, the Conservatives 249 seats and the Home Rule party 86 seats. Parnell held the exact balance with his 86 seats, but while he was considering the best strategy for the new parliament, a bizarre incident took place which tied him to the Liberal party. On 17 December Gladstone’s son disclosed to the press that his father had been converted to Home Rule.” ...