ABSTRACT
Ireland under the Union (1800-1870) 1800 Ju!. Act of Union incorporates Ireland into the new United Kingdom of Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) and Ireland. Ireland is promised commercial concessions, retention of its own legal system and representation at Westminister (4 spiritual and 24 temporal peers in the House of Lords and 100 MPs in the House of Commons). Passed by Irish Parliament through British political pressure and bribery A ug. Act of Union receives Royal Assen t
1801 Jan. Act of Union becomes law Feb. Pitt resigns as Prime Minister when Catholic Emancipation, promised as part of the Act of Union, is blocked by George III (on the grounds that it contradicts his coronation oath) 1802 Break-up of Despard conspiracy
1823 Catholic Association founded by Daniel O'Connell (,The Liberator') to campaign as a mass movement for Catholic emancipation
1828 O'Connell elected as M.P. for Co. Clare but, as a Catholic, he is unable to take his seat at Westminster. Repeal of Test anri Corporation Acts
removes last civil disabilities on Protestant dissenters (introduced by Peel and Wellington to undercut Irish unrest) 1829 Catholic Emancipation Act makes Catholics eligible for almost all offices of state, and no oath of supremacy required to sit in either House of the British Parliament. Irish Franchise Act removes poorest and most numerous class ofIrish Catholic voters
1832 Aug. Irish Reform Act. National Repeal Association established by O'Connell
1846-1851 Irish Famine: up to one million die of starvation, prompting extensive emigration to the U.S.A. by the surviving, embittered population. CA million dead, a million fled') 1848 Attempts at insurrection by 'Young Ireland' fail and its leaders, Mitchel and O'Brien, are transported to Australia
1858 Irish Republican Brotherhood (Fenians) founded among Irish emigrants in U.S.A. by James Stephens
1866 Feb. Habeas Corpus Act suspended in Ireland May American Fenians stage a raid across Canadian border
1867 Feb. Fenians in England attempt to seize Chester and blow up ClerkenweliJail, killing 12 people
1868 May Michael Barnett of the Fenians is hanged for Clerkenwell outrage (the last public execution in Britain) 1869 Mar. Anglican Church in Ireland disestablished (effective from 1871) Nov. Last Fenian rising (in western Canada) 1870 Aug. Irish Land Act
The Irish Home Rule Campaign (1870-1914) 1870 Irish Home Government Association formed by Isaac Butt
1873 Nov. Irish Home Rule League established in Dublin
1880-1890 Home Rule Party led by Charles Stuart Parnell
1881 Irish Land League founded by Michael Davitt
1882 Apr. 'Kilmainham Treaty' deal between Parnell and British government May Phoenix Park Murders: Thomas Burke (Permanent UnderSecretary for Ireland) and Lord Frederick Cavendish (newly-appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland) hacked to death in Dublin by the 'Invincibles', a gang of fanatical nationalists. Government passes a Prevention of Crimes Act (valid for three years) abolishing trial by jury and giving the police exceptional powers. Hardens both British public opinion against Ireland and Irish public opinion against Britain 1885 In General Election, Home Rule Party wins 86 seats, holding the balance in the Commons Dec. Gladstone decides to favour Home Rule for Ireland 1886 Jun. Gladstone's (First) Home Rule Bill defeated by 30 votes in HOllse of Commons
1888 Papal decree forbidding boycotting antagonises Irish MPs
1890 Parnell cited in O'Shea divorce, with ensuing scandal splitting Home Rule Party
1893 Gaelic League founded. Ulster Defence Union founded. Gladstone's (Second) Home Rule Bill passes House of Commons but is defeated in House of Lords
1902 Sinn Fein Party founded in Dublin by Arthur Griffith (becoming Sinn Fein League over 1907-1908) 1905 Ulster Unionist Council established
1910 Edward Carson rallies Ulster opposition to Home Rule
1912 Apr.+ (Third) Home Rule Bill prompts opposition in Protestant Ulster, where Carson threatens armed resistance to 'Dublin Rule' Sep. 'Solemn League and Covenant' signed by Ulster Protestants and Ulster Volunteer Force formed
1913 Jan. & Jut. House of Lords rejects (Third) Home Rule Bill. 'Citizen Army' formed in southern Ireland
The First World War and the Partition o/Ireland (1914-1922) 1914-1918 Implementation of Home Rule is suspended for the duration of the First World War. Ireland never becomes a combat zone in the First World War but Irish casualties in the British Army are high
1917 Jun. Amnesty for all partiCIpants in Easter Rising, as British government attempts to defuse the Irish crisis. Irish Convention organised by Lloyd George. 'Unification' of Sinn Fein
1918 Attempts to extend conscription to Ireland deeply unpopular Dec. Sinn Fein wins 73 seats in General Election
1919 Jan. Formation of Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.) by Michael Collins to fight for a free Ireland against the British. Dail Eireann established in Dublin as alternative parliament for Ireland ApT. Eamonn de Valera elected President of Sinn Fein Executive Sep. Dail Eireann proscribed by British government
1920 Mar.+ 'Black and Tans' active against Irish insurgents Sep. Black and Tan reprisal at Balbriggan, near Dublin, causes outcry in Ireland, Britain and U.S.A. Der. Government of Irplanrl Ad provides for a northern Irish parliament at Belfast and a southern Irish parliament at Dublin
1921 Jun. I.R.A. assassinates Sir Henry Wilson, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, outraging British public opinion Der. Anglo-Irish Treaty: southern Ireland granted dominion status as 'Irish Free State', six of the nine counties of Ulster granted limited self-government as 'Northern Ireland' within the revamped United Kingdom by agreement signed between David Lloyd George and Irish representatives, Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith. The Treaty and its Irish signatories are denounced by the Republicans headed by de Valera, leading to civil war in Ireland
