History of Politics of Ireland - Essay Example

Politics of Home Brief History of Politics of Ireland It is assumed at times that “modern” politics started in Ireland in 1922 or some say it began after the establishment of Sinn Fein. Though, actually it started off in 1880s and had history. The rise of “party politics” helped in the development of politics here and this development can be divided in three stages. During the first stage, the Parliamentary Parties were leading the politics of this country containing the Members of Parliament (MP). All the parties that were present prior the 1830s can be put in this state. During the second stage, Electoral Parties were leading the politics. This stage started out near the period of 1830 and was in existence for about five decades (Coakley and Gallagher, 2004: 10). The important parties of this stage were O’Connell’s Repeal Party in the 1830s and 1840s, the Independent Irish Party in the 1850s, National Association in the 1860s, and the most vital of all was the Home Rule Party from 1874 and onwards. The third stage was started off by the beginning of Mass Parties. These parties were very organised and restricted “parliamentary groups.” Dozens of associates worked in different departments. These parties were more towards Catholic area. The progresses that came into existence during this stage were the Home Rule League in 1873, the Land League in 1879, and the Irish National League in 1882. The elections held in the year 1885 gave rise to the “modern Irish party politics.” It was set apart due to a firm division among the Protestant and Catholic Ireland (Coakley and Gallagher, 2004: 12). After Effects of Great Famine: The brutal outcomes of Great Famine can possibly be considered the cause which brought Home Rule Party into being. The Great Famine took place from 1845 to 1849, resulting in the death of more than 1 million people and caused disaster to another million people who forcefully kept on migrating over the next ten years due to this. One of the main causes of this Great Famine was to make the ordinary Irish people feel that the English Government was not present for them in the time of need and due to this, they have to control their lives by themselves. Inside the circle of Famine, several revolutionary movements took place which then came to an end in 1916 Easter Rising (Information about Ireland, 2005). After the Famine, the prices of food were increased tremendously and due to this Irish farmers started off to make money in the shadow of the increased prices. Seeing this, the Irish landlords increased the taxes. After 1876, these food prices exceeded so much causing farmers to face harsh times. Even after seeing all this scenario of food trouble and seeing that the overall production has decreased, the landlords did not take any step in reducing the taxes for these poor people. These high taxes were not easy to pay for many farmers and as a result of this they left their houses and land unwontedly. Many of these homeless farmers established a new “land-reform” movement, which was led by Michael Davitt who himself was a farmer from Mayo. The fundamental goal behind this movement was to change the law to reduce the control of landlords and to allow peasants to have their land back (Fortune City). This was the same time when Isaac Butt started off the Home Rule Party. The main goal of this party was to finish off the Act of Union and to keep the Ireland’s Parliament. What he seeked for was a local Irish Parliament which could take control of laws separately from the main Parliament in London, but this did not mean that he desired for full independence from Britain. This aim could possibly act as a possible solution for the people of Ireland. The Home Rule Party wont 59 seats in Parliament (Fortune City). The Politics of Home Rule: During the first half of the nineteenth century, more than half of the Irish people were strongly devoted to the thought of canceling combined government relations with Britain and desired to have a total separate Parliament. O’Connell was the one to present a thesis on base of this thought of Irishmen. During the time of 1843, many important political bodies were involved in taking steps to have an independent government. In 1870, Isaac Butt gave a fresh start to federalism, which was also the time when nationalism was declining. The country’s Prime Minister, Gladstone, wanted to avail this fact that nationalism is declining by creating a policy which could bring back the Catholic people of Ireland together and devote themselves totally for Liberal party. The creation of the Irish Home Rule movement in the year 1870 ruined Gladstone’s plan (Mc Caffrey, 1962: 3). Butt made the Home Rule movement to assure Ireland the benefits of “self- government" and also to promise them about the firmness of Irish society by taking away old ways of running a government (Mc Caffrey, 1962: 4). A Brief Biography of Charles Stuart Parnell: Charles Stewart Parnell was born in 1846 at Avonde, County Wicklow in an Anglo Irish Protestant family. He died on October 6, 1891. His great-grandfather, namely Sir John, was involved in the Protestant patriot Parliament during the eighteenth century. His father, John Henry, was a landowner and his mother, Delia Tudor, was an American. Parnell went to Magdalene College in Cambridge, focusing mainly on mathematics (Hachey, Hernon, & McCaffrey, 1996: 113). How Should we Judge the Inheritance of Charles Stuart Parnell for the Cause of Irish Home Rule? Butt made many promises to people, but he was not able to fulfill them. By the year 1877, his management of the Irish party was still not active and many of its members were careless about the party. Fortunately Joseph Biggar and Charles Stewart Parnell brought changes in people’s minds (Hachey, Hernon, & McCaffrey, 1996: 113). Parnell was greeted warmly by Butt as a young Protestant. His first two years in parliament were quiet ones, but he was always prepared for any debates or arguments that could come in between (Hachey, Hernon, & McCaffrey, 1996: 114). Parnell noticed that the Home Rule party was not organised and needed amendment. Parnell spotted out the solution that the only possible way through which Home Rule can achieve success in Parliament is to get a hold up from any one of the British parties. He debated that the M.P’s of Home Rule should be more committed towards their responsibility. He was highly appreciated by all newspapers for standing with the British people. In the year 1877, the Home Rule Confederation of Great Britain expelled Butt from the position of President and chose Parnell in that position (Hachey, Hernon, & McCaffrey, 1996: 115). After the Great Famine, many went homeless, and were urged to migrate due to the high tax rates charged on them. Home Rule was the platform in providing the homeless a plan to reduce taxes and all. When Parnell became in charge of the Irish party, he paid more attention towards the land protest than on Home Rule. People broke out wars and fights as a result of Great Famine, but fortunately Parnell, along with his colleagues, made significant steps in bringing a stop to these blood shedding and damages. Parnell and his colleagues advised them to stay in their farms, not to let anyone take place in their houses, and not to pay any extra rents (Hachey, Hernon, & McCaffrey, 1996: 119). After 1886 the Irish party continued to execute efficiently for its citizens, but the demands of the Liberal association limited its freedom and richness (Hachey, Hernon, & McCaffrey, 1996: 129). By 1882 Parnell looked confident about gaining success in his expedition to get hold of Home Rule for Ireland. But something unfortunate was destined for him, which stopped his dream goal to become a reality. In 1887, The Times of London issued a sequence of article namely “Parnell and Crime,” affirming that Parnell and his fellow workers had initiated ‘agrarian’ revolts in Ireland. Not just this, one of the articles even published a letter which was, according to them, signed by Parnell, in which he has supported the 1882 Phoenix Park killings of Cavendish and Burke. These articles published by the newspaper were harmful for the prestige of Parnell, and it gave rise to enmity for him in the whole of Britain. In the beginning, Parnell did not pay attention to this disgusting plan of theirs. While the trial was going on, more letters were shown, signed by him. Parnell chose to take a step in opposition to the paper. As he did not trust the fairness of British courts and judges, he requested the government to let a parliamentary committee do the investigation of those letters. The government did not listen to this request and instead hired three judges to take care of this case (Hachey, Hernon, & McCaffrey, 1996: 129). Later on, in the hearing, it was found out that the letters were written by a Dublin journalist, Richard Pigott. In a cross-examination in February 1889, it was proved that Pigott is the guilty one. After leaving the court, Pigott committed suicide. Parnell was considered as an Irish national hero and was referred to as the “Uncrowned King Of Ireland (this term was actually coined for Daniel O’Connell). His heroism was shorlived, when it was found that Parnell had secretly married Katherine O’Shea and was the father of three of her kids. She was actually a wife a of a fellow Galway MP, Captain Willie O’Shea, who took the step of divorce after finding this out and Parnell was declared the “co-respondent”. The true purpose of Captain to marry her was to gain the wealth left by Katherine’s aunt. After the divorce, Katherine became his wife and was given his name. These two mishappenings were taken as a good advantage for those who were against him in his party and then they declared him as an unfit leader. After the incident of the divroce, Gladstone was pressurised to show that he cannot support the Irish Parliamentary party until Parwell remains its leader (Wikipedia, 2005). Divorce was considered a rageous matter in the Catholic religion, and since Parnell was the co-respondent, he was considered the cause of the divorce. Nonconformists also criticised him. His high reputation was crushed under the feet of this scandal. Also, as a result of this scandal, the Unionist movement in Ulster became powerful and started considering the Home Rule movement as “morally wrong”.He was continuously and untruly accused of a whole range of ridiculous acts including misusing party funds to pay for his affair. His old partner, Michael Davitt, along with another Irish MP, Tim Healy, advised the Irish party to discharge Parnell. Thus, Parnell was finally betrayed by the people he had fought so courageously during his career to free - the Irish (Mark, 2002). Parnell did not agree to resign, which caused a split in the party between Parnellites and Anti-Parnellites. At a party meeting, Parnell challenged Gladstone's view with the question, "Who is the master of the party?"; Tim Healy, an infamous white Protestant MP, replied with the legendary "Who is the mistress of the party ?" putdown. The fact that it was Tim Healy who so strongly was against Parnell was seen as the ultimate betrayal. This was because Healy had been one of Parnell's strongest supporters and had referred to Parnell as 'the Uncrowned King of Ireland'. The British government under Prime Minister Gladstone were annoyed by this turn of events and passed the Coercion Bill making it illegal for the Irish to refuse to work for or to boycott produce from English landlords. Parnell and his men attempted to postpone parliamentary work and attempted to lobby English MPs to support their Home Rule Cause. His disordered methods landed Parnell in Kilmainham jail in 1881. Chaos arose in Ireland, which led to the Kilmainham Treaty that was drawn up in May 1882 by Gladstone and the subsequent release of the Nationalist Party's leader (Wikipedia, 2005). Parnell passed away on October 6th 1891 in Brighton, England at the age of 45. It is believed by some that he died after a short period of sore fever 'of exhaustion' while still others said he died of a heart attack. His funeral was attended by 150,000 people at Glasnevin cemetery, his coffer led by a group of sweeping Fenian men. Many native Irish people believed that Parnell alone could have led Ireland to Independence and he is still remembered today on Ivy Day, 6th October, when supporters wear a branch of ivy on their clothing (Mark, 2002). The city of Dublin memorizes Parnell in two places: there is a monument on O'Connell Square. Henry Bacon was the architect who built it and this monument was uncovered on October 1st, 1911. Another Square, Parnell Square, was named after him. The Garden of Remembrance, a part of Parnell Square, has been dedicated to all those freedom fighters that lost their lives during the years fighting for Irish freedom (Mark, 2002). Redmond came in after Parnell in Parliament as the campaigner for Irish Home Rule, but Independence for Ireland was not achieved until the time of Eamonn de Valera (1931) and after thus after the Easter Uprising of 1916. Northern Ireland still remains part of the United Kingdom today (Mark, 2002). After his death, the party was divided into two parts: majority (opposers of Parnell) was led by John Dillon of Mayo, and the minority (supporters of Parnell) led by John Redmond of Wexford. It was not until 1900 that the two divided parts of the party came togetger under the rule of John Redmond, except for a rump part led by Timothy Michael Healy (Wiki, 2006). In his last speech in Kilkenny in 1891 he said: 'I don’t pretend that I had not moments of trial and of temptation, but I do claim that never in thought, word, or deed, have I been false to the trust which Irishmen have confided in me' (Information about Ireland, 2005). Most likely he will be remembered for the quotation that can be found on his statue at the intersection of O'Connell Street and Parnell Street in Dublin City Centre: 'No man shall have the right to fix the boundary to the march of a Nation' (Information about Ireland, 2005). He will be remembered by the Irish as a fighter for freedom, as an “unsung” hero and as a sufferer of the British Government and of the Catholic Church. Parnell's inheritance is represented in many literary works, and for the Irish writer, James Joyce, he was ‘an acknowledged’ hero. Joyce wrote about the story of Parnell in a great many of his books including: 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man', 'Ulysses' and in the essay 'The Shade of Parnell'. Principally, Joyce portrayed him as a ‘betrayed’ hero, a God who was likened to Christ and to Moses. Like Moses Joyce believed Parnell had arrived at the entrance to the Promised Land (an independent Ireland) but was refused entrance. Disgusted with his countrymen's treatment of his hero, Joyce returned to worship of Parnell over and over again in his most famous literary works (Mark, 2002). In conclusion, Charles Stewart Parnell was a fighter for Irish freedom, a presenter for the working class and a captivating leader. Legends has it that, like Elvis, he is not really dead and will return one day to 'free' the island of Ireland. He is remembered in Ireland as a hero for the Cause and it is ironic that his human side ultimately caused his downfall (Mark, 2002). Home Rule Bills: The First Home Rule Bill: “In 1886, William Gladstone committed the Liberal party to Home Rule. His bill of 1886 would have established a separate Irish legislature, while reserving many powers, including taxation, to the British Parliament at Westminster. The bill failed to pass, and the incoming Conservative government developed a policy of land reform to mollify the Irish. The unity of the Irish party in Parliament collapsed after Parnell was ruined by a divorce scandal in 1890” (Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition ). The Second Home Rule Bill: “In 1893 the Liberals passed the Second Home Rule Bill in the House of Commons, providing a bicameral legislature for purely local matters and Irish representation at Westminster to vote on Irish taxation. While unsatisfactory to Home Rule advocates, the bill was, nevertheless, defeated in the House of Lords. Advocates of constitutional means to Home Rule began to lose ground to republicans and revolutionaries. The ideals of an increasingly self-conscious Irish people, expressed by the Gaelic League and Irish Ireland culminated in the founding (c.1900) of Sinn Féin. The Irish Council Bill of 1907, which was to establish a purely Irish body to direct the spending of Irish tax proceeds, failed to pass because of Irish dissatisfaction with the plan” (Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition ). The Third Home Rule Bill: “In 1912 the Third Home Rule Bill passed the House of Commons. The most notable difference from the bill of 1893 was that it would have eventually given control of the police to Ireland. A tremendous outcry arose in Protestant Ulster, which feared Roman Catholic domination. Private armies—the Ulster Volunteers (in the North) and the Irish Volunteers (in the South)—were raised, and civil war threatened if the bill became law. In 1914, Commons again passed the bill, but the House of Lords excluded Ulster from its provisions. The Commons voted to allow Ulster to vote itself out of Home Rule for six years. At the outbreak of World War I the bill was passed once again with the proviso that it should not go into effect until after the war. The law never took effect” (Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition ). The Irish Free State and the Fourth Home Rule Bill: “By this time Irish labor leaders like James Connolly had been drawn into the struggle, and Irish radicalism—along with impatience and doubts as to Britain’s good faith—brought about the Easter Rebellion of 1916. In 1918, S Ireland elected to Parliament only Sinn Fein members pledged to republicanism instead of Home Rule. These members did not go to Westminster; they set up their own Irish assembly, the Dáil Éireann, which declared Ireland independent. There followed a period of guerrilla war between the nationalist Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a force of British irregulars known as the Black and Tans” (Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition). Works Cited Politics in the Republic of Ireland, 2004, John Coakley, Michael Gallagher, New York, Page Numbers: 10, 12. Irish Federalism in the 1870's, 1962: A Study in Conservative Nationalism, Lawrence J. McCaffrey, Philadelphia, Page Numbers: 3, 4 The Irish Experience: A Concise History, 1996, Thomas E. Hachey, Joseph M. Hernon Jr., & Lawrence J. McCaffrey, Armonk, NY, Page Numbers: 113, 114, 115, 119. Wikipedia, 23 April 2006, Politics of the Republic of Ireland Who was Charles Stewart Parnell?, 2002, Mark Ruth Nationalist Party, 2006, wiki Information about Ireland, Charles Stewart Parnell Fortune City, History of Ireland Read More