Unionist Resistance to Home Rule, and the Division of Ireland
In this chapter you will learn about: • Unionist opposition to Home Rule • The leadership of Edward Carson • The nationalist response to unionism
By the end of this chapter you will be able to: • Discuss the impact the Third Home Rule Bill had on Irish politics • Discuss the nationalist divisions that emerged during this period • Assess the aims and achievements of unionist opposition to Home Rule
Unionist Opposition to Home Rule
At its foundation, the Home Rule movement under Isaac Butt was made up of Protestants and Catholics, landlords and tenant farmers. However, under the subsequent leadership of Charles Stewart Parnell the movement became significantly more nationalist in tone. This was as a result of Parnell’s links with the IRB during the Land War and Parnell’s own speeches, when he hinted that Home Rule might be just the first step towards full Irish independence:
‘But no man has the right to say to his country, “thus far shalt thou go and no further,” and we have never attempted to fix the ne plus ultra to the progress of Ireland’s nationhood, and we never shall.’
Belfast circa 1910. MOVEMENTS FOR POLITICAL AND SOCIAL REFORM, 1870–1914 61
