NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Irish nationalism

Irish nationalism refers to political movements that desire greater autonomy or the independence of Ireland from Great Britain. The nationalist position is often contrasted with that of Unionists. Irish nationalism is particularly associated with the Roman Catholic community, especially in Northern Ireland, where the terms "Catholic" and "nationalist" are used interchangeably. Catholics largely perceive themselves as descendants of the native inhabitants of Ireland, while normally Protestant Unionists often highlight their British ancestry. In the context of Irish politics, Unionists are people in Northern Ireland, who wish to see the continuation of the Act of Union 1800, as amended by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, under which Northern Ireland, created in that latter Act, remains part of the United Kingdom of Great... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Motto: (Latin for Who will separate us?)[1] Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (de facto), Ulster Scots, Irish3, Northern Ireland Sign Language, Irish Sign Language Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister of...

Irish nationalism has, since the Partition of Ireland 1920, also included the goal of a United Ireland. An Act to Provide for the Better Government of Ireland, more usually the Government of Ireland Act, 1920 (this is its official short title; the formal citation is 10 & 11 Geo. ... Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Topographical map of Ireland. ...

History

Roots

Ireland has been subject to varying degrees of rule from England since the late 12th century (See Norman Ireland). The Gaelic Irish resisted this conquest through military and other means, but were organised in small independent lordships and did not have a common political goal such as an independent Irish state. Conflict over the English presence was exacerbated by the Protestant Reformation in England, which introduced a religious element to the 16th century Tudor re-conquest of Ireland, as almost all of the native Irish remained Catholic. Another central feature of future Anglo-Irish conflict was the dispossession of Irish Catholic landowners in the Plantations of Ireland and their replacement with a Protestant landowning class from England and Scotland. In addition, the Plantation of Ulster, begun in 1609, "planted" a sizable colony of English and Scottish settlers of all classes into the north of Ireland. A tower house near Quin. ... The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, whose language is of the Gaelic (Goidelic) family, a division of Insular Celtic languages. ... The Reformation was a movement in the 16th century to reform the Catholic Church in Western Europe. ... The Tudor re-conquest of Ireland took place under the English Tudor dynasty during the 16th century. ... Plantations in 16th and 17th century Ireland involved the seizure of land owned by the native Irish and granting of it to colonists (planters) from Britain. ... The Plantation of Ulster was a planned process of colonisation which took place in the northern Irish province of Ulster during the early 17th century in the reign of James I of England. ...

The closest Gaelic lords came to waging an identifiably nationalist campaign against the English presence was the rebellion of Hugh O'Neill in the 1590s (known as the Nine Years War 1594-1603), which aimed to expel the English and make Ireland a Spanish proctorate. However, despite claiming to represent a movement of Irish Catholics against English Protestants, O'Neills forces were a shifting coalition of clans and lords and many historians see O'Neill himself as being primarily motivated by personal ambition -specifically the securing of his authority over Tir Eoghan in Ulster. Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ... Hugh ONeill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone (c. ... The Nine Years War (Irish: Cogadh na Naoi mBliana) in Ireland took place from 1594 to 1603 and is also known as Tyrones Rebellion. ... Statistics Area: 24,481 kmÂ² Population (2006 estimate) 1,993,918 Ulster (Irish: CÃºige Uladh, IPA: ) forms one of the four traditional provinces of Ireland. ...

A more significant movement came in the 1640s, after the Irish Rebellion of 1641, when a coalition of Gaelic Irish and Old English (Ireland) Catholics set up a de facto independent Irish state to fight the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (see Confederate Ireland). The Confederate Catholics of Ireland, also known as the Confederation of Kilkenny, emphasised that Ireland was a Kingdom independent from England, though under the same monarch. They demanded autonomy for the Irish Parliament, full rights for Catholics and an end to the confiscation of Catholic owned land. However, the Confederates cannot accurately be called nationalists, because they based their identity primarily on religion rather than ethnicity. In fact, they were ethnically mixed, being composed of both Gaelic Irish and Old English Catholics. In any case, the Confederate cause was destroyed in the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland 1649-53 and the old Catholic landowning class was dispossessed permanently. The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup dÃ©tat by Irish Catholic gentry, but rapidly degenerated into bloody intercommunal violence between native Irish Catholics and English and Scottish Protestant settlers. ... The Old English were a wave of early medieval Norman, French, Welsh, English, Breton and Flemish settlers who went to Ireland to claim territory and lands in the wake of the Norman invasion. ... The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in Scotland, Ireland, and England between 1639 and 1651 at a time when these countries had come under the Personal Rule of the same monarch. ... Kilkenny Castle, where the Confederate General Assembly met. ... This article is about the legislature abolished in 1801. ... The Old English were a wave of early medieval Norman, French, Welsh, English, Breton and Flemish settlers who went to Ireland to claim territory and lands in the wake of the Norman invasion. ... Combatants English Royalists and Irish Catholic Confederate troops English Parliamentarian New Model Army troops and allied Protestants in Ireland Commanders James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde (1649 - December 1650) Ulick Burke, Earl of Clanricarde (December 1650-April 1653) Oliver Cromwell (1649-May 1650) Henry Ireton (May 1650-November 1651) Charles...

A similar Irish Catholic monarchist movement emerged in the 1680s and '90s, when Irish Catholic Jacobites supported James II after his deposition in the Glorious Revolution. The Jacobites demanded that Irish Catholics would be a majority in an autonomous Irish Parliament, that confiscated Catholic land would be restored and that the Lord Deputy of Ireland would in future be an Irishman. Similarly to the Confederates of the 1640s, the Jacobites were conscious of representing the "Irish nation", but were not separatists and largely represented the interests of the landed class as opposed to all the Irish people. Like the Confederates, they were also defeated in the Williamite war in Ireland 1689-91. Thereafter, Irish government and landholding were dominated by the largely English Protestant Ascendancy. Catholics were discriminated against under the Penal Laws. (See also Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691) This article is not about the Jacobite Orthodox Church, nor is it about Jacobinism or the earlier Jacobean period. ... James II of England/VII of Scotland (14 October 1633 â€“ 16 September 1701) became King of Scots, King of England, and King of Ireland on 6 February 1685, and Duke of Normandy on 31 December 1660. ... The Revolution of 1688, commonly known as the Glorious Revolution, was the overthrow of James II of England in 1688 by a union of Parliamentarians and the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange). ... Official standard of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (also known as the Viceroy or in the Middle Ages as the Lord Deputy) was the head of Englands (pre-1707) or Britains (post 1707) administration in Ireland. ... For the context of this war see Jacobitism and Glorious Revolution. ... The Protestant Ascendancy refers to the political, economic, and social domination of Ireland by Anglican landowners, Church of Ireland clergy, and professionals during the 17th, 18th, and 19th century. ... The Penal laws in Ireland refers to a series of laws imposed under British rule that sought to discriminate against the majority native Catholic population but also against Protestant dissenters in favour of the established Church of Ireland which recognised the English monarchy as its spiritual head. ... The Reformation, before which, in 1536, Henry VIII broke with Papal authority, fundamentally changed Ireland. ...

This coupling of religious and ethnic identity (Roman Catholic and Gaelic), as well as a consciousness of dispossession and defeat at the hands of British and Protestant forces came to be enduring features of Irish nationalism. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, whose language is of the Gaelic (Goidelic) family, a division of Insular Celtic languages. ...

Early nationalism - Grattan to O'Connell

The Protestant dominated Irish Parliament of the eighteenth century repeatedly called for more autonomy from the British Parliament — particularly the repeal of Poynings Law, which allowed the latter to legislate for Ireland. Parliamentarians who wanted more self government were known as "patriots", for example Henry Grattan, who achieved substantial legislative independence in 1782-83. Grattan and radical elelments of the 'Irish Whig' party campaigned in the 1790s for Catholic political equality and a reform of electoral rights. He wanted useful links with Britain to remain, best understood by his comment: 'The channel [Irish sea] forbids union; the ocean forbids separation'. However it would be a mistake to see this movement as nationalist because they were essentially a colonial minority in Ireland. (See Ireland 1691-1801). Poynings Law refers to the time when Sir Edward Poyning was sent as viceroy to Ireland by Henry VII of England. ... Henry Grattan (July 3, 1746 - June 6, 1820) was a member of the Irish House of Commons and a campaigner for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century. ...

Modern democratic Irish nationalism began in the 1790s when Theobald Wolfe Tone founded the Society of the United Irishmen, first to end discrimination against Catholics, in line with Grattan, and then to found an independent Irish Republic. Tone and most of the United Irish leaders were Protestants and inspired by the French Revolution, wanted a society without sectarian divisions, the continuation of which they attributed to the British domination over the country. They were sponsored by the French Republic which was then the enemy of the Holy See. The United Irishmen led an armed uprising in 1798 (See Irish Rebellion of 1798), which was repressed with great bloodshed. As a result, the Irish Parliament was abolished altogether in the Act of Union of 1801 and Ireland was ruled directly from London. (See History of Ireland (1801-1922)) Theobald Wolfe Tone - United Irish leader. ... The Society of the United Irishmen was a political organisation in eighteenth century Ireland that sought independence from Great Britain. ... i heart kate young The French Revolution was a period of major political and social change in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to... Sectarianism is an adherence to a particular sect or party or denomination, it also usually involves a rejection of those not a member of ones sect. ... The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (Ã‰irÃ Amach 1798 in Irish), or 1798 rebellion as it is known locally, was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against the British dominated Kingdom of Ireland. ... This article is about the legislature abolished in 1801. ... Act of Union can mean: United Kingdom The Act of Union is a name given to several acts passed by the English, Scottish and British Parliaments from 1536 onwards. ... From 1801 to 1922 the whole island of Ireland formed a constituent part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK). ...

Two dominant forms of Irish nationalism arose from these events. One was a radical movement, known as Irish Republicanism, which advocated use of force to found a secular, egalitarian Irish Republic. This remained a minority opinion in the early 19th century, advocated by groups such as the Young Irelanders, some of whom launched a rebellion in 1848. Irish Republicanism is an ideology based on the Irish nationalist belief that all of Ireland should be a united independent republic. ... Young Ireland was a Irish revolutionary movement, active in the mid nineteenth century. ...

The other nationalist tradition was more moderate, urging non-violent means to seek concessions from the British government. While both nationalist traditions were predominantly Catholic in their support base, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church were opposed to republican separatism on the grounds of its violent methods and secular ideology, while they usually supported non-violent reformist nationalism.

Daniel O'Connell was the leader of the moderate tendency, who were initially more effective in achieving reform, since the British government was less inclined to use force against a non-violent movement. O'Connell, head of the Catholic Association and Repeal Association in the 1820s, '30s and '40s, campaigned for Catholic Emancipation - full political rights for Catholics - and then "Repeal of the Union", or Irish self-government under the Crown. Catholic Emancipation was achieved, but self-government was not. O'Connell's movement was more explicitly Catholic than its eighteenth century predecessors. It enjoyed the support of the Catholic clergy, who had denounced the United Irishmen and reinforced the association between Irish identity and Catholicism. O'Connell used traditional Irish imagery such as the Harp and located his mass meetings in sites such as Tara and Clontarf which had a special resonance in Irish history — similar to the Field of Blackbirds in Serb nationalism. Daniel OConnell Daniel OConnell (6 August 1775 â€“ 15 May 1847) (Irish: DÃ³nal Ã“ Conaill), known as The Liberator or The Emancipator, was Irelands predominant political leader in the first half of the nineteenth century who championed the cause of the down-trodden Catholic population. ... The Catholic Association was an Irish Roman Catholic organisation set up by Daniel OConnell in 1823 in order to campaign for Catholic Emancipation within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ... Daniel OConnell set up the Repeal Association in 1840 to campaign for the Repeal of the Act of Union. ... Catholic Emancipation was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the Penal Laws. ... The Society of the United Irishmen was a political organisation in eighteenth century Ireland that sought independence from Great Britain. ... The Hill of Tara, located near the River Boyne, is today a mound in County Meath, Leinster, Ireland, on which the grass has veiled the rich heritage of the country. ... Clontarf (Cluain Tarbh in Irish) is an area north of Dublin city, Ireland. ... Kosovo Polje (Косово поље, Albanian: Fushë Kosovë) is a town located in Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, at 42. ... Greater Serbia is a name for a Serbian nationalist concept. ...

Home Rule and Catholic nationalism

In the late 19th century, Irish nationalism became the dominant ideology in Ireland, having a major Parliamentary party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster that launched a concerted campaign for Home Rule or self-government. This period also saw the emergence of militant republican movement called the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) or Fenians, with an off-shoot named Clan na Gael in the United States. The Houses of Parliament, seen over Westminster Bridge The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. ... Westminster is a district within the City of Westminster in London. ... Devolution or Home rule is the pooling of powers from central government to government at regional or local level. ... The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) played an important role in the history of Ireland. ... Fenian is a term used since the 1860s for an Irish nationalist who espouses violence, usually by people opposed to their aims. ... With Irish immigration to the United States of America in the 18th_century there arose Irish ethnic organizations. ...

The Great Famine of 1845-49 caused great bitterness among Irish people against the British government, which was perceived as having failed to avert the deaths of up to a million people. However, the political effects of this were not seen in Ireland for another generation. In America however, Irish immigrants, many of whom had fled the famine, set up Clan na Gael - a radical republican organisation in 1858. Clan na Gael, led by John Devoy organised Irish veterans of the American Civil War to attack Canada, with the intention of demanding a British withdrawal from Ireland. The Irish Republican Brotherhood was set up in Ireland at the same time. Starvation during the famine The Irish Potato Famine, also called The Great Famine or The Great Hunger (Irish: An Gorta Mór), is the name given to a famine which struck Ireland between 1846 and 1849. ... With Irish immigration to the United States of America in the 18th_century there arose Irish ethnic organizations. ... John Devoy (1842-1928, was born near Kill, County Kildare. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total...

In Ireland itself, the IRB tried an armed revolt in 1867 but, as it was heavily infiltrated by police informers, the rising was a fiasco. There are two events known by the name Fenian Rising: Fenian Rising (1848) Fenian Rising (1867) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Land League

Mass nationalist mobilisation began when Isaac Butt’s Home Rule League (which had been founded in 1873 but had little following) adopted social issues in the late 1870s – especially the question of land redistribution. Michael Davitt (an IRB. member) founded the Irish Land League in 1879 during an agricultural depression to agitate for tenant's rights. Some would argue the land question had a nationalist resonance in Ireland as many Irish Catholics believed that land had been unjustly taken from their ancestors by Protestant English colonists in the 17th century Plantations of Ireland. Indeed, the Irish landed class was still largely an Anglo-Irish Protestant group in the 19th century. Such perceptions were underlined in the Land league’s language and literature. However, others would argue that the Land League had its direct roots in tenant associations formed in the period of agricultural prosperity during the government of Lord Palmerston in the 1850s and 1860s, who were seeking to strengthen the economic gains they had already made. Following the depression of 1879 and the subsequent fall in prices (and hence profits), these farmers were threatened with rising rents and eviction for failure to pay rents. In addition, small farmers, especially in the west faced the prospect of another famine in the harsh winter of 1879. At first, the Land League campaigned for the "Three Fs" - fair rent, free sale and fixity of tenure. Later, they campaigned for the re-distribution of land from landlord to tenants, which was conceded by 1903. Isaac Butt (September 6, 1813 - May 5, 1879) was the founder and first leader of a number of parties and organisations, including the Irish Metropolitan Conservative Society in 1836, the Home Government Association in 1870 and in 1874 the Home Rule League, subsequently known as the Irish Parliamentary Party. ... The Home Rule League, sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was a nineteenth and early twentieth century Irish political party which campaigned for home rule for the island of Ireland. ... Michael Davitt c. ... The Irish painter Henry Jones Thaddeus enlisted the conscience of the propertied classes with the sentimental realism of La retour du bracconier (The Wounded Poacher), exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1881, at the height of the Irish Land War The Irish Land League was an Irish political organization of... Plantations in 16th and 17th century Ireland involved the seizure of land owned by the native Irish and granting of it to colonists (planters) from Britain. ... Anglo-Irish was a term used historically to describe a ruling class inhabitants of Ireland who were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy[1], mostly belonging to the Anglican Church of Ireland or to a lesser extent one of the English dissenting churches, such as the Methodist church. ... Lord Palmerston and Henry Temple redirect here. ...

Militant nationalists such as the Fenians saw that they could use the groundswell of support for land reform to recruit nationalist support, this is the reason why the New Departure - a decision by the IRB to adopt social issues - occurred in 1879. Republicans from Clan na Gael (who were loath to recognise the British parliament) saw this an opportunity to recruit the masses to agitate for Irish self government. This agitation, which became known as the "Land War", became very violent when Land Leaguers resisted evictions of tenant farmers by force and the British Army and Royal Irish Constabulary was used against them. This upheaval eventually resulted in the British government subsidising the sale of landlords' estates to their tenants in the Irish Land Acts architected by William O'Brien. It also provided a mass base for constitutional Irish nationalists who had founded the Home Rule League in 1873. Charles Stuart Parnell (somewhat paradoxically, a Protestant landowner) took over the Land League and used its popularity to launch the Irish National League in 1882 to campaign for Home Rule. The Land War in Irish History was a period of agrarian agitation in rural Ireland in the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) was one of Irelands two police forces in the early twentieth century, alongside the Dublin Metropolitan Police. ... The Irish Question British Prime Minister William Gladstone had taken up the Irish Question in part to win the general election of 1868 by uniting the Liberal Party behind this single issue. ... William OBrien (2 October 1852â€“25 February 1928) was an Irish journalist, writer and politician, particularly associated with campaigns for land reform in Ireland during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ... The Home Rule League, sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was a nineteenth and early twentieth century Irish political party which campaigned for home rule for the island of Ireland. ... Charles Stewart Parnell (June 27, 1846 â€“ October 6, 1891) was an Irish political leader and one of the most important figures in 19th century Ireland and the United Kingdom; William Ewart Gladstone thought him the most remarkable person he had ever met. ... The National League was a nationalist political party in Ireland. ... Devolution or Home rule is the pooling of powers from central government to government at regional or local level. ...

Cultural nationalism

An important feature of Irish nationalism from the late 19th century onwards has been a commitment to Gaelic Irish culture. A broad intellectual movement, calling itself the Gaelic Revival grew up in the late 19th century. This movement was concerned that Ireland was becoming too Anglicised and was losing its native identity and culture. Organisations for promotion of the Irish language included the Gaelic League and later Conradh na Gaeilge. The Gaelic Athletic Association was also formed in this era to promote Gaelic football, hurling and Gaelic handball at the expense of "English" sports such as association football, rugby and cricket. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, whose language is of the Gaelic (Goidelic) family, a division of Insular Celtic languages. ... The Gaelic Revival of the Irish language was mainly promoted by the Gaelic League and Douglas Hyde for much of the late 19th century and early 20th century. ... Irish (), a Goidelic language spoken in Ireland, is constitutionally recognised as the first official language of the Republic of Ireland, an official language of the European Union, and has official recognition in Northern Ireland as well. ... Conradh na Gaeilge (The Gaelic League) is an organization for the purpose of keeping the Irish language spoken in Ireland. ... The Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaeilge) is an organization for the purpose of keeping the Irish language spoken in Ireland. ... A stylised Celtic cross serves as the traditional logo of the GAA. The Gaelic Athletic Association (The GAA) (Irish: Cumann LÃºthchleas Gael) is an organisation which is mostly focussed on promoting Gaelic games - traditional Irish sports, such as hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball, and rounders. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The counties of Ireland, coloured by dominant sport. ... :For more information on this topic see Senior Hardball Singles or Senior Softball Singles. ... The striker (wearing red jersey) has run past the defender (in white jersey) and is about to take a shot at the goal, while the goalkeeper positions himself to stop the ball. ... A rugby union scrum. ... For the insect, see Cricket (insect). ...

Curiously, most of the Cultural nationalists were actually English speakers and their organisations had little impact in the Irish speaking areas or Gaeltachtaí, where the language continued to decline. (A similar contemporary phenomenon can be seen in the Basque Country, where the early Basque nationalists such as Sabino Arana were not native Basque speakers.) However, these organisations attracted large memberships and were the starting point for many radical Irish nationalists of the early twentieth century. Gaeltacht regions in Ireland Gaeltacht (pronounced ; plural GaeltachtaÃ) is an Irish word for an Irish-speaking region. ... For the traditional overall Basque domain, see Basque Country (historical territory). ... The Gernika oak is a symbol of Basque freedoms. ... Sabino Arana Goiri, self-styled as Arana ta GoiritaÅ• Sabin (January 26, 1865 â€“ November 25, 1903), Spain, founder of the Basque Nationalist Party and a inventor of previously non-existent Basque nationalism. ... Basque (native name: Euskara) is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France. ...

Home Rule beginnings

Although Parnell and some other Home Rulers, such as Isaac Butt, were Protestants, Parnell's party was overwhelmingly Catholic. At local branch level, Catholic priests were an important part of it organisation. Home Rule was opposed by Unionists (those who supported the Union with Britain), mostly Protestant and from Ulster under the slogan, "Home Rule is Rome Rule". Isaac Butt (September 6, 1813 - May 5, 1879) was the founder and first leader of a number of parties and organisations, including the Irish Metropolitan Conservative Society in 1836, the Home Government Association in 1870 and in 1874 the Home Rule League, subsequently known as the Irish Parliamentary Party. ... Unionism, in the context of Ireland, is a belief in the continuation of the Act of Union 1800 (as amended by the Government of Ireland Act 1920) so that Northern Ireland (created by the 1920 Act) remains part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. ... Statistics Area: 24,481 kmÂ² Population (2006 estimate) 1,993,918 Ulster (Irish: CÃºige Uladh, IPA: ) forms one of the four traditional provinces of Ireland. ... Rome Rule is a term used by Northern Ireland unionists to describe a fear that the Roman Catholic Church would gain political control over them in the event of a United Ireland. ...

At the time, some politicians and members of the British public would have seen this movement as radical and militant. Detractors quoted Charles Stewart Parnell's Cincinnati speech in which he claimed to be collecting money for "bread and lead". He was sworn into the secret Irish Republican Brotherhood in May 1882. However, the fact that he chose to stay in Westminster following the expulsion of 29 Irish MPs (when those in the Clan expected an exodus of nationalist MPs from Westminster to set up a provisional government in Dublin) and his failure to support the 1887 plan of campaign (a militant agrarian programme once launched by Michael Davitt who later renounced any form of militant violence), mark him off as an essentially constitutional politician, though not averse to using militant movements as a means of putting pressure on parliament. Charles Stewart Parnell, the uncrowned King of Ireland Charles Stewart Parnell[1] (27 June 1846 â€“ 6 October 1891) was an Irish political leader and one of the most important figures in 19th century Ireland and the United Kingdom; William Ewart Gladstone described him as the most remarkable person he had... The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) played an important role in the history of Ireland. ... Michael Davitt c. ...

Coinciding as it did with the extension of the franchise in British politics — and with it the opportunity for most Irish Catholics to vote — Parnell's party quickly became an important player in British politics. Home Rule was favoured by William Gladstone, but opposed by many in the British Liberal and Conservative parties. Home Rule would have meant a devolved Irish parliament within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Three Irish Home Rule Bills were put before the British House of Commons, but they were bitterly resisted by an alliance of Unionists and British Conservatives. Suffrage (from the Latin suffragium, meaning vote) is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. ... William Ewart Gladstone (December 29, 1809 - May 19, 1898) was a British Liberal politician and Prime Minister (1868-1874, 1880-1885, 1886 and 1892-1894). ... This article is about the historic Liberal Party. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... Devolution or Home rule is the pooling of powers from central government to government at regional or local level. ... Devolution or home rule is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a state to government at national, regional or local level. ... Motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right)1 Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Capital London Language(s) English Gaelic Welsh (Wales) Scottish Gaelic (parts of Scotland) Government Constitutional monarchy Monarch - 1801â€“1820 George III - 1920â€“1922... There were four Irish Home Rule Bills in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to reverse parts of the 1801 Act of Union. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

Following the fall and death of Parnell in 1891 after a divorce scandal, the Irish Party split into two factions, becoming practically ineffective. Only after the passing of the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 which granted extensive power to previously non-existent county councils, allowing nationalists for the first time through local elections to democratically run local affairs previously under the control of landlord dominated "Grand Juries", and William O'Brien founding the United Irish League that year, did the Irish Party reunite for the 1900 general election. The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 a piece of legislation passed as an Act of Parliament by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1898, to establish a system of local government in Ireland on lines similar that had been recently created in Great Britain at the time. ... The United Irish League (UIL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. ...

Transformation of rural Ireland

The first decade of the twentieth century saw considerable advancement in rural economic and social development in Ireland where 60% of the population lived. The introduction of local self-government in 1898 created a class of experienced politicians capable of later taking over national self-government in the 1920s. O’Brien’s attainment of the 1903 Wyndham Land Act (the culmination of land agitation since the 1880s) abolished landlordism allowing small tenant farmers purchase lands at favourable annuities from their former landlords. O'Brien then pursued in alliance with the Irish Land and Labour Association and with D.D. Sheehan who followed in the footsteps of Michael Davitt, winning the landmark 1906 and 1911 Labourers (Ireland) Acts, which enabled 40,000 rural labourers become proprietors of their own cottage homes, each on an acre of land. "It is not an exaggeration to term it a social revolution, in a sense it was the first large-scale-public-housing scheme in the country, with up to a quarter of a million housed under the Labourers Acts up to 1921, the majority erected by 1916",^[1] changing the face of rural Ireland. The combination of land reform and devolved local government gave Irish nationalists an economic political base on which to base their demands for self-government. // The Irish Question British Prime Minister William Gladstone had taken up the Irish Question in part to win the general election of 1868 by uniting the Liberal Party behind this single issue. ... Absentee landlord is an economic term for a person who owns and rents out a profit-earning property, but does not live within the propertys local economic region. ... A tenant farmer is one who resides on and farms land owned by a landlord. ... The Irish Land and Labour Association (ILLA) was a progressive movement founded in the early 1890s in Munster, to organise and pursue political agitation for small tenant farmerâ€™s and rural labourerâ€™s rights. ... Daniel Desmond Sheehan, usually known as D.D. Sheehan (28 May 1873 â€“ 28 November 1948) was an Irish journalist, labour leader, barrister, and author. ...

A new source of radical Irish nationalism developed in the cities in the same period. In 1896, James Connolly, founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party in Dublin. Connolly's party was small and unsuccessful in elections, but his fusion of socialism and Irish republicanism was to have a sustained impact on republican thought. In 1913, during the general strike known as the Dublin Lockout, Connolly and James Larkin formed a workers militia, the Irish Citizen Army, to defend strikers from the police. While initially a purely defensive body, under Connolly's leadership, the ICA became a revolutionary body, dedicated to an independent Workers Republic in Ireland. After the outbreak of the First World War, Connolly became determined to launch an insurrection to this end. James Connolly James Connolly (Irish name: SÃ©amas Ã“ Conghaile or Ã“ Conghalaigh; June 5, 1868 â€“ May 12, 1916) was an Irish socialist leader. ... The Irish Socialist Republican Party was an Irish political party founded in 1896 by James Connolly. ... Statue of James Larkin on OConnell Street (OisÃn Kelly 1977) The Dublin Lockout of 1913 was the most severe industrial dispute in the history of Ireland, a general lockout of workers in Dublin meant to contain the expansion of trade unions. ... Statue of James Larkin on OConnell Street, Dublin (OisÃn Kelly 1977) James (Big Jim) Larkin (Irish: SÃ©amas Ã“ LorcÃ¡in)(1874-1947), an Irish trade union leader and socialist activist, was born in Liverpool, England on 28 January 1874, of Irish parents. ... The Irish Citizen Army`s Starry Plough banner. ...

The Home Rule crisis 1912-14

Home Rule was eventually won by John Redmond and the Irish Parliamentary Party and granted under the Third Home Rule Act 1914. However, Irish self-government was limited by the prospect of partition of Ireland between north and south. This idea had first been mooted under the Second Home Rule Bill in 1894. In 1912, following the entry of the Third Home Rule Bill through the House of Commons, unionists organised mass resistance to its implementation, organising around the "Ulster Covenant". In 1913 they formed the Ulster Volunteer Force, an armed wing of Ulster Unionism and the sectarian Orange Order who stated that they would resist Home Rule by force. British Conservatives supported this stance and Randolph Churchill coined the slogan, "Ulster will fight and Ulster will be right". In addition, British officers based the Curragh indicated that they would be unwilling to act against the UVF should they be ordered to. John Redmond, MP John Edward Redmond (September 1, 1856 â€“ March 6, 1918) was the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party from 1900 to 1918. ... In 1882 Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, formed the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), replacing the Home Rule League, as a parliamentary party with strict rules. ... The Government of Ireland Act 1914, more generally known as the Third Home Rule Act (or Bill) or the (Irish) Home Rule Act 1914, was an Act of Parliament passed by the British House of Commons in May 1914 under the official short title Government of Ireland Act 1914, which... The Ulster Covenant was signed by hundreds of thousands of men all over Ulster, Ireland, on and before September 28, 1912, in protest of a Home Rule bill introduced in that same year. ... The Ulster Volunteer Force (more commonly referred to as the UVF) are a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. ... The Orange Order is a Protestant fraternal organisation largely based in the province of Northern Ireland and in western Scotland but which has a worldwide membership. ... Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer Churchill (May 28, 1911-June 6, 1968) was the son of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine. ... The Curragh is a plain in County Kildare Ireland. ...

In response, Nationalists formed their own paramilitary group, the Irish Volunteers, to ensure the implementation of Home Rule. It looked for several months in 1914 as if civil war was imminent between the two armed factions. Only the All-for-Ireland League party advocated granting every conceivable concession to Ulster to stave off a partition amendment. Redmond rejected their proposals. The amended Home Rule Act was passed and placed with Royal Assent on the statute books, but was suspended after the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, until the end of the war. This led radical republican groups to argue that Irish independence could never be won peacefully. Irish Volunteers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The All-for-Ireland League (A.I.L.), was an Irish, Munster based non-sectarian political party (1909-1918). ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

The First World War and the Easter Rising

The Irish Volunteer movement was split by over attitude of their leadership to the First World War. The majority followed John Redmond in supporting the British war effort, seeing it as the only option to ensure the enactment of Home Rule after the war, Redmond saying "you will return as an armed army capapable of confronting Ulster's opposition to Home Rule". They split off and formed the Irish National Volunteers, and were among the 180,000 Irishmen who served in the two Irish divisions of the New British Army formed for the War. Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Franz... John Redmond, MP John Edward Redmond (September 1, 1856 â€“ March 6, 1918) was the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party from 1900 to 1918. ... The Irish Volunteers (Óglaigh na hÉireann) were a paramilitary organization established by Irish Nationalists in 1913 to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland, and to enforce the imminent Home Rule Act. ... (Redirected from 10th (Irish) Division) The 10th (Irish) Division, was one of the Kitcheners Army divisions raised from Irish volunteers by Lord Kitchener in 1914 It fought at Gallipoli, Salonika and Palestine during the First World War. ... WWI recruitment poster for Kitcheners Army. ...

A minority, mostly led by members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), refused to support the War and kept their arms to guarantee the passage of Home Rule. Within this grouping, another faction planned an insurrection against British rule in Ireland, while the War was going on. Connolly, the labour leader, first intended to launch his own insurrection for an Irish Socialist Republic decided early in 1916 to combine forces with the IRB. In April 1916, just over a thousand dissident Volunteers and 250 members of the Citizen's Army launched the Easter Rising in the Dublin General Post Office and, in the Easter Proclamation, declared unilaterally the independence of the Irish Republic. The Rising was put down within a week, at a cost of about 500 killed, mainly unengaged civilians. Although the rising failed, Britain's execution of sixteen of the Rising's leaders and arrest of some 3000 political activists led to widespread public sympathy for militant republicanism. Following this example, physical force republicanism became increasingly powerful and, for the following seven years or so, became the dominant force in Ireland, securing substantial independence but at a cost of dividing Ireland, usurping the path of first Home Rule then separate independence. The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) played an important role in the history of Ireland. ... Combatants Irish Volunteers, Irish Citizen Army, Irish Republican Brotherhood British Army Royal Irish Constabulary Commanders PÃ¡draig Pearse, James Connolly General Sir John Maxwell Strength 1250 in Dublin, c. ... The General Post Office in an engraving from about 1827 New Garda recruits march past the GPO, Tostal 1954 The General Post Office (GPO) (Irish: Ard-Oifig an Phoist) in Dublin was at first held in a small building on the site of the Commercial Buildings, and was afterwards removed... The Easter Proclamation, officially referred to as the Proclamation of the Republic, was a document issued by the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army during the Easter Rising in Ireland, which began on 24 April 1916. ... Physical force Irish republicanism is a term used by historians in Ireland to describe the recurring appearance of non-parliamentary violent insurrection in Ireland between 1798 and the present. ...

Moderate constitutional nationalism as represented by the Irish Parliamentary Party was eclipsed by Sinn Féin — a hitherto small party which the British had (mistakenly) blamed for the Rising and subsequently had been taken over as a vehicle for Irish Republicanism. The Parliamentary Party was discredited after Home Rule had been suspended at the outbreak of World War I, by the belief that the war would be over by the end of 1914, and by the losses suffered by the National Volunteers and the 16th (Irish) Division during the Great War. They were also damaged by the harsh British response to the Easter Rising, who treating the rebellion as treason in time of war, declared martial law in Ireland its aftermath. In 1882 Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, formed the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), replacing the Home Rule League, as a parliamentary party with strict rules. ... Sinn FÃ©in (pronounced in English, in Irish) is a name used by a series of Irish political movements of the 20th century, each of which claimed sole descent from the original party established by Arthur Griffith in 1905. ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Franz... (Redirected from 16th (Irish) Division) The British 16th (Irish) Division was a New Army division formed in Ireland in September 1914 as part of the K2 Army Group. ...

After the Irish Parliamentary Party was taken by surprise by the Easter Rebellion, two further attempts to implement Home Rule in 1916 and 1917 also failed, John Redmond, leader of the Irish Party, refusing to concede to partition while also accepting there could be no coercion of Ulster. An "Irish Convention" was established in July 1917 by the British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, its members both nationalists and unionists tasked with finding a means of implementing Home Rule. However, Sinn Féin reused to take part as the Convention would not discuss full Irish independence. The Ulster unionists led by Edward Carson insisted on the partition of six Ulster counties from the rest of Ireland^[2] stating that the 1916 rebellion proved a parliament in Dublin could no longer be trusted. The Easter Rising (Irish: Éirí Amach na Casca) was a militarily unsuccessful rebellion staged in Ireland against British rule on Easter Monday in April 1916. ... John Redmond, MP John Edward Redmond (September 1, 1856 â€“ March 6, 1918) was the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party from 1900 to 1918. ... David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor, OM (January 17, 1863–March 26, 1945) was a British statesman and the last Liberal to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ... Edward Carson HMSO image The Right Honourable Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson, PC (February 9, 1854 â€“ October 22, 1935) was a leader of the Irish Unionists, a Barrister and a Judge. ...

Before any understanding was reached the Convention's work was disrupted in March 1918 by the German Spring Offensive on the Western Front, causing Britain to attempt to extend conscription to Ireland. This was extremely unpopular, opposed both by the Irish Parliamentary Party under its new leader John Dillon, the All-for-Ireland Party as well as Sinn Féin. Resistance to conscription was the main factor contributing to the widespread rise of support for Sinn Féin. The Armistice ended the war in November followed by elections. The 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during the First World War, which marked the deepest advance by either side since 1914. ... Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the contested armed frontier between lands controlled by Germany to the East and the Allies to the West. ... John Dillon (September 4, 1851 - August 4, 1927) was an Irish nationalist politician. ... The All-for-Ireland League (A.I.L.), was an Irish, Munster based non-sectarian political party (1909-1918). ... Front page of the New York Times on Armistice Day, 11 November 1918 The armistice treaty between the Allies and Germany was signed in a railway carriage in CompiÃ¨gne Forest on November 11, 1918, and marked the end of the First World War on the Western Front. ...

Militant separatism and Irish independence

In the General election of 1918, Sinn Féin won 73 seats, 25 of these unopposed, or statistically nearly 70% of Irish representation on a "first past the post" voting system, achieving 47,5% of votes cast, but a minority representation in Ulster. They polled a total of 485,105 votes, compared to 236,393 votes polled by the IPP,^[3] 305,206 votes by Unionists and 15.037 for Labour.^[4] The Irish general election of 1918 was that part of the 1918 United Kingdom general election that took place in Ireland. ...

The Sinn Féin MPs refused to take their seats in Westminster setting up their own Parliament called Dail Éireann in January 1919 and proclaimed the Irish Republic to be in existence. Nationalists in the south of Ireland, impatient with the lack of progress on Irish self-government, tended to ignore the precarious Ulster situation, generally arguing that unionists had no choice but to ultimately follow. On September 11, 1919, the British proscribed the Dáil, it had met nine times, declaring it an illegal assembly, Ireland being still part of the United Kingdom. In 1919, a guerilla war broke out between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) (as the Irish Volunteers were now calling themselves) and the British security forces (See Irish War of Independence). The First DÃ¡il (Irish: An ChÃ©ad DÃ¡il) was DÃ¡il Ã‰ireann as it convened from 1919â€“1921. ... This article is about the date September 11 in general. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... This article is about the historical army of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic (1919â€“1922) which fought in the Irish War of Independence 1919-21, and the Irish Civil War 1922-23. ... Combatants Irish Republic United Kingdom Commanders Michael Collins Richard Mulcahy Cathal Brugha Important local IRA leaders Henry Hugh Tudor Strength Irish Republican Army c. ...

The campaign created tensions between the political and military sides of the nationalist movement. The IRA, nominally subject to the Dáil, in practice, often acted on its own initiative. At the top, the IRA leadership, of Michael Collins and Richard Mulcahy, operated with little reference to Cathal Brugha, the Dáil's Minister for Defence or Eamon de Valera, the President of the Irish Republic - at best giving them a supervisory role. At local level, IRA commanders such as Dan Breen, Sean Moylan, Tom Barry, Sean MacEoin, Liam Lynch and others avoided contact with the IRA command, let alone the Dáil itself. This meant that the violence of the War of Independence rapidly escalated beyond what many in Sinn Féin and Dáil were happy with. Arthur Griffith, for example, favoured passive resistance over the use of force, but he could do little to affect the cycle of violence between IRA guerrillas and Crown forces that emerged over 1919-1920. The military conflict produced only a handful of killings in 1919, but steadily escalated from the summer of 1920 onwards with the introduction of the paramilitary police forces, the Black and Tans and Auxiliary Division into Ireland. From November 1920 to July 1921, over 1000 people lost their lives in the conflict (compared to c.400 up to then). Michael John (Mick) Collins (Irish: MÃcheÃ¡l SeÃ¡n Ã“ CoileÃ¡in; 16 October 1890 â€“ 22 August 1922) was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance in the Irish Republic, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations, as Chairman of... Richard Mulcahy General Richard James Mulcahy (10 May 1886 â€“ 16 December 1971) was an Irish politician, leader of Fine Gael and Cabinet Minister. ... Cathal Brugha Cathal Brugha (born Charles William St. ... Eamon de Valera (born Edward George de Valera, sometimes Gaelicised Ã‰amon de BhailÃ©ara; October 14, 1882 â€“ August 29, 1975), was an Irish politician, best known as a leader of Irelands struggle for independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the early 20th century, and... Daniel Breen (August 11, 1894â€“December 27, 1969) was an Irish freedom fighter and a Fianna FÃ¡il politician. ... SeÃ¡n Moylan (November 19, 1888 - November 16, 1957), was a senior Irish Fianna FÃ¡il politician. ... Tom Barry is also the name of an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter. ... Seán MacEoin (1893–1973), Irish Fine Gael politician and soldier. ... Liam Lynch is the name of more than one person of note. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article deals with the RIC Reserve Force of the Anglo-Irish War. ... The Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary, generally known as the Auxiliaries or Auxies, was a paramilitary organization within the RIC during the Anglo-Irish War. ...

At the same time, in Ulster in the north east, a sectarian war broke out, when in July 1920, loyalists, aided in some cases by the Ulster Special Constabulary, attacked the Catholic/Nationalist population in reprisal for IRA actions. This conflict, which ran roughly from the summer of 1920 to the summer of 1922, claimed a further 550 lives, of whom 58% were Catholic civilians. Nationalists portrayed this as "pogrom" and the Dáil organised a boycott of goods from Belfast in response. Sectarianism is an adherence to a particular sect or party or denomination, it also usually involves a rejection of those not a member of ones sect. ... For the township in Canada, see Loyalist, Ontario In general, a loyalist is an individual who is loyal to the powers that be. ... The Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) was a reserve force of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. ... Pogrom (from Russian: ; from Ð³Ñ€Ð¾Ð¼Ð¸Ñ‚ÑŒ IPA: - to wreak havoc, to demolish violently) is a form of riot directed against a particular group, whether ethnic, religious or other, and characterized by destruction of their homes, businesses and religious centers. ...

Dividing Ireland

Meanwhile the British tried to solve the conflict on the basis of Home Rule with the introduction of a Fourth Home Rule Act. This was largely dictated by Unionist leader Sir Edward Carson and simplified by Sinn Féin's abstentionism from Westminster. Carson secured Home Rule for six Ulster counties as Northern Ireland, and Loyd George also granted Home Rule for 26 of Ireland's 32 counties as Southern Ireland under the Government of Ireland Act, 1920. However this settlement of limited self government was no longer acceptable to Irish nationalists, who believed themselves to be the legitimately elected government of an independent all-Ireland Irish Republic. Following the elections of May 1921 the parliament of Northern Ireland first sat on 7 June. Edward Carson HMSO image The Right Honourable Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson, PC (9 February 1854 â€“ 22 October 1935) was a leader of the Irish Unionists, a barrister and a judge. ... Motto: (Latin for Who will separate us?)[1] Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (de facto), Ulster Scots, Irish3, Northern Ireland Sign Language, Irish Sign Language Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister of... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Capital Dublin Head of State King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Head of Government Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Chairman of the Provisional Government from Jan 1922. ... An Act to Provide for the Better Government of Ireland, more usually the Government of Ireland Act 1920 (this is its official short title; the formal citation is 10 & 11 Geo. ... Motto: (Latin for Who will separate us?)[1] Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (de facto), Ulster Scots, Irish3, Northern Ireland Sign Language, Irish Sign Language Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister of...

The 1920 Act allowed for a Council of Ireland that would enable cross-border links to be established, with a target of island-unity after 50 years (1971).

The fighting in the South was ended on 11 July 1921 with a truce between the IRA and British forces. A political settlement between the Dáil and the British was reached in the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed in December 1921 after months of negotiations, but violence in the North continued. The Treaty offered "Southern Ireland" considerably more independence than was on offer in Home Rule, for instance, control over its own armed forces and police, control over taxation and fiscal policy, a flag and the evacuation of British troops out its territory. It would remain linked as a dominion under the British Crown within the British Commonwealth. The formula used for this was the 'Crown-in-Ireland, acknowledging the democratic will but retaining a powerless sovereign in London. The Sinn Féin signatories of the treaty conceded the abolition of the Irish Republic declared in 1919 and confirmed the partition of the island into the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. July 11 is the 192nd day (193rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 173 days remaining. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for full calendar). ... Signature page of the Anglo-Irish Treaty The Anglo-Irish Treaty, officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom and representatives of the extra-judicial Irish Republic which concluded the Irish War of Independence. ... The British monarch or Sovereign is the monarch and head of state of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, and is the source of all executive, judicial and (as the Queen_in_Parliament) legislative power. ... The Commonwealth of Nations (CN), usually known as the Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, the majority of which are former colonies of the United Kingdom. ... Territory of the Irish Free State Capital Dublin Language(s) Irish, English Government Constitutional monarchy Monarch - 1922â€“1936 George V - 1936â€“1936 George VI President of the Executive Council - 1922â€“1932 W.T. Cosgrave - 1932â€“1937 Eamon de Valera Legislature Oireachtas - Upper house Seanad Ã‰ireann - Lower house DÃ¡il Ã‰ireann... Motto: (Latin for Who will separate us?)[1] Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (de facto), Ulster Scots, Irish3, Northern Ireland Sign Language, Irish Sign Language Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister of...

The Second Dáil ratified the treaty on 7 January 1922 and the subsequent general election on 16 June endorsed their majority decision, the results of the elections: pro-Treaty Sinn Féin 58 seats, anti-Treaty Sinn Féin 36, Labour 17, Farmer's Party 7 and Independents 10, or 239,195 votes for pro-Treaty candidates, anti-Treaty 132,161 votes and others 247,082.^[5] But this was not acceptable to many republicans. They argued that the electorate only accepted the Treaty as a result of the British threat of an escalating war if they did not. At the time of the Treaty, the main issue dividing Irish nationalists was whether the new Irish Free State would be fully sovereign. Anti-Treaty partisans argued that it could never be but Michael Collins, who had led the team that signed the Treaty, argued that the it gave Ireland the opportunity to create a fully independent state. Significantly, while the majority of the Dáil cabinet were in favour of the Treaty, its president Eamon de Valera and two ministers, Cathal Brugha and Austin Stack were opposed and resigned in protest. The Second DÃ¡il was DÃ¡il Ã‰ireann as it convened from 16th August, 1921 until 8th June, 1922. ... A general election took place in southern Ireland in 16 June 1922 under the provisions of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty to elect a constituent assembly paving the way for the establishment of the Irish Free State. ... Michael John (Mick) Collins (Irish: MÃcheÃ¡l SeÃ¡n Ã“ CoileÃ¡in; 16 October 1890 â€“ 22 August 1922) was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance in the Irish Republic, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations, as Chairman of... Eamon de Valera (born Edward George de Valera, sometimes Gaelicised Ã‰amon de BhailÃ©ara; October 14, 1882 â€“ August 29, 1975), was an Irish politician, best known as a leader of Irelands struggle for independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the early 20th century, and... Cathal Brugha Cathal Brugha (born Charles William St. ... Austin Stack (December 7, 1879 - April 27, 1929) was an Irish revolutionary. ...

The Partition of Ireland was not the major dividing issue arising out of the Treaty, for three reasons. Firstly, the Treaty created a Boundary Commission that would determine the border with Northern Ireland by 1925. It was widely believed among nationalists that this would cede large parts of Northern Ireland to the Free State. Secondly, the IRA, both pro- and anti-treaty factions, organised by Michael Collins, was already organising clandestine military operations against the Northern state by early 1922. Thirdly, the Northern Irish government and parliament had been functioning already for six months. In the United Kingdom, the four Boundary Commissions are responsible for determining the boundaries of House of Commons constituencies. ...

Collins tried to negotiate a compromise between the pro- and anti-treaty factions, for example proposing a constitution with no mention of the British King, but any changes to the Treaty were vetoed by the British as it had just been negotiated in good faith. The IRA Executive disavowed the authority of the Dáil in April 1922, claiming it had broken its oath to defend the Irish Republic. In July 1922, under pressure from the British to deal with armed anti-treaty IRA units who had occupied public buildings in Dublin, Collins attacked the dissident IRA units. The Irish Civil War then broke out between the newly recruited Free State Force (composed of a of pro-treaty Irish Republican Army members and many new recruits, including thousands of Irish veterans of the First World War), and those IRA members (a substantial majority of that organisation) led by Liam Lynch who did not accept the Treaty. The Anti-Treaty side were supported by Eamon de Valera, former president of the Republic. The Free State government ended the anti-treaty republican resistance by May 1923, when the Anti-Treaty side called a ceasefire. The civil war cost more lives than the war against the British and the atrocities committed by both sides created a deep well of bitterness within Irish nationalist politics. Another effect of the Civil War was to confirm the partition of Ireland, as the divided and distracted IRA had to cease its operation against Northern Ireland along the border. In addition, after Michael Collins' death in August 1922, at the hands of Anti-Treaty fighters, the Free State quietly dropped his aggressive poliices towards the Northern state. The Irish Civil War (June 28, 1922 â€“ May 24, 1923) was a conflict between supporters and or2=Liam Lynchâ€ Frank Aiken |commander1=Michael Collinsâ€ Richard Mulcahy |strength2= c. ... The Irish Army (Irish: Arm na hÃ‰ireann) is the main branch of the Irish Defence Forces. ... This article is about the historical army of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic (1919â€“1922) which fought in the Irish War of Independence 1919-21, and the Irish Civil War 1922-23. ... Official name The Royal Dublin Fusiliers Colonel-in-Chief HRH Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (1908) Nicknames The Blue Caps The Dubs The Lambs The Old Toughs Motto Anniversaries Marches Slow: The British Grenadiers Saint Patricks Day Unnofficial: The Dublin Fusiliers Alliances Description Line Infantry regiment Creation... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Franz... For other people named Liam Lynch see Liam Lynch Liam Lynch (9 November 1893 - 10 April 1923) was an IRA officer in the Irish War of Independence and the commanding general of the anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army during the Irish Civil War. ... Eamon de Valera (born Edward George de Valera, sometimes Gaelicised Ã‰amon de BhailÃ©ara; October 14, 1882 â€“ August 29, 1975), was an Irish politician, best known as a leader of Irelands struggle for independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the early 20th century, and...

The Free State

The Civil War caused a permanent split in Irish nationalism. In many ways, this represented the continuation of the division that had always existed between conservative Catholic nationalists and radical Republicans. The Free State position was represented by Cumann na nGaedheal (later re-named Fine Gael). The Free State, in its early years was intensely conservative in social and economic spheres and fearful of republican subversion. Government deicsions were heavily influenced by the Catholic clergy. Up until very recent times, the Roman Catholic Church was very influential in government circles and in Irish society at large. (See also History of the Republic of Ireland) Cumann na nGaedheal (League of the Gaels) was an Irish language name given to two Irish political parties. ... Fine Gael (IPA: , though often anglicized to (approximate English translation: Family of the Irish) and officially, Fine Gael - The United Ireland Party, is the second largest political party in Ireland, presently forming the largest opposition party in the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament), and claims a membership of over 34,000. ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter. ... The state known today as the Republic of Ireland came into being when twenty-six of the counties of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom (UK) in 1922. ...

In 1925, the Boundary Commission, set up to review the border between Northern Ireland and the Free State, compiled its report. The report was leaked to the press and its findings were shocking to nationalist Ireland. Instead of cedeing large areas of the North to the Free State, the Southern state would recive only a small part of South Armagh and Fermanagh and would lose part of eastern Donegal. To prevent this report being published, the Free State gvoernment of WT Cosgrave instead signed a treaty with the British government, recognising the border of 1921 and in return cancelling their obligation to pay part of the British national debt. In effect, this marked the effective recognition of Northern Ireland on the part of the Free State.

As a result in March 1926 Sinn Fćin voted to continue abstentionism from the Däil , Eamon de Valera resigning as its leader, in May setting up a new party called Fianna Fáil out of the defeated anti-Treaty IRA and in 1927 entered parliamentary politics. Up until the late 1930s, street violence between pro and anti treaty groups was still common, especially between the pro Free State Blueshirts and the IRA. The remnants of the IRA considered themselves to be the only rightful inheritors of the Irish Republic of 1919 - still in their eyes existing in opposition to the British imposed Free State. After the creation of a mainstream republican party in Fianna Fáil, they had little support. They launched a bombing campaign in England in the 1940s and a guerrilla campaign against Northern Ireland in the 1950s. Both were failures. Eamon de Valera (born Edward George de Valera, sometimes Gaelicised Ã‰amon de BhailÃ©ara; October 14, 1882 â€“ August 29, 1975), was an Irish politician, best known as a leader of Irelands struggle for independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the early 20th century, and... Fianna FÃ¡il - The Republican Party (IPA ; (mistranslated by the party into English as Soldiers of Destiny, though a literal translation is Soldiers [Fianna] of Ireland),Â¹ is currently the largest political party in Ireland with 55,000 members. ... The Army Comrades Association (ACA), better known by its nickname The Blueshirts, was an Irish organisation set up by former police commissioner and army General Eoin ODuffy in the 1930s. ... Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921, the Irish Republican Army in the 26 counties that were to become the Irish Free State split between supporters and opponents of the Treaty. ... Fianna FÃ¡il - The Republican Party (IPA ; (mistranslated by the party into English as Soldiers of Destiny, though a literal translation is Soldiers [Fianna] of Ireland),Â¹ is currently the largest political party in Ireland with 55,000 members. ... The Border Campaign (December 12, 1956 - February 26, 1962) was an operation (codenamed Operation Harvest) carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) against targets in Northern Ireland. ... Motto: (Latin for Who will separate us?)[1] Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (de facto), Ulster Scots, Irish3, Northern Ireland Sign Language, Irish Sign Language Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister of...

The Free State was, on all sides, intensely nationalistic. One manifestation of this was the introduction of compulsory Irish language in education and for all civil and public servants. It was the goal of all nationalists to re-introduce Irish as the spoken language of the country. However, this never achieved success and many Irish language activists argue that the language has become merely a token of Irish identity for Irish governments. In theory, after De Valera passed a new constitution in 1937, the Irish state was also committed to a United Ireland - i.e. the annexation of Northern Ireland. Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland stated that the territory of the Irish state included the entire island of Ireland. However, like the restoration of the Irish language, commitment to a United Ireland remained largely confined to rhetoric. Indeed, de Valera's government interned and executed IRA members for armed attacks on the Northern state. In 1940 de Valera was promised a unified island if he would join in the Second World War against the Axis powers, but he declined. Irish (), a Goidelic language spoken in Ireland, is constitutionally recognised as the first official language of the Republic of Ireland, an official language of the European Union, and has official recognition in Northern Ireland as well. ... The Constitution of Ireland is the founding legal document of the state known today as the Republic of Ireland. ... Motto: (Latin for Who will separate us?)[1] Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (de facto), Ulster Scots, Irish3, Northern Ireland Sign Language, Irish Sign Language Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister of... Article 2 and Article 3 of Bunreacht na hÃ‰ireann, the constitution of the Republic of Ireland, were adopted with the constitution as a whole in 1937, but completely revised by means of the Nineteenth Amendment which took full effect in 1999. ...

The Irish Free State left the British Commonwealth in 1949 and declared itself to be the Republic of Ireland. The Commonwealth of Nations (CN), usually known as the Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, the majority of which are former colonies of the United Kingdom. ...

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland itself, the Catholic or nationalist community was a minority in Protestant and Unionist state. However, most northern nationalists did not support militant republicanism before The Troubles of the 1970s. In 1918, they had largely voted for the moderate Nationalist Party rather than Sinn Féin and continued to vote for moderate or constitutional nationalist party (which was, however, very different from the "Home Rule" Nationalist Party that existed until 1918) until the political turmoil of the late 1960s. The Nationalist Party began to be seen as an irrelevance after the launching of a Civil Rights campaign to end discrimination against Catholics in the late 1960s (see Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association). However, the Civil Rights agitation ran into Unionist resistance as some Unionists claimed NICRA was merely another face of the IRA and violence broke out, leading to a thirty year conflict known as the Troubles. In the Irish context, Unionists form a group of largely (though not exclusively) Protestant people in Ireland, of all social classes, who wish to see the continuation of the Act of Union, as amended by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, under which the Northern Ireland provincial state created in... For the UK post-rock band, see Troubles (band). ... The Nationalist Party, an Irish political party, existed under various forms from 1874 to 1978. ... Sinn FÃ©in (pronounced in English, in Irish) is a name used by a series of Irish political movements of the 20th century, each of which claimed sole descent from the original party established by Arthur Griffith in 1905. ... The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was an organization which campaigned for civil rights for Northern Irelands Catholic minority during the 1960s and early 1970s. ... In the Irish context, Unionists form a group of largely (though not exclusively) Protestant people in Ireland, of all social classes, who wish to see the continuation of the Act of Union, as amended by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, under which the Northern Ireland provincial state created in... Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921, the Irish Republican Army in the 26 counties that were to become the Irish Free State split between supporters and opponents of the Treaty. ... The Troubles is a term used to describe two periods of violence in Ireland during the twentieth century. ...

The IRA, which had become increasingly reformist and Marxist oriented in the late 1960s, split into the Official IRA and Provisional IRA. The "Officials" ceased armed activity in 1972. The Provisionals or "Provos" launched a guerrilla or terrorist campaign against the state of Northern Ireland, with the aim of creating a new Irish Republic that would include all 32 counties of Ireland. Their armed campaign lasted into the late 1990s. (see History of Northern Ireland). Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... The term Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA refers to one of the two organisations - the other being the Provisional Irish Republican Army - that emerged from the split in the then Irish Republican Army in 1969-70. ... A Republican mural in Belfast depicting the hunger strikes of 1981. ... From 1969 until 1997, the Provisional Irish Republican Armyconducted an armed campaign in Northern Ireland aimed at overthrowing British rule there and creating a united Ireland. ... Motto: (Latin for Who will separate us?)[1] Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (de facto), Ulster Scots, Irish3, Northern Ireland Sign Language, Irish Sign Language Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister of... The area now known as Northern Ireland has had a diverse history. ...

Thereafter, northern nationalists voted mainly for the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)- a moderate nationalist and social democratic party. The SDLP, led by John Hume advocated power-sharing with Unionists within Northern Ireland. While many northern nationalists came to support the Provisional Irish Republican Army, whom they perceived as their defenders, especially in the early years of the Troubles, Sinn Féin, their political wing, did not do well in election until the 1980s. In fact, many Provisionals despised "politics" and saw their "armed struggle" as being above electoral politics. The 'struggle' also stopped new investment and tourism across the whole island, at a time of high unemployment, inflation and recession. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP â€” Irish: PÃ¡irtÃ SÃ³isialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is the smaller of the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland. ... Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ... John Hume (born 18 January 1937) is a Northern Irish politician, and co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize, with David Trimble of the UUP. He was the second leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, a position he held from 1979 until 2001. ... A Republican mural in Belfast depicting the hunger strikes of 1981. ... Sinn FÃ©in (pronounced in English, in Irish) is a name used by a series of Irish political movements of the 20th century, each of which claimed sole descent from the original party established by Arthur Griffith in 1905. ...

Sinn Féin candidates began to displace the SDLP from some nationalist constituencies after the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike. During the Hunger Strikes, the imprisoned IRA man Bobby Sands was elected to the British Parliament in the Fermanagh / South Tyrone by-election on an "Anti H-Block" platform. The turnout for the contest was 86.9 per cent and Sands obtained 30,492 votes and Harry West, the Unionist candidate, obtained 29,046 votes. A by-election was held in Fermanagh/South Tyrone to elect a Member of Parliament (MP) to Westminster to the seat that became vacant on the death of Bobby Sands. Owen Carron, who had been Sands' campaign manager, was proposed by Sinn Féin. Carron won the by-election with an increased number of votes over the total achieved by Sands.^[6] . This awakened the Sinn Féin leadership under Gerry Adams to the possible gains they could make in future elections and by an unarmed political strategy. However, it was not until 1994 that the Provisionals called off their campaign. Since the IRA ceasefire of 1994, Sinn Féin have become the largest nationalist party in the Northern Ireland. They have also won an improved share of votes in the Republic of Ireland.-1... Robert Gerard Sands (Irish: [1][2]), commonly known as Bobby Sands (9 March 1954 â€“ 5 May 1981), was an Irish Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) member who died on hunger strike whilst in prison for the possession of firearms. ... Her Majestys Prison (HMP) Maze (known colloqually as The Maze) is a disused prison sited at the former RAF station at Long Kesh (it is still called Long Kesh by many Irish Republicans) near Lisburn, nine miles outside Belfast, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. ... Owen Carron (born 1953) is an Irish republican activist and the former MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone. ... Gerard Adams (Irish GearÃ³id Mac Ãdhaimh[1]; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish Republican politician and abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for West Belfast. ...

In 1998, both Sinn Féin and the SDLP signed the Belfast Agreement, which instituted power sharing within a devolved government in Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin says that its long term goal is still a United Ireland. The Belfast Agreement has yet to be fully implemented. The Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement and, more rarely, as the Stormont Agreement) was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process. ... Topographical map of Ireland. ...

Present

In Northern Ireland today, nationalist is used to refer either to the Catholic population in general or the supporters of the moderate Social Democratic and Labour Party led by Mark Durkan, to distinguish them from Sinn Féin voters, known as Irish republicans. Often the term republican is applied to those who advocate the complete independence of Ireland from Great Britain and are prepared to use force to achieve it. The term nationalist is often used to refer to a more moderate political tradition, which favours an independent, united Ireland but which uses parliamentary methods and is prepared to see Northern Ireland remain part of the United Kingdom. However, from a broad point of view, these are all elements of Irish nationalism. Motto: (Latin for Who will separate us?)[1] Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (de facto), Ulster Scots, Irish3, Northern Ireland Sign Language, Irish Sign Language Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister of... The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP â€” Irish: PÃ¡irtÃ SÃ³isialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is the smaller of the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland. ... Mark Henry Durkan (born in 1960) is a Roman Catholic nationalist politician in Northern Ireland and the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party. ... Sinn FÃ©in (pronounced in English, in Irish) is a name used by a series of Irish political movements of the 20th century, each of which claimed sole descent from the original party established by Arthur Griffith in 1905. ... A database query syntax error has occurred. ... Motto: (Latin for Who will separate us?)[1] Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (de facto), Ulster Scots, Irish3, Northern Ireland Sign Language, Irish Sign Language Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister of...

The parties widely recognized as representing the moderate nationalist tradition include Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the SDLP. The main party currently representing Irish republicanism is Sinn Féin. Fianna FÃ¡il - The Republican Party (IPA ; (mistranslated by the party into English as Soldiers of Destiny, though a literal translation is Soldiers [Fianna] of Ireland),Â¹ is currently the largest political party in Ireland with 55,000 members. ... Fine Gael (IPA: , though often anglicized to (approximate English translation: Family of the Irish) and officially, Fine Gael - The United Ireland Party, is the second largest political party in Ireland, presently forming the largest opposition party in the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament), and claims a membership of over 34,000. ... The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP â€” Irish: PÃ¡irtÃ SÃ³isialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is the smaller of the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland. ... Sinn FÃ©in (pronounced in English, in Irish) is a name used by a series of Irish political movements of the 20th century, each of which claimed sole descent from the original party established by Arthur Griffith in 1905. ...

Ideology of Irish nationalism

Irish nationalism has historically been pre-occupied with Ireland's relationship with Britain. It has also been concerned with the historical oppression of Catholics, who are identified as the native Irish people, by Protestants, who are identified with the British presence in Ireland. However, the ideology of Irish nationalism and particularly Irish republicanism has always expressed the view that it is not hostile to Protestantism or Protestants in Ireland as such and that it recognises them as fellow Irishmen. Irish Republicanism is an ideology based on the Irish nationalist belief that all of Ireland should be a united independent republic. ...

Today, the relevance of traditional Irish nationalist ideology mainly concerns the status of Northern Ireland, which is still part of the United Kingdom, but which has a substantial nationalist minority who would prefer to be part of united Ireland. For historical reasons outlined above, almost all nationalists in Northern Ireland are Catholics. The traditional nationalist view of Northern Ireland was that it was created artificially out of the only part of Ireland that had a Protestant and Unionist majority. According to this view, the last time that an all Ireland election happened was in 1918, when a majority of votes in Ireland went to Sinn Féin and for Irish independence. This view has been outmoded somewhat by the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which was supported by the Irish government and both Sinn Féin and the SDLP. Moreover, it was passed by popular votes in referenda North and South. This agreement stipulates that the status of Northern Ireland cannot be changed without the expressed consent of a majority within Northern Ireland. In theory, northern nationalists are now committed to "power sharing" in Northern Ireland with unionists, with a long term goal of a united Ireland achieved with unionist consent. Some nationalists have voiced the hope that Catholics will outnumber Protestants in the coming decades, with the result that a majority inside Northern Ireland will favour a United Ireland. In the Irish context, Unionists form a group of largely (though not exclusively) Protestant people in Ireland, of all social classes, who wish to see the continuation of the Act of Union, as amended by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, under which the Northern Ireland provincial state created in... The Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement and, more rarely, as the Stormont Agreement) was signed in Belfast on April 10, 1998 by the British and Irish Governments and endorsed by most Northern Ireland political parties. ...

In the Republic of Ireland, the idea of Irish nationalism has changed dramatically since the Free State era, particularly since the 1960s with growing prosperity signalling new economic and social priorities, as well as a changing relationship with the North. Up to 1985, extreme republicans did not recognise the legitimacy of the Irish state (an attitude that dates from the Irish Civil War) and refused to take their seats in the Dáil (Irish Parliament). However, Sinn Féin has now rejected this attitude and it is held only by the small Republican Sinn Féin party. Irish Governments have stated since the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 that they will respect the will of the people of Northern Ireland to decide its future. However, this agreement also stated that the Irish government had a legitimate role in Northern Irish poitics as "advisor". In 1998, as part of the Good Friday Agreement, articles 2 and 3 of the Irish Constitution, which laid a territorial claim to Northern Ireland, were removed after a referendum. The Irish Civil War (June 28, 1922 â€“ May 24, 1923) was a conflict between supporters and or2=Liam Lynchâ€ Frank Aiken |commander1=Michael Collinsâ€ Richard Mulcahy |strength2= c. ... DÃ¡il Ã‰ireann[1] is the lower house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland. ... Republican Sinn FÃ©in (RSF) is a minor political party1 operating in Ireland. ... The Anglo-Irish Agreement was an agreement between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland which aimed to bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. ... The Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement and, more rarely, as the Stormont Agreement) was signed in Belfast on April 10, 1998 by the British and Irish Governments and endorsed by most Northern Ireland political parties. ... The Constitution of Ireland is the founding legal document of the state known today as the Republic of Ireland. ...

Some of the divisions of the Irish Civil War are still apparent in southern Irish nationalist politics. Fine Gael, whose predecessors founded the Free State, largely view Irish independence as having been achieved, whereas Fianna Fáil the descendants of the Anti-Treaty Republicans of the Civil War, interpret the state's history somewhat differently. However, both parties aspire towards a United Ireland Fine Gael (IPA: , though often anglicized to (approximate English translation: Family of the Irish) and officially, Fine Gael - The United Ireland Party, is the second largest political party in Ireland, presently forming the largest opposition party in the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament), and claims a membership of over 34,000. ... Fianna FÃ¡il - The Republican Party (IPA ; (mistranslated by the party into English as Soldiers of Destiny, though a literal translation is Soldiers [Fianna] of Ireland),Â¹ is currently the largest political party in Ireland with 55,000 members. ...

Irish nationalists, on the whole, have not viewed integration into the European Union (EU) as a threat to Irish sovereignty. Several reasons can be advanced to explain this. Firstly, Ireland has been a net beneficiary of EU funds. Secondly integration into the European project has meant that Ireland is less dependent on Britain, economically and politically. A feature of nationalism in many modern European countries is a hostility to foreign immigration - for example Front National of Jean Marie Le Pen in France. At present, this is not true of Irish nationalism, despite large and rapid immigration into Ireland in recent years. Currently, no major Irish nationalist party campaigns explicitly against immigration. Front National can mean: Front National, a right-wing French political party. ... Portrait of Jean-Marie Le Pen. ...

This does not however mean that there is no anti-immigrant sentiment in Ireland. In 2004, Ireland revoked, in a referendum, a clause in the constitution added in 1998 that said that anyone born in Ireland was automatically an Irish citizen. The concern of the Irish government was that this was subverting the control of immigration by entitling any couple who had a child to stay in the country, regardless of their legal status. This referendum has drawn criticism from some human rights bodies, including Amnesty International as it has led to a situation where Irish citizens are being deported, with their parents, to countries where they may have no right of citizenship. Ballots of the Argentine plebiscite of 1984 on the border treaty with Chile A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, originally a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... Amnesty International symbol Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) comprising a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights.[1] Essentially it compares actual practices of human rights with internationally accepted standards and demands compliance where these have not...

Criticism of ideology of Irish nationalism

The Irish nationalist attitude that Protestants are fellow Irishmen has been criticised because most, but not all, Protestants in Northern Ireland do not see themselves as such. The majority view themselves as British and since the Troubles erupted in 1969, many have distanced themselves from the term 'Irish' when referring to themselves ^{[citation needed]} and so do not consider themselves Irish in any significant way. Four polls taken between 1989 and 1994 revealed that when asked to state their national identity, over 79% of Northern Protestants replied "British" or "Ulster" with 3% or less replying "Irish".^[7] A 1999 survey also revealed that 78% of Protestants felt "Strongly British" and 51% of Protestants felt "Not at all Irish".^[8]^[9] (However it should be noted that there have not been practicable definitions or a definitive descriptive criteria entered of what the terms "British", "Irish", or "Ulster" are for the statistical purposes of these polls.)

The text of the Belfast Agreement, endorsed by the Irish nationalist parties SDLP and Sinn Féin and the government of the Republic of Ireland, recognises this, marking an official acceptance by Irish Nationalist parties of the validity of alternative loyalties. Pragraph 2.1.vi states that (the participants endorse the commitment made by the British and Irish governments... that they will) "recognise the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose, and accordingly confirm that their right to hold both British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both Governments and would not be affected by any future change in the status of Northern Ireland.".^[10] The Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement and, more rarely, as the Stormont Agreement) was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process. ... The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP â€” Irish: PÃ¡irtÃ SÃ³isialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is the smaller of the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland. ... Sinn FÃ©in (pronounced in English, in Irish) is a name used by a series of Irish political movements of the 20th century, each of which claimed sole descent from the original party established by Arthur Griffith in 1905. ...

The official acceptance by Irish nationalist parties of the validity of the British and non-Irish identity of many unionists does not necessarily reflect an ability or willingness in the Irish nationalist community of Northern Ireland to acknowledge the same. A 1997 publication by Democratic Dialogue financed by the Central Community Relations Unit of the Northern Ireland Office stated that "It is clear that many in Northern Ireland are willing to tolerate the Other's cultural identity only within the confines of their own core ideology...most nationalists have extreme difficulty in accepting unionists' Britishness or, even if they do, the idea that unionists do not constitute an Irish ethnic minority which can ultimately be accommodated within the Irish nation...." Discussion may be hindered by the lack of a definition of "Irishness" which commands cross-community support. The 1997 publication stated that "Irishness is a highly contested identity, subject to fundamentally different nationalist and unionist perceptions which profoundly affect notions of allegiance and group membership.".^[11] The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) is an arm of the United Kingdom government, responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. ...

Notes

Irish nationalist organisations (1791-present)

20th century The Society of the United Irishmen was a political organisation in eighteenth century Ireland that sought independence from Great Britain. ... Young Ireland was a Irish revolutionary movement, active in the mid nineteenth century. ... The Catholic Association was an Irish Roman Catholic organisation set up by Daniel OConnell in 1823 in order to campaign for Catholic Emancipation within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ... Daniel OConnell set up the Repeal Association in 1840 to campaign for the Repeal of the Act of Union. ... The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) played an important role in the history of Ireland. ... The Fenian Brotherhood was an Irish nationalist organization based in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century. ... With Irish immigration to the United States of America in the 18th_century there arose Irish ethnic organizations. ... Irish National Invincibles usually known as the Invincibles was largely composed of former Irish Republican Brotherhood members operating independently of the IRB. They planned to kill the Permanent Under Secretary at the Irish Office Thomas Henry Burke and it was Chief Secretary for Ireland Lord Frederick Cavendishs misfortune that... The Home Rule League, sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was a nineteenth and early twentieth century Irish political party which campaigned for home rule for the island of Ireland. ... The National League was a nationalist political party in Ireland. ... In 1882 Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, formed the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), replacing the Home Rule League, as a parliamentary party with strict rules. ... The Irish painter Henry Jones Thaddeus enlisted the conscience of the propertied classes with the sentimental realism of La retour du bracconier (The Wounded Poacher), exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1881, at the height of the Irish Land War The Irish Land League was an Irish political organization of...

Sinn FÃ©in (pronounced in English, in Irish) is a name used by a series of Irish political movements of the 20th century, each of which claimed sole descent from the original party established by Arthur Griffith in 1905. ... Irish Volunteers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The National Volunteers is the name taken by the group of the Irish Volunteers that sided with Irish Parliamentary Party leader John Redmond after the group split in the wake of the question of the Volunteers role in World War I. While Redmond took no role in the creation of... The Irish Socialist Republican Party was an Irish political party founded in 1896 by James Connolly. ... The Irish Citizen Army`s Starry Plough banner. ... This article is about the historical army of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic (1919â€“1922) which fought in the Irish War of Independence 1919-21, and the Irish Civil War 1922-23. ... Cumann na nGaedhael (IPA: ; Society of the Gaels), sometimes spelt Cumann na nGaedheal,[1] was an Irish language name given to two Irish political parties, the second of which had the greater impact. ... Fine Gael (IPA: , though often anglicized to (approximate English translation: Family of the Irish) and officially, Fine Gael - The United Ireland Party, is the second largest political party in Ireland, presently forming the largest opposition party in the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament), and claims a membership of over 34,000. ... The Nationalist Party, an Irish political party, existed under various forms from 1874 to 1978. ... Fianna FÃ¡il - The Republican Party (IPA ; (mistranslated by the party into English as Soldiers of Destiny, though a literal translation is Soldiers [Fianna] of Ireland),Â¹ is currently the largest political party in Ireland with 55,000 members. ... Clann na Poblachta (literally meaning Family of the Republic) was an Irish republican political party founded by former IRA Chief of Staff Sean MacBride in 1946. ... Saor Ã‰ire (meaning Free Ireland) was a left-wing political organisation established in September 1931 by communist-leaning members of the Irish Republican Army, with the backing of the IRA leadership. ... The Republican Congress was an Irish Republican political organisation founded in 1934, when left wing republicans left the Irish Republican Army. ... Peoples Democracy was a political organisation that, while supporting the campaign for civil rights for Northern Irelands Catholic minority stated that such rights could only be achieved through the establishment of a socialist republic in all of Ireland. ... A Republican mural in Belfast depicting the hunger strikes of 1981. ... The term Official IRA relates to one of the two elements of the Irish Republican Army - the other being the Provisional IRA - that emerged from the ideological split in the Irish Republican movement in 1969-70. ... The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP â€” Irish: PÃ¡irtÃ SÃ³isialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is the smaller of the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland. ... Categories: Ireland-related stubs | Irish political parties | Republic of Ireland political parties | Northern Ireland political parties ... Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) describes itself as a republican socialist party and claims to be both Marxist-Leninist and republican. ... The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) is an Irish republican paramilitary organization which was formed on December 8, 1974. ... The Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) is an Irish Republican paramilitary organisation (which supporters regard as the National Army of the 32-County Irish Republic) that split from the Provisional IRA in 1986. ... The Real Irish Republican Army, otherwise known as the Real IRA (RIRA), is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation founded before the signing of the 1998 Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement by former members of the Provisional IRA who opposed the latters 1997 cease-fire and acquiescence in the Agreement in... The 32 County Sovereignty Movement (often abbreviated to 32CSM or 32csm) is an Irish republican political organisation favouring a united Ireland and British withdrawal from Northern Ireland. ...

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