Ireland (1798-1885)

Question 1

What does the ‘Irish Question’ refer to?

Answer 1

The set of political, economic, social and strategic issues that impacted anglo-Irish relations

Question 2

When did Wolfe Tone’s Irish rebellion happen

Answer 2

1798

Question 3

When was the formation of the Catholic Association?

Answer 3

1824

Question 4

When was the County Clare election?

Answer 4

1828

Question 5

When was the Great Famine

Answer 5

1845-9

Question 6

When was the Young Ireland Rising

Answer 6

1848

Question 7

When was the Irish Republican Brotherhood (The Fenians) founded in the USA

Answer 7

1858

Question 8

When did the Fenian outrages in Britain, Ireland and Canada occur

Answer 8

1866-7

Question 9

When did Butt form the Irish Home Govt Association

Answer 9

1870

Question 10

When did the Irish obstruction process in the commons start?

Answer 10

1871

Question 11

When was the Irish Land League formed

Answer 11

1879

Question 12

When did Parnell become leader of the Irish Nationalist Party

Answer 12

1880

Question 13

When were the Phoenix Park murders

Answer 13

1882

Question 14

Why was the June 1885 GE significant for the Irish Home Rule Party

Answer 14

Because they held the balance of power in the commons after the election

Question 15

Explain the system of tithes in Ireland

Answer 15

A tax payable to the church based on 1/10 of your property; usually paid in kind with things like animals from the land. Very unpopular

Question 16

How did the majority of Irish see the English in 1798

Answer 16

As alien colonisers trying to exploit them

Question 17

Describe the dominance of the Protestant minority class in 1798

Answer 17

Controlled the political system and owned more than 95% of the land and much of the limited industrial wealth

Question 18

Where did the dissenters live

Answer 18

The North East

Question 19

How did the govt respond following fears that their Irish colony might go the same way as their American colonies

Answer 19

They relaxed some of the stronger restrictions. Some Catholics were allowed to vote and it was easier for them to buy land by the end of the 18th century. However, many Irish felt resentful that they were being allowed by the english to buy land in their own country

Question 20

What unrest occured between 1760-80 to perhaps prompt the British govt into later reforms

Answer 20

Agrarian violence, particularly from a group known as the Witeboys, who made some savage attacks against landlords. The govt respond with a series of coercive measures which meant the death penalty for the most serious forms of protests

Question 21

Factors contributing to the outbreak of rebellion in 1798

Answer 21

Many saw the voting and land reforms as inadequate

The French Revolution and its principles of liberty and equality inspired many

Hatred of rule by aliens

Strong flavour of Catholics vs Protestants and the poor Irish vs the rich English

Question 22

Which revolutions had Tone been inspired by

Answer 22

American and French

Question 23

What Tone want France to do

Answer 23

Invade Ireland as part of their war against England

Question 24

Describe how the 1798 rebellion failed

Answer 24

The French fleet failed to land troops and weapons due to poor weather and seamanship and the rising died out after a brief skirmish known as the Battle of Vinegar Hill. The govt passed laws that allowed imprisonment without trial. Many English thought the Irish had acted treasonably by helping the French, but the English failed to see that this was because the Irish saw them as the enemy

Question 25

What did the 1800 Act of Union do

Answer 25

Ended the parliament in Dublin and replaced it with a system where MPs and peers were selected in Ireland and could then represent Ireland in Westminster. These MPs would have the same power and status as all the rest

Question 26

Why did Pitt and his Irish Minister Lord Castlereagh think this would solve Irish problems

Answer 26

Because the Irish would now have the same rights as any other UK citizen and that this would therefore end opposition to English rule. Union would lead to peace and integration

Question 27

Flaws in the Act of Union

Answer 27

Pitt and Castlereagh indicated that CE would follow. Some suggest that this was because George III refused to sign a bill that would break his coronation oath, while other historians have suggested that the two ministers did not plan to follow through on the promise anyway

It was also unlikely that the HoL would ever pass a bill allowing catholics seats in the commons

Catholics felt betrayed and conned into the deal

Only 20% of the commons MPs were Irish and Irish problems were now being looked at from London rather than Dublin

Catholics were now a minority across the UK as a whole whereas they had been a majority within Ireland

Question 28

How did resentment towards the British begin to stir again following the end of the Napoleonic Wars

Answer 28

Poverty was more extreme during the post war economic downturn because there was no welfare system in Ireland. They had to pay the tithe to what they felt was a London based religion. Local govt was dominated by Protestant and frequently absent English landlords. It was felt that London deprived Ireland of its fair share of wealth and trade. By 1820 they began to see the Act of Union as having been little more than an elaborate trick

Question 29

When was the Catholic Committee formed

Answer 29

1804

Question 30

What was the Catholic Committee set up to do?

Answer 30

Designed to protect and advance Irish interests and to gain full citizenship rights for Catholics. The govt repressed this in 1811 but the idea of a united front against british rule was born again

Question 31

What was the objective of the Catholic Association

Answer 31

To end all discrimination against Roman Catholics

Question 32

Who led that Catholic Association

Answer 32

Daniel O’Connell

Question 33

The support of which institution made the Catholic Association more significant that previous groups

Answer 33

The RCC

Question 34

What did the CA do after the govt tried to oppress it in 1825

Answer 34

Reformed and still managed to attain their main objective

Question 35

Why did CE not get through despite being cleared by the commons in 1825

Answer 35

Because it was blocked by a HoL consisting of Tories and CoE supporters

Question 36

Which party would O’Connell go on to form once he had become an MP

Answer 36

The Irish Party

Question 37

What did O’Connell’s Irish Party do?

Answer 37

Successfully campaigned for tariff reform and brough down Peel’s govt in 1835 following the Lichfield House Compact. Important in maintaining the Whigs in power after 1835. Led the campaign for the repeal of the Act of Union in the 1840s

Got the London govt to reform Irish local govt and stop the payment of tithes

Question 38

What organisation had O’Connell founded in 1840

Answer 38

The Repeal Association

Question 39

What was the Repeal Association actively committed to doing

Answer 39

Repealing the Act of Union and setting up a separate Irish parliament

Question 40

How did Peel respond to the agitation of O’Connell?

Answer 40

O’Connell was arrested in 1844

Peel put forward reforms to pacify the growing Catholic middle class in areas such as landlord-tenant relations, Catholic education and the education of Catholic Priests

The emergence of the Young Ireland movement showed that Peel wasn’t totally successful

Question 40

What was Young Ireland

Answer 40

A radical group of nationalists founded in 1842

Question 41

How did divisions split Young Ireland

Answer 41

Split between those who wanted to work with O’Connell and others who saw him as too moderate and those who wanted to use violence and those who did not. Division was often a reason that campaigns like this were unsuccessful

Question 42

How did the Great Famine raise nationalist sentiment

Answer 42

They felt bitter and abandoned by the fact that the richest country in the world seemed to have done little to help

Question 43

How did Irish MPs fare following the 1852 GE

Answer 43

At least 40 of the Irish MPs backed major social and economic reform. This group formed the Independent Irish Party from 1850-9. However, they were divided between those who were willing to work under British rule to improve things and those who were not. For instance, two Irish Mps, Keogh and Sadlier joined the Whig-Peelite coalition led by Aberdeen (1852-5)

Question 44

Describe how unity among Irish opposition groups improved in the 1850s

Answer 44

The Irish Tenant League was set up in 1850 by Charles Duffy, determined to gain for Catholic Irish tenants the same tenure rights enjoyed by the English and the Protestant in the North

The Catholic Defence Association was then founded in 1851 and it allied with the Irish Tenant League. It was the linking of such pressure groups that gave anti union sentiment such force

Question 45

What had many of the key figures in the IRB also been a part of

Answer 45

The Young Ireland Rising of 1848

Question 46

Who was the key figure in the IRB

Answer 46

James Stephens

Question 47

What were the objectives of the IRB

Answer 47

Aimed to overthrow English rule, by violence if necessary. It had no social or economic programme, just wanted to set up a free Irish Republic separate from English rule

Question 48

Where did the IRB embark on their campaign of violence

Answer 48

The USA, Canada and Britain

Question 49

When did the IRB begin to decline

Answer 49

1867

Question 50

When was Parnell elected an MP

Answer 50

1875

Question 51

What did Parnell do as an MP

Answer 51

Support a policy of violence and obstructionism in order to achieve home rule. Became president of the Nationalist Party in 1877. His approval of and involvement with the Land League led to his imprisonment in 1881

Question 52

Why did the economic downturn in the 1870s lead to renewed home rule calls

Answer 52

Because England was seen as the cause of the economic problems and therefore the social distress

Question 53

Why was the system of land tenure in the south of Ireland particularly hated

Answer 53

Because it gave landlords (usually Protestant, English and absent) much greater control over their tenants than was the case elsewhere

Question 54

Which two powerful PGs joined forces in the 1870s

Answer 54

Charles Stuart Parnell’s Home Rule League and Michael Davitt’s Irish Land League

Question 55

What did some of the legisaltion from G’s first ministry do for Ireland

Answer 55

Removed some of the worst grievances, but the official opinion in England went too far, believe that this legislation had sorted the problem of Ireland

Question 56

Why was the Ballot Act the Gladstonian legislation that perhaps had the greatest impact for the Irish

Answer 56

Because it enabled the Irish to vote freely without fear of eviction by their pro-union landlords. In 1874 there were therefore a large group of Irish MPs committed to home rule

Question 57

Who led the Home Rule Party

Answer 57

Initially led by Butt, who favoured a federal solution to the Irish Problem, with an Irish devolved parliament with substantial powers . Parnell, a more dynamic and charasmatic leader, replaced him in 1880, with William Shaw the leader between them

Question 58

How did Parnell give a boost to the home rule movement

Answer 58

Used obstructionist tactics to force the issue into the view of the commons. Worked closely with the leaders of the Land League to make sure that every tactic was used, from peaceful protest through boycotting landlords and violence to ensure that land reform was successful

Question 59

With what piece of legislation were the demands for land reform mostly met

Answer 59

The 1881 Land Act

Question 60

Why was the June 1885 GE so positive for Parnell and the Home Rule League

Answer 60

Because he held the balance of power in British politics and nearly every Irish seat was held by a committed nationalist

Question 61

What did the 1881 Land Act do?

Answer 61

Gladstone’s 1881 Land Act, also known as the Irish Land Act of 1881, was a significant piece of legislation aimed at addressing the issues of land ownership and tenant rights in Ireland. The act introduced the concept of the “dual ownership” of land, recognizing the rights of both landlords and tenants. It established fair rent commissions to determine reasonable rents for tenant farmers, provided security of tenure, and allowed tenants to sell their interest in leases. Additionally, the act aimed to reduce evictions by providing compensation to tenants who were unjustly evicted. While it did not fully satisfy the demands of Irish nationalists, the Land Act of 1881 marked a significant step towards land reform and the improvement of tenant conditions in Ireland.