By 1912 different Irish groups were still fighting over the matter of Home Rule. Unionists, lead by Edward Carson and James Craig, wanted to stay loyal to Britain and remain under British rule, they said that if Home Rule did come about, that Ulster should be treated separately. John Redmond, leader of the Irish Nationalists, wanted some power given to Ireland but they said that they would still remain loyal to Britain and the monarchy.
Edward Carson was the speaker on the Unionist side. He set out to use Ulster to block Home Rule. Carson had become Unionist leader in 1910. In one way Carson was a strange choice to lead Ulstermen, because he was a Southern Unionist from Dublin and his home was in London. However, Carson was a brilliant public speaker and a very clever leader. The first chance most Ulster Unionists got to hear Carson was in September 1911 when he spoke to 50,000 Orangemen gathered at Craigavon, James Craig’s home outside Belfast. James Craig was a perfect deputy for Carson. Craig was quiet, solid and reliable, and he was a terrific organizer. He used his talents to organise a number of mass protest meetings. Even though the two men were different they both lead the Ulster Unionist stand against Home When the Third Home Rule was discussed in parliament, nearly every Unionist speaker raised the question of Ulster. They claimed that there were two different sets of people in Ireland. Not only were there two religions, there were two races or even two nations in the country. For the Unionists it followed that if Ireland was to be given Home Rule, then Ulster should also receive special treatment for Ulster, but to use Ulster opposition to force the Liberal government to drop Home Rule altogether.
