The Famine occurred in the years from 1845-9 and the response of the British Government was varied. The Famine had the greatest effect on the population, because it decreased from eight million to six million. This meant that land was more available to large landowners as the small landowners died from diseases created by the Famine or emigrated. There have been two views about the impact of the Great Famine from traditionalist historians and revisionist historians. Traditionalists believe that the British Government increased the scale of the disaster, because of the ‘laissez faire’ attitude they had and the Famine’s impact was worse because of the land system. Revisionists such as Boyce (1992) would say that “it was not the British Government ideals; it was the British Government Bureaucracy and it was too slow to respond because they found it difficult to administer relief.” The Irish Question has been interpreted differently by the various historians, but at the time the Extreme Nationalists believed that the British were to blame, because they thought that the British hadn’t reacted quickly enough to the situation; therefore this increased extremist sentiment. The Irish Question was vital at this point as the extremist groups, such as the Fenian’s emerged as the relationship with Britain deteriorated.
This indicated the start of the Catholic split between Moderates and Extremists, as the Fenian’s who used violent methods forced an alternative way of tackling the Irish Question and gaining publicity. Gladstone said that it ‘Brought home to popular mind the vast importance of the Irish controversy’. Fenian activities in Manchester and London, lead to death of the British; therefore the Irish Question was elevated in British politics. The harsh British response to Fenian activities created more sympathy for extreme nationalism. This led to Gladstone declaring that his mission was to “pacify Ireland”.
Gladstone thought that religious land and educational reform was the key to ending nationalist discontent, because it would make them feel part of the Union. Gladstone was not unaware of the political advantages of Irish Reform and so in 1868 the Irish Question was placed at the forefront of politics and the Government agenda. The first of Gladstone’s Irish Reforms was the Irish Church Act in 1869. This disestablished and disowned the Anglican Church in Ireland. The second Irish Reform was the First Irish Land Act in 1870, which limited landlord’s rights over their tenants and prevented evictions. This however did little to solve the problems of the Irish rural economy and it was ten years too late, because evictions were no longer an issue in the Irish Question. The Irish Universities Bill 1973 was the last of the Reforms, but this failed, because there were abstentions by Irish Liberal MP’s and this led to the Liberals downfall in the 1874 election, indicating that the Irish Reforms were having an impact of the make up of the British Government. The key point about Gladstone’s impact on the Irish Question is that even though some of his reforms were unsuccessful as he could not keep up with the continuous changing nature of the Irish Question, he may have averted more violent rebellion. The British Government was seen to be doing something about the situation in Ireland and so this may have limited further extremism.
The Irish Land League was created in October 1879. The Land Question was important with the Irish Farmers as they found themselves facing agricultural depression due to the poor harvests and the cheap grain that had been imported causing food prices to decrease. Parnell allied himself with the Land League in October 1979 and formed the National Land League. Parnell hoped that this would force the British Government to introduce Land Reform and he was popular due to this, but people were still resentful because of his previous associations with the Fenian’s when he defended the Fenian Political prisoners in courts after 1865. Like O’Connell he was successful in linking economic frustration with the political campaign for a separate Irish nation. The land question was largely sorted when the Kilimainham Treaty was signed in 1882, in which the government agreed to amend the Land Act if Parnell supported it and encouraged other people to support it.
The Irish Question was now more focused on Home Rule. The National League Union was formed in October 1882 and its aims were a ‘National Self Government ‘, which intended to win support among all classes of the Irish Society. Parnell created a united, disciplined Irish Parliamentary party and he played a key role in British politics in the history of the Irish Question during the 1880’s. From this point it was clear that politics had taken over from the agrarian struggle and Ireland’s fate was now forced onto the House of Commons. However even with support from Gladstone Home Rule was unlikely to occur, as the House of Lords would never agree. The Parliament Act of 1911 forced through the Reform Bill eventually. Parnell was able to convince the majority of Irish People that Home Rule was a feasible solution to the problem of the Irish Question.
The Ulster Unionists were against Home Rule and they wanted to stay within the Union as they had benefited politically and economically. Parnell as a Protestant had tried, but failed to bridge the divide between Ulster and the South. Liberal sympathy with the Nationalists fuelled a link between Tories and Unionists who were beginning to feel that the British Government would no longer protect their interests. The Ulster Unionist Council was formed in 1905 and became the directing force of Ulster Unionism as one unified voice with a ready framework for an independent government. Historians such as, Boyce said that this was ‘one of the most significant events in Modern Irish history’, because this organization would allow the Ulster Unionists to create an independent parliament if needed. The Parliament Act meant the Home Rule Bill would not be passed for two years. The Ulster Unionists were prepared to push their opposition to the point of armed revolt. Ulster resistance was in the form of mass meetings and military type demonstrations and two leaders emerged which were Sir Edward Carson and James Craig. The Irish Question from this point was fragmented; because the Ulster Unionists were against Home Rule but were prepared to self govern Ulster if the alternative was a minority in Ireland. Home Rule was passed in 1914. However it was not implemented, because it was overshadowed by the First World War.
The future of the Irish Question was now greatly determined by the impact of the First World War. Home Rule was seen as a low priority for the British Government due to the war and had been put on hold, creating frustration among Irish Nationalists. There were problems in recruiting Irish Soldiers as many did not want to be associated with a British war. This highlighted the separation of the Catholic majority in Ireland from the rest of Britain at this time. The extremists were furious that Home Rule had not been implemented so they planned an Easter Rising in 1916 to drive the British out of Ireland and to achieve their aim of an independent Irish Republic. Many moderate nationalists did not support the Rising; therefore the Rising was unsuccessful. Sinn Fein which was a militant non-violent organisation was wrongly blamed by their friends and their enemies for the Easter Rebellion. However the moderate nationalists became sympathetic when the leaders of the Rising were executed and as Sinn Fein was wrongly blamed it gained more support and its popularity increased. The Irish Republican Army and Sinn Fein created a campaign of murder and harassment, which was directed against the police and British soldiers to force Britain to withdraw from Ireland. The British Government proposed the Government of Ireland Bill in 1920, which would give Home Rule for Ulster and for the South. This however could not be passed as the British Government was concentrating on controlling the IRA and Sinn Fein activities. They did this by relying on the police at first but these were undermanned; therefore the police were strengthened by recruiting tough ex-soldiers who became known as the ‘Black and Tans’. The conflict between the two became known as the Anglo-Irish War.
By early 1821 the British Government realized neither side would win and that the war was unpopular and costly. A truce was therefore agreed and Irish Affairs were at the forefront of the British Government again. Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister suggested Dominion Status, which meant that Ireland was given full control over domestic affairs. However the Irish Parliament rejected this at first because the Treaty stated that they must swear allegiance to the crown. Northern Ireland was allowed to opt out of the Treaty, but a Boundary Commission would be set up so that it would rejoin the rest of Ireland eventually. The Treaty was very popular in Britain and passed through parliament easily, whereas in Ireland it brought great discord and argument. The Treaty had been a temporary measure to appease the split between North and South and to solve the Irish Question once and for all. This was not wholly successful though because it created peace in the South but there was continuing violence in the North.
In conclusion it can be seen that the Irish Question had a changing nature over time, because of the impact of certain individuals, such as Gladstone and Parnell and outside events, such as, the First World War. There were common links and themes that occurred, such as, the British harsh responses to events, leading to increased support for extremists. The Irish Question differed for the Catholics and Protestants and the Catholic moderates and extremists, as they all had varied needs. It is apparent that the Irish Question still had not been answered after 1822, because the troubles continued to exist thereafter in the North.