The Potato famine, 1845 – 1851, caused about one million Irish farmers and their families deaths. It is said that if the Protestant landlords did not take their rent during the famine there would have been enough crop to feed Ireland. This increased the hatred towards the English and there was a rise in Nationalism movement in the 1880s. The rise in Nationalism strengthened Unionism. Nationalists and Unionists did not agree on the idea of Home Rule. The Nationalists were in favour of Home Rule, as it meant that Ireland would rule itself from its own Parliament in Dublin. The Unionists thought that Home Rule is Rome Rule. This means that the Unionists believed that the Catholic Church and the Pope would be governing Ireland. Charles Stewart Parnell united different groups of Nationalists under his own leadership in the Home Rule Party. The Nationalist movement was strong and well funded and this policy became known as the New Departure. The Nationalists were happy with this new party because for many years the Nationalists biggest voice came from Revolutionary nationalists. They wanted a united Ireland and were not willing to make any compromises, whereas the Parliamentary Nationalists wanted peace and were willing to compromise with the opposition to achieve it. The people preferred the new Parliamentary Nationalists and it gave them hope that peace was not far away. With the Home Rule Party it seemed a lot more likely that Home Rule would be achieved. The Nationalist movement was strong and well funded. John Redmond managed to get Home Rule passed in 1912. He did this by supporting the Liberals on the laws that they wanted to pass, in return the Liberals passed Home Rule.
The Unionists did not want Home Rule because the trade between England and Ireland was valuable and they did not want other countries in the Empire thinking they could leave. Edward Carson led the Unionist opposition. He argued that Home Rule is Rome Rule and that the Unionists would not accept it. Carson worked closely with James Craig, who turned the Unionists into an organized and well disciplined force. They made it clear that they were willing to use armed forces to resist against Home Rule and they formed the UVF. In response to the formation of the UVF the Nationalists formed an armed force called the Irish Volunteers. Civil War looked unavoidable and it was World War One that prevented it.
The Nationalist Movement became more extreme during WW1. They believed that the British rule was trying to wipe out Irish Culture. This led to a Gaelic revival which saw many Irish people take an interest in Irish history, language and culture. During this time working class movements, such as trade unions and the Labour Party, were growing in Ireland and Britain. The socialist movement was strongly linked to Nationalism. James Connolly and Socialism became popular. The Nationalists saw that the Unionists radicalism and violence worked, so they believed that they could also use it effectively. The IRB was formed in the mid – nineteenth century. In the early twentieth century radical Nationalists such as Thomas Clarke, Padraig Pearse etc revived it. Support for Sinn Fein increased because Nationalists believed that their radical approach would be more effective than Redmond’s MPs in London.
The Easter Rising of 1916 was a rebellion led by Padraig Pearse. On the first day he read out a proclamation declaring an Irish Republic. The IRB and citizen army occupied parts of Dublin and barricaded themselves in the GPO. A week later they surrendered and the main leaders were executed. At first there was not much support for the Easter Rising. After the leaders were executed opinion in Ireland changed. The hatred and violence towards the Unionists, Protestants and British increased and received more support after the executions. During World War 1 the British government considered Irish Conscription. Sinn Fein protested successfully against this measure and won even more support. In the Elections of 1918 Sinn Fein won 73 seats. In 1919 Sinn Fein declared themselves to be Dail Eireann, the government of Ireland. The Anglo – Irish War was a bitter guerilla war between the IRA and the RIC. The IRA attacked the RIC for a number of reasons including to gain arms and destroy the British intelligence network. Britain sent in troops, the Black and Tans, to defeat the IRA. Both sides committed appalling acts such as torture and assassinations. By 1921 the war had reached a stalemate. The Irish were fed up with conflict and the British government was sensitive to criticisms of its policies home and abroad.
Partition was the process which took place between 1920 and 1922. Lloyd George introduced the Government of Ireland Act because he needed to end the Conflict in Ireland. The British Government was being heavily criticized of its handling of Ireland; the world expected the British to support “the little guy” after WW1, because they supported the Belgians. But they were being criticized of their handlings of Northern Ireland, another small country. Also, the economic problems were far too great after WW1 and the British no longer had the resources to fund the on-going feud.
Sinn Fein rejected the Act and war continued. They made the Anglo – Irish treaty which was built on the Government of Ireland Act. In June 1922 the people voted in favour of the treaty and it was passed. The Irish Free State and Northern Ireland were formed bringing a hope of peace in Ireland. Hard-line Republicans were disappointed as were Anti – treaty members of the IRA. They were particularly upset at the last four terms of the treaty, which basically meant that Ireland still had a strong connection with Britain.
To conclude, Ireland was partitioned in 1921 because of the on-going feud between the Unionists and Nationalists. Also, Partition was placed on Ireland because it was too costly for the British if civil war was to continue. The British government had taken enough criticism about its handling of Ireland and felt that partition would solve the problems.