It could be said that the rapid increase in nationalism in Ireland after the Home Rule bill could point towards a fail in the handling of issues in Ireland. The evidence towards this was because there was no real increase in nationalism until the Home Rule bill had been passed. The effect of the passing of the Home Rule Bill by Asquith was hoped to be one in which there would finally be peace in Ireland, however the actual outcome was an increase in nationalism. It appeared that the terms were not sufficient for nationalists, their own parliament in Ireland was not enough. Besides this, it further seemed that Home Rule was merely a platform for full independence, the Passing of the Home Rule bill appeared to have sparked interest within Ireland, having tasted freedom, they wanted more. In response to this Asquith said that his intention was to appease the mild Irish nationalism at the time (SInn Fein was a minority at the time) in order not to have an
Increase in Sectarian tension. However, it was established that his plan to create peace in Ireland and to split the Irish nationalists through the Home Rule Bill did not work and instead there was an increase in nationalist support in Ireland and splits within the Westminster government. Thus providing further evidence for the mishandling of Irish issued by the Liberal Governments at the time.
One fundamental reason why the Liberal Governments failed to appropriately handle the Irish Issues from 1909-1916 was because of the prime minister Herbert Asquith. Asquith’s constant indecisiveness made his seem untrustworthy and manipulative. This devious side to him was shown particularly when the Amendment to the Home Rule Bill was made in 1913, this amendment gave the option of the counties in the Ulster region to opt out. Asquith never previously mentioned any partition when he introduced the Home Rule Bill and introduced this amendment in secret. Another example of Asquith’s sudden change of tone was the fact that there was no mention of a Home Rule Bill when he came into power in 1906, but there was in 1911. These changes in perspectives from Asquith made him seem mendacious and made him look weak also. Asquith was shown to be a prime minister who was reactive to situations that happened around him. This was not ideal since Asquith was meant to give an impression that his Liberal Government was setting the agenda on a daily basis, not just reacting to what happens on the agenda, a crucial quality for a War time prime minister. This Inadequacy from Asquith gives the impression that the Liberal governments at the time mishandled the Irish Issues.
Arguably the most important reason to support the view that the Liberal governments mishandled the Irish issues at the time is because the Liberal government did not react to the situations appropriately, they were too weak towards certain situations and too repressive towards other situations. The liberal government was weak in the sense that they were biased towards the unionists, they had turned a blind eye towards the UVF openly drilling, British Army Officers were not expected to fire at UVF, they responded weakly in the Curragh mutiny and they also did not focus on the fact that the UVF had armed themselves (despite stopping the IRB from having arms). This showed a weakness in their system of governing, the liberals were thought to have been appeasing nationalists in Ireland, yet they were clearly biased towards the Unionists.
On the other hand, the Liberal party acted too strongly on certain issues, especially the Easter Rising in 1916. James Connolly, Roger Caseman, Patrick Pearse and Eamonn De Valera led the Easter Rising; and occasion described as “The rising made by a minority of a minority” by R.E Foster. The Liberal government reacted by deploying 16,000 troops and 1,000 officers in Ireland and the aftermath of the Uprising led to over 450 deaths. The justification from the Liberal government was that their response to any uprisings was naturally oppresive, Britain was in the middle of a World War and so if there was any sort of fighting, their solution was opression, this was so it could be quickly resolved so they can continue with the war, and so they did not seem weak to the Germans.
However the Liberal governments justification failed to justify why 3.5 million Irish were interned without evidence, through the Defense of Realm Act in 1914. These men were interned because it was thought that they were part of the uprising, even though there was no sufficient evidence to support the claim. All leaders of the Easter uprising were arrested and all except for Connolly were imprisoned for life. Asquith had failed to remain neutral throughout the Irish Issues which was a fatal mistake to make when he was trying to engrave some peaceful agreement between the Catholics and Protestants, because of this inability to remain unprejudiced, it cannot be said that the Liberal government handled the issues in Ireland appropriately.
Despite the Liberal government overall not handling the Issues in Ireland well, it would not be fair to entirely blame the Liberal Government. Had Asquith not done anything about the issues in Ireland there probably would have been much more hostile environment and extra bloodshed. Along with this, the Home Rule bill was democratically voted in the House of Commons, it was not a decision taken unlawfully, and was supported by the majority of the commons, therefore not making it entirely Asquith’s fault. It could be equally argued that the fault of the mishandling laid within the hands of the Conservatives, who had been out of power since 1905. Although the Conservative party, led by Andrew Bonar Law said that they were making a principled case based on the threat that home rule posed on the integrity of both property and empire, it could be said that they were merely opposing Home Rule in a bid for popularity amongst the electorate. Bonar Law’s backing of the rebellion against the parliamentary act and menacing aims in order to make the Liberals governing much harder and to gain support against those who opposed the Liberals’ decisions meant that the entirety of the blame for not handling the Irish issues at the time could not just be placed on the Liberals.
In Conclusion, The reactive Liberal government led by Asquith had mishandled the issues concerning Ireland from 1909-1916. Their Inability to maintain control of the agenda, led to the Liberal government simply reacting to every situation that approached them. Although it could be said that part of the issue lied with the Conservatives who used damaging tactics to gain support, the overall weak governing by Asquith as well as sectarian issues leads to a conclusion that for the majority of the period from 1909- 1916, the Liberals are accountable for mishandling the Irish issues.