Both Gladstone and Parnell underestimated the Protestants of Ulster. When Gladstone promised Home Rule for Ireland in 1886, many Irish Protestants decided to organise an energetic campaign against it. This lead to many anti home rule riots in 1886. These riots were when working class unionists in Belfast took more direct action to show their opposition to the home rule bill. Before Parliament voted on the Home Rule Bill in June 1886, rioting broke out between Catholics and Protestants in Belfast. Many Catholics and Protestants were killed during these riots. The riots went on even after Parliament rejected the Home Rule Bill. The riots were worse after parliament rejected the Home Rule Bill as workers left work early to celebrate. Workers went to the streets and burnt down catholic pubs and bate up a lot of catholic people in the streets. The riots went on for many weeks and by mid-September more than thirty people had been killed.
There were few political changes in Ireland between 1890 and 1905. The conservatives were in power most of the time. The Conservatives supported the Union and they introduced important land reforms to Ireland. This period of Conservative power was interrupted in 1892 when Gladstone and the liberals came back to power. The following year Gladstone tried to bring in Home Rule for the second time and once again unionists of Ulster organised an energetic campaign against it. The House of Commons passed the Home Rule Bill in 1893. However, the House of Lords, which were dominated by Conservatives, had the power to stop Home Rule. A year later Gladstone retired, having failed in his mission to set up a Home rule parliament for Ireland.
Between 1890-1914 the Gaelic League and the Gaelic Athletic Association were formed. They encouraged pride in the Irish language and Gaelic culture. Most ordinary members of these were Catholics and during these years there was a great upsurge of interest in poetry and art in Ireland among educated people. There was also a great rise in the interesting many Irish games, songs and literature.
Between 1910 and 1914 there was a renewed argument about the Home Rule. A Liberal government reduced the power of the House of Lords. The Lords were no longer able to block Home Rule indefinitely and the House of Commons passed a Home Rule Bill in 1912. The Lords could only delay a Dublin Parliament for two years and now people started to sign the covenant in Ulster on the 28th of September 1912 to protest against Home Rule.
By 1914 Ireland was close to a civil war, the Nationalists copied the Unionists and set up an army to fight for Home Rule called the Irish Volunteers. The outbreak of the First World War ended the crisis and many of the men on both sides joined the British army to fight against Germany.
As long as a Conservative government remained in power there would be no Home Rule for Ireland. After many years of Conservative power, the Liberals won a great victory in the 1906 General election but it was not until 1912 that a third Home Rule Bill was introduced.
In 1912 the government introduced a Home Rule Bill in the commons as they had promised, and the reduced power of the House of Lords meant it would become law in 1914. Nationalists were delighted, as it seemed that the Dublin parliament would be restored.
The tension in Ireland was high when a small group of nationalists led by Patrick Pearse took control of central Dublin. They saw England’s difficulty as Irelands opportunity as England had many soldiers away fighting overseas. This was a suicide mission for these young rebels and the British soldiers soon defeated them.
It can be said that there is no one reason for the Easter Rising of 1916 and that no one event leading to it can be blamed as all the events leading up to it like failure of home rule, tradition of rebellion, cultural revival and the outbreak of world war one all played there own significant part for the Easter Rising of 1916.