In 1881, a “Land Act” was issued. Parnell ordered the tenants not to accept this, as it did not include all aspects of the agreement. After this, the “Land War” Became even more violent.
In 1882, the “Land War” was still continuing and finally Gladstone decided to negotiate with Parnell to see if the violence could be stopped, in return for another proposition. This was known as “The Kilmainham treaty”. Parnell was then released in late April 1882. Parnell was looked upon by most Irish peasants as a true hero. Parnell had succeeded in gaining the support and trust of the Irish Peasants and could now count on them for their support for the Home Rule Party.
When Parnell returned to his party he soon found that his party was very disorganised and even found that some party members didn’t believe whole-heartedly in the Issue of Home Rule for Ireland. As a result of this, he established an organisation known as “The National League”. Parnell also tightened his control over Home Rule M.Ps and made all party members agree to the “Party Pledge”. This meant that all Home Rule M.Ps at west Minster would always vote together and that any party member who broke the “Party Pledge” would be expected to resign his seat in parliament. Parnell’s attempt to unify his party was a great success.
In the November 1885 General Election, Parnell won eighty-six seats at Westminster for his party. Parnell found himself in a powerful position as neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives had enough seats to form a Government. Unfortunately for the two British parties they were both against Home Rule and neither of them were willing to form a co-alition with the Home Rule Party. That was until December 1885, when Gladstone’s son announced that the Liberals were willing to support Home Rule. This statement surprised Parnell and the entire Home Rule Party. This was a great success for Parnell as now his party was part of the Government.
Another of Parnell’s successes was to follow swiftly after as the First Home Rule Bill was issued. Allow the First Home Rule Bill was defeated, it was the beginning of the “Liberal Alliance”, in which Parnell and the Home Rule Party continued to support the Liberals as long as they remained committed to Home Rule. The issue of Home Rule split the Liberal Party in two. For and against Home Rule.
In spring 1886, the Times Newspaper published a series of articles known as “Parnellism and crime”. The Times claimed that Parnell was involved in the Phoenix Park murders. The Times’ plan to turn Parnell’s name bad backfired. Parnell was found to be innocent and he became even more famous than before.
Although Parnell had many success’s he also had a few failures towards the end of his life. After the failure of the First Home Rule Bill, the Liberal Party fell from power and in the General Election the majority of the votes went to the Conservatives who continued to oppose Home Rule. However, the Conservatives did make some improvements to Ireland, which discouraged the Irish from seeking Home Rule. This was known as “Killing Home Rule with Kindness”. This just about destroyed the Home Rule campaign.
In November l890, it was exposed that Parnell had, had an affair with a married woman. Parnell had been having an affair with the wife of Captain William O’Shea. When the scandal was exposed, the Home Rule Party asked Parnell to resign as leader and to get Home Rule for Ireland.
After years of trying to unify his party, Parnell managed to split it in two, for and against Parnell. Parnell’s image was destroyed, but yet he continued to struggle and would not consider resigning. He was determined to make his dream of Home Rule for Ireland come true. He spent many months arguing with Gladstone and the Catholic Church over his position in the Home Rule Party. Finally on October 6th 1891 at the age of forty-five, Parnell’s career had exhausted him greatly and the disappointment of not obtaining Home Rule for Ireland ruined him.
In concluding, I think that Parnell’s successes out weighed his failures. Although Parnell didn’t obtain Home Rule for Ireland, he did manage to do a lot of other things for the country. He solved the land crisis and as a result of his protesting a number of improvements were made to the country by the Conservatives. I think Parnell deserves the title “The Uncrowned King of Ireland”, as he loved his country enough to die for it.
By Emma-Jane Reilly 10E