members of secret
revolutionary organisation
(IRB)
committed to the forcible
overthrow of British power and the
establishment of independent Irish
republic
transferred their activities to the English mainland know as ' the
fenian outrages'
September 1867 at Manchester , when in carrying out
the successful rescue of two leading fenians from a
prison van , a policemen was killed
second incident occurred in London in December where
terrorists blew up part of the wall of Clerwell prison , loss of a
dozen civilian lives
Outrages treated with horror and anger in England
3 Fenians who were arrested and executed for the murder of
the policemen became known and the 'Manchester Martyrs'
First time the England felt first hand experience of the problems with in Ireland
, usually colonies rebelling only affect the country in question never the British
homeland
Made the British public
more accepting of reform
seriously put Irish politics
on the agenda
Gladstones Irish Reforms
Irish church act 1869
Ireland population of
5.75 million . 4.5 million
were catholic
disestablishment : link
between stater and church of
Ireland was broken
First Irish land act 1870
gave more economic security to tenants
The Irish universities bill
1873
Failed: would allow catholics
to join the ruling class and
elite
Parnell and Land League
land war
land league fought for
Three F'S : FREE SALE, FAIR
RENT AND FIXED TENURE
Parnells motives ??
he did agree with immediate
demand for thee F's but was a landlord himself
motives primarily political
support for a popular agrarian movement would
encourage constitutional nationalism he believed and
give leverage to home rulers in westminster
agitation would force Brit gov to land reform and
end conflict between tenants and landlords allowing
landlords to join home rule cause too
Parnell came from a wealthy
protestant family ( part of the
ascendancy)
NEW DEPARTURE
fusion of radicalism , revolutionary and
constitutional nationalism - fenian alliance , agreed to stop killing
tactics of land league
applied a boycott against farmers and those
who tried to take over evicted land
'Putting him in moral Coventry , by isolating him from the
rest of his kind as if he was a leper of old '
was genuinely peaceful but violence did erupt on occasion
police troops used
regularly to guard
evictions
1881 Coercion Act : temporarily suspended Habeas Corpus..
could be detained without trail , more freedom for the
police
SECOND LAND ACT 1881
Introduced the 3 F's
hard for Parnell to accept , had to
maintain support from militant and
moderates
kilmainham treaty 1882
government agreed to release parnell from
prison and relax the coercion act and
further reform the land act
parnell agree to use his influence to end violence and support the
land act - also agreed to consider coalition with liberals if need be
The Phoenix Park murders :new accord between
Gladstone and Parnell was shaken by the brutal
murder of Lord Frederick Cavendish and T.H. Burke , government officials
causes by ' the invincibles' a terrorist splinter group of the fenians