Since 1871 an agitation for what iE called Home Rule has made itself promi nent. Its chief supporters, designated passed the Irish Parliament in May, 1800, and the British Parliament in July of the same year, in virtue of which the union was effected on J.n. 1, 1801. In 1829, mainly through the efforts of O'Connell, the Catholic Emancipation act was passed under which Catholics could take a seat in Parliament, and were ad mitted to most public offices. The Irish National party now tried to repeal the Union, for which purpose O'Connell founded the Repeal Association. This movement collapsed in 1843, and after ward the potato famine in 1845, and again in 1846, east all other interests into the background. To mitigate this cal amity Parliament granted enormous sums of money; yet thousands died from starvation, and hundreds of thousands emigrated to America.
The year 1865 witnessed a new con spiracy designed to separate England and Ireland. This originated in the United States, when the numerous Irish "Nationalists," profess not to desire the severance of Ireland from Great Britain; what they mainly want, is to have an Irish Parliament for matters exclusively Irish. In 1880 Ireland became the seem of an agitation carried on mainly by a body known as the Land League. The movement was so lawless that two special acts, a "coercion" act and a peace preser vation act, were passed. Still further to redress Irish grievances a land act was also passed in 1881, the chief provisions of which have already been mentioned. The Land League was suppressed, but a body called the National League was soon organized in its place. In 1885, 86 Nationalist members (under the leader ship of Parnell) were returned to Parlia ment, and their pressure on the govern ment led to Gladstone's scheme in 1886 by which Ireland was to receive a Parlia ment of her own and the Irish members to be withdrawn from the Imperial Par liament. This and the accompanying, scheme for the buying out of Irish land lords, were rejected by Parliament and the majority of the constituencies, thus bringing a Conservative government un der Lord Salisbury into povver. A per manent act for the repression of crime in Ireland was passed in 1887, and an act (Lord Ashbourne's) for the benefit of Irish tenants, under which money is ad vanced to them to aid them in buying their farms. The agitation by the Home Rule party continued through 1892 and 1893, Gladstone advocating eloquently the cause of the Irish people. In 1900 the Irish Parliamentary party reconsti tuted itself with John Redmond as chair man. In 1903 the Wyndham Act was
passed enabling tenants and occupiers to purchase the land and hold it. In 1906 James Bryce (now Viscount Bryce) be gan the work of creating the National University of Ireland making it possible for the Catholics to secure a higher edu cation. Riots, and agrarian outrages, particularly "cattle driving," were fre quent during 1907-09. The Home Rule Bill of 1912 (See HOME RULE) was op posed in Ulster and a volunteer army was enlisted by Sir Edward Carson to resist its enforcement. The Nationalists also formed a volunteer army and the country was divided into two hostile camps. A crisis arose in 1914 when the British Government moved to send troops to Ulster and a warship to Belfast.
The Sinn Fein, founded about 1905, had now become a revolutionary body, and seized the opportunity to unite with the Nationalists' Volunteer Army, drill ing openly and secretly planning an up rising. On Easter DrIonday, April 24, 1916, the Rebels seized the Post Office and other public buildings in Dublin. The Irish Republic was proclaimed with Padraic Pearse, president, and James Connolly commandant of Dublin and Messrs. Clarke, MacDonough, Ceannt, Plunkett, MacDiarmid members of the provisional government. Sir John Max well commanded the British troops en gaged in suppressing the rebellion which came to an end April 29 when Pearse surrendered. In the fighting the British lost 521 men. In May Pearse, Clarke, MacDonough, Plunkett and 11 others were executed. Over 3000 were impris oned for taking part in the rebellion. Sir Roger Casement (q. v.) was hanged in England June 29, 1916.
In the general election held in Decem ber, 1918, the Sinn Fein overthrew the Nationalists but declined to take their seats in the English Parliament, agitat ing meanwhile for a separate govern ment. At a conference held Jan. 21, 1919, independence was declared and the provisional government of the Republic of Ireland proclaimed. Eamon de Va lera, Count Plunkett, and Arthur Grif fith were appointed delegates to the Paris Peace Conference but were denied passports by the British Government. De Valera then sailed for the United States where he was received with en thusiasm by the Irish and hailed as the "President of the Irish Republic." An attempt was made by De Valera to get a strong plank inserted in the Republican and Democratic platforms during the presidential conventions of 1920 but only succeeded in securing an expression of sympathy for Irish national aspirations in these declarations.