The Pudsey Civic Society Irish Home Rule Archive

A collection of pamphlets and press-cuttings on Irish Home Rule, 1884 to 1893 and undated.

In the late nineteenth century the subject of home rule for Ireland was a controversial key issue in British politics, provoking much comment in the press. Founded in 1870, the Home Rule League campaigned for a devolved Irish parliament. The Home Rule party won 61 seats in the 1874 general election, but found itself isolated in the Westminster Parliament. In the 1885 election the Irish Party won 86 seats, giving them the balance of power between Liberals and Conservatives. In 1886 the Liberal Prime Minister, Gladstone, introduced a Home Rule Bill, but it was defeated by the Conservatives and a defecting group of Liberal Unionists. At the subsequent election the Conservatives and Liberal Unionists won a comfortable majority. Gladstone returned to power in 1892 and passed the second Home Rule Bill through the House of Commons, but it was thrown out by the House of Lords. The Unionists returned to power in 1895. The Irish Party reunited under John Redmond in 1900, but was still weakened by personal rivalries. In 1906 the Liberals returned to power, but made only limited concessions to Nationalists.

Available to researchers, by appointment.

Presented to the library by Pudsey Civic Society in 1984

In English

Unpublished handlist.

Copies may be supplied or produced at the discretion of Special Collections staff, subject to copyright law and the condition of the originals. Applications for permission to make published use of any material should be directed to the Special Collections Librarian in the first instance. The Library will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.