Chronology of Irish History Page, Part Two

Edited by C. Ward

Chronology of Irish History, PART 2

Irish History, 1800 to 1923

1800
The last session of the Irish Parliament opens. After Castlereagh packs it with pro-Union members, the Act of Union is carried on June 7.

1801
The Union of Great Britain and Ireland, with a single Parliament in London, is now a reality.

1802
Robert Emmet returns from France to plan a new insurrection

1803
Robert Emmet marches towards Dublin Castle with about 100 unruly followers. Emmet is arrested (25 August), tried for treason and executed in Dublin. Michael Dwyer, fighting a guerrilla war in Wicklow Mountains since the 1798 Rising, surrenders and is transported to Australia.

1808
Edmund Ignatius Rice founds the Irish Christian Brothers

1812
Martello towers are erected to guard harbours and strategic coastlines against the French.

1813
The first Twelfth of July sectarian riots take place in Belfast.

1814
Chief Secretary Robert Peel establishes an Irish police force.

1820
Henry Grattan (born 1756) dies in London.
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1822
Arthur Guinness II begins to brew Extra Strength Porter – the precursor of modern Guinness

1823
Daniel O’Connell forms the Catholic Association to agitate for emancipation

1824
The Catholic Association introduces a subscription of one penny a month (the ‘Catholic Rent’)

1825
The UK House of Lords rejects a Bill granting Catholic emancipation.

1828
Daniel O’Connell wins the Clare by-election but cannot enter Parliament because of the ‘Oath of Supremacy’.

1829
Catholic emancipation is granted by a Relief Act which allows Catholics to enter Parliament, and to hold civil and military offices.
The property qualification is raised from two pounds to ten pounds in an attempt to exclude Catholic voters.
O’Connell is informed his election is invalid because the Act is not retrospective – he is re-elected unopposed in Clare.

1830
Daniel O’Connell takes his seat in the House of Commons.

1831
The so-called ‘tithe war’ begins in Co. Kilkenny and spreads throughout Leinster.

1832
The Government suspends tithes in the face of rural agitation.

1834
Daniel O’Connell’s motion on the Repeal of the Union is debated in the UK House of Commons.

1836
The Orange Order dissolves itself.

1837
Queen Victoria ascends to the throne

1838
The English Poor Law is extended to Ireland. It establishes the notorious workhouse system.
Tithes are abolished and replaced by a less onerous fixed rent.
Father Theobald Matthew begins his temperance crusade in Cork.

1839
The ‘Big Wind’ causes destruction all over Ireland (6/7 January).

1840
Daniel O’Connell forms the Repeal Association. The first Repeal Association mass rally is held in Castlebar.
Father Theobald Matthew preaches in Dublin. By the end of the year, over 100,000 Dubliners have taken the Temperance Pledge.

1841
The first accurate census of Ireland records a population of 8,175,124

1842
Potato blight destroys the crop in the eastern United States

1843
A series of ‘monster meetings’ is held to press for the repeal of the Union, culminating in the rally at Tara attended by three quarters of a million people (15 August). The meeting planned for Clontarf on 8 October is banned by the authorities. Daniel O’Connell cancels it and is arrested a week later on charges of conspiracy.

1844
Daniel O’Connell is convicted and spends three and a half months in prison before he is freed by the UK House of Lords.

1845
Potato blight crosses the Atlantic and appears in England. It crosses to Wexford and Waterford (first newspaper report, 9 September). Half of the annual potato harvest is ruined (November). The Great Famine begins. Prime Minister Robert Peel orders corn and meal to be sent from the United States. A Relief Commission is set up under Edward Lucas.

1846
Potato blight almost totally destroys the year’s crop. The famine worsens.
Despite the famine, large quantities of grain are exported to pay the rents of absentee landlords. Almost a third of a million destitute people are employed in public works (December).

1847
The famine worsens after an exceptionally bad winter. Typhus epidemic kills tens of thousands.
Daniel O’Connell (born 1775), the ‘Liberator’, dies in Genoa.

1848
The Famine continues. There are outbreaks of cholera and the potato harvest fails. The number of evictions rises. Famine victims on outdoor relief peak at almost 840,000 people (July).
Events in Europe (the ‘Year of Liberty’) encourage an attempted rebellion by the Young Ireland Movement. John Mitchel is arrested and sentenced to 14 years’ transportation to Australia.

1849
The potato crops fails again. The Irish countryside remains devastated by famine and there are further outbreaks of cholera.

1850
The Great Famine ends. Its aftermath of emigration and rural deprivation lasts for over a century.

1851
Census figures show that the population is now 6,575,000 – a drop of 1,600,000 in ten years.

1853
Income Tax is introduced for the first time

1857
Rioting in Belfast follows the Twelfth of July celebrations – Loyalist marchers are blamed for provoking the violence.

1859
The Fenians, the Irish American equivalent of the IRB, are founded in New York (their name becomes the popular descriptions for Irish revolutionaries up to about 1900).
The Belleek Pottery opens a new factory building.
The Irish Times is founded by Major Laurence Knox.

1860
Deasy’s Land Act increases the vulnerability of tenants.

1861
The census gives a population figure of 5,800,000, a decrease of over 2,375,000 since 1841
The American Civil War starts. Thomas Francis Meagher forms the Irish Brigade from Irish immigrants in New York.

1865
Fenian leaders, including O’Donovan Rossa and Thomas Clarke Luby are imprisoned. James Stephens escapes.

1866
Some 800 Fenians invade Canada from the United States – they occupy Fort Erie and fight a skirmish at Lime Ridgeway before withdrawing over the border.

1867
The Fenian rising in Ireland planned for March is betrayed and fails miserably.

1868
The Fenian bomber, Michael Barrett, is hanged in the last public execution in the British Isles.

1869
The Irish Church Act dis-establishes the Church of Ireland.

1870
Isaac Butt founds the Home Rule Association to campaign for a subordinate Irish Parliament.
Michael Davitt, leader of the IRB in England, is imprisoned.
Gladstone’s first Land Act fails to improve the position of tenants.
The Belfast Telegraph is published for the first time.

1871
The census reveals that Ireland now has a population of 5,400,000.

1872
Legislation provides for the secret ballot in Parliamentary elections.

1874
Fifty-five supporters of Home Rule win UK Parliamentary seats in the General Election. Isaac Butt’s motion proposing Home Rule for Ireland is defeated in the House of Commons.

1875
Charles Stewart Parnell is elected to Parliament in the Meath by-election.

1876
The IRB splits with the Home Rule Party and demands that Fenian Members of Parliament withdraw from the House of Commons.

1877
A small group of Home Rule MPs led by Parnell obstruct the proceedings of the House of Commons.
Micheal Davitt, a leading Fenian, is released from prison.

1879
Michael Davitt founds the Mayo Land League. At a meeting in Irishtown, the House of Commons.
Micheal Davitt, a leading Fenian, is released from prison.

1879
Michael Davitt founds the Mayo Land League. At a meeting in Irishtown, the League initiates the ‘Land War’ to secure the ‘Three Fs’ (fair rent, fixity of tenure, fair sale). Davitt forms the Irish National Land League with the support of C.S. Parnell.
An apparition of the Virgin appears at Knock, Co. Mayo.

1880
Parnell tours America and addresses the US House of Representatives. Parnell is elected head of the Irish Parliamentary Party.
The Land League begins ‘boycotting’ its opponents (a practice named after Charles Boycott, Lord Erne’s agent in Mayo)

1881
The census shows a population of under 5,200,000 – a decline of 3,000,000 since 1841.
Parnell is acquitted of criminal conspiracy charges.
Gladstone’s Second Land Act grants the Three Fs. Parnell rejects the Land Act over arrears issue and is imprisoned in Kilmainham Gaol. The Land League is suppressed after issuing the ‘No Rent Manifesto’.

1882
The Irish National League is established to replace the suppressed Land League.

1883
The Irish National League of America is founded.

1884
The Irish electorate increases by 350% when Gladstone extends the vote to all householders.
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is founded in Thurles, Tipperary. Archbishop Croke of Cashel becomes its patron.

1885
Parnell makes his ‘No man has the right to fix boundaries to the march of a Nation’ speech in Cork.
Gladstone publicly gives his support to Home Rule.
The ‘Ashbourne’ Act makes funds available to grant full loans for tenants wishing to buy their land.

1886
Gladstone introduces the First Home Rule Bill in the House of Commons – it is defeated by 30 votes on its second reading and Parliament dissolves.
Lord Randolph Churchill makes the ‘Ulster will fight; Ulster will be right’ speech at the Ulster Hall, Belfast.

1887
The first All Ireland finals are staged by the GAA

1888
A Special Commission begins to investigate accusations made by The London Times against Parnell.

1889
Parnell is vindicated and receives a standing ovation in the House of Commons. Captain W.H.O’Shea cites Parnell as co-respondent when he files for divorce from Kitty O’Shea.

1890
Parnell is re-elected as leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party (25 November). Gladstone states that Home Rule is impossible if Parnell remains as leader of the Irish Party.
Five leading Irish Members of Parliament oppose Parnell. The Irish Party meets in Committee Room 15 to debate his leadership. Some 44 members of Parliament walk out of the meeting and withdraw from the party, leaving Parnell with only 28 followers (6 December).

1891
The census shows a population of 4,705,000
The death of Charles Steward Parnell (born 1846) in Brighton (6 October) – 200,000 people attend his funeral in Dublin.
James Stephens, founder of the IRB, returns home after 25 years in exile.

1892
Free primary schooling and compulsory education up to the age of 14 is introduced through the Irish Education Act.

1893
Gladstone’s Second Home Rule Bill is defeated in the House of Lords.
Opposition to Home Rule by Northern Protestants manifests in mass demonstrations in Belfast (4 April).
Douglas Hyde and Eoin Mac Neill found the Gaelic League.

1894
Gladstone retires from politics.

1895
Michael Davitt enters the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for South Mayo. He was refused entry on two previous occasions because of the felony rule.

1896
James Connolly founds the Irish Republican Socialist Party.

1898
The Local Government (Ireland) Act establishes popularly elected local authorities and gives qualified women a vote for the first time.

1899
The Boer War in South Africa. Major John McBride forms an Irish Brigade to aid the Boers. Michael Davitt withdraws from the House of Commons in protest at the Boer War.

1900
The Parnellite and anti-Parnellite factions of the Home Rule Party reunite under the leadership of John Redmond.

1901
The census shows the population is 4,459,000.

1903
Wyndham’s Land Act helps tenants to buy out leases.
St. Patrick’s Day is made an official holiday.

1904
The Abbey Theatre opens in Dublin with plays by W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory.
Bloomsday (June 10) – James Joyce meets Nora Barnacle in Dublin and later sets his novel Ulysses on this day.

1905
Arthur Griffith opposes the Sinn Fein (We Ourselves) policy.

1906
The first issue of Sinn Fein.
The death of Michael Davitt (born 1846).

1907
The Evicted Tenants Act reinstates tenants and gives statutory purchase rights to the Land Commission on their behalf.
Pope Pius X issues the Ne Temere Decree. It states that mixed marriages are only valid if the wedding service is held in Catholic churches and children from the union must be raised in the Catholic church.

1908
Patrick Pearse opens St Enda’s School for Boys, Rathmines.
1909
Fianna Eireann is formed under the leadership of Countess Markievicz.
James Larkin forms the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU).

1910
Sir Edward Carson is elected leader of the Unionist Party.
First issue of Irish Freedom, IRB monthly newspaper.
Irish is made compulsory for entry to the National University of Ireland.

1911
The census of Ireland shows the population as 4,400,000 – almost halved since 1841.
The Titanic, sister ship of the Olympic, is launched at Harland and Wolff.

1912
Asquith introduces the Third Home Rule Bill. A Unionist amendment tries to keep Ulster in the United Kingdom but it is defeated. On ‘Ulster Day’, almost 500,000 Ulster men and women sign the Solemn League and Covenant in protest against Home Rule.
Father Browne, an Irish priest, takes photographs aboard the Titanic at sea. The Titanic hits an iceberg and sinks on her maiden voyage – some 1,490 people are drowned and 711 saved (14 and 15 April).

1913
The Third Home Rule Bill is carried in the House of Commons but defeated in the House of Lords twice (January and July).
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is formed in Belfast.
The Unionist Council sets up a ‘Provisional Government’ under the leadership of Edward Carson.

1914
The Curragh Mutiny – 57 officers of the British Army declare they will refuse to implement Home Rule. The authorities take no disciplinary action.
The UVF land a large shipment of arms from the vessel Clydevalley at Larne and Bangor.
The Provisional Government of Ulster meets for the first time.
The Home Rule Bill passes the House of Commons for the third time but is stalled in the House of Lords over the Ulster question (8 July).
Erskine Childers brings arms into Howth on the Asgard. British troops kill 4 and wound 27 on Bachelor’s Walk.
Britain declares war on Germany (4 August). The Home Rule Bill is suspended until hostilities cease.

1915
The Military Council of the IRB is set up. Its leaders include Patrick Pearse, Eamonn Ceannt and Joseph Plunkett, later joined by Thomas J. Clarke and Sean MacDiarmada.

1916
James Connolly joins the Military Council of the IRB – a rising is planned for 23 April, Easter Sunday.
The Easter Rising begins; the GPO is occupied by Volunteers and Patrick Pearse reads the Proclamation of the Irish Republic from its steps. Boland’s Mills, the College of Surgeons and other Dublin buildings are seized by the rebels (24 April). General Lowe declares Martial Law and moves British reinforcements into the centre of Dublin. The Citizen army garrison in the College of Surgeons is overwhelmed (26 April). British troops secure the Liffey quays and isolate the GPO. A navy gunboat bombards the city centre. The Sherwood Foresters are ambushed at the Mount Street Bridge by Volunteers – they suffer over 230 casualties (26 April). Francis Sheehy-Skeffington (born 1878) and two others are murdered by Captain J.C. Bowen-Colthurst. An IRB force under Thomas Ashe attacks the RIC at Ashbourne Meath (27 April). Patrick Pearse surrenders to General Lowe at the GPO (29 April). The Easter Rising casualties (dead and wounded) include 184 insurgents, 530 British Forces and 2,300 civilians. Captured insurgents, including Eamon de Valera, Michael Collins and Countess Marcievicz, are sent to be interned in England.
The following insurgent leaders are executed at Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin: on 3 May, Patrick Pearse (born 1879), Thomas Clarke (born 1857), Thomas Hanrahan (born 1878): on 4 May, Edward Daly, Michael O’Hanrahan, William Pearse, Thomas Plunkett (born 1887, he marries Frances Clifford a few hours before his execution); on 5 May, John MacBride (born 1865); on 8 May, Eamon Ceannt (born 1881), Con Colbert, Sean Heuston and Michael Mallin; on 12 May, James Connolly (born 1868) and Sean MacDiarmada (born 1884).
Thomas Kent is executed in Cork on 9 May.
Roger Casement is tried in England and sentenced to death (29 June). The ‘Black Journal’ (possibly forged by British intelligence) is circulated to discourage a reprieve. Casement (born 1864) is hanged at Pentonville Prison on 3 August.

1917
The remaining Easter Rising internees are released from prison (June).
Eamon de Valera wins the Clare East by-election (July 10). Other Sinn Fein candidates win by-elections in Roscommon North (February), Longford South (May) and Kilkenny City (August)

1918
Voting rights are extended to all men over 21 and qualified women over 30.
There is a General Election in the UK. The Home Rule Party wins only 6 seats. Sinn Fein candidates, who state they will boycott Parliament, win 73 seats. Unionist candidates win 26 seats. Countess Marcievicz, of Sinn Fein, is the first woman to win a seat in the House of Commons (December).

1919
Sinn Fein convenes the first Dail Eireann (Irish Parliament), which issues a Declaration of Independence and elects Cathal Brugha as Acting President (21/22 January).
The War of Independence begins at Soloheadbeag, Co. Tipperary, when two RIC men are killed by Volunteers (21 January). Eamon de Valera escapes from Lincoln Jail (February). The Dail Eireann elects Eamon de Valera as President (1 April).

1920
‘ Black and Tan’ police units (composed of former British army soldiers recruited in England) arrive in Ireland to reinforce the RIC.
Tomas MacCurtain, Mayor of Cork, is assassinated in his home by the RIC.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is established and attacks police barracks throughout Ireland. Crown forces attack civilian property in Limerick, Mallow, Trim, Cork and other centres.
The Black and Tans sack the small town of Balbriggan, near Dublin (20 September).
Terence MacSwiney, Mayor of Cork, dies while on hunger strike in Brixton Prison (25 October).
Kevin Barry, at 18, becomes the youngest IRA man executed in the War (1 November).
The Micheal Collins’ ‘Squad’ kill 14 British intelligence officers at locations throughout Dublin (night of 20 November). The Black and Tans open fire at Croke Park on the following day, killing 14 spectators and a player (‘Bloody Sunday’). The UK Parliament passes the so-called ‘partition act’ (the Act for the Better Government of Ireland).

1921
Sir James Craig replaces Edward Carson as leader of the Unionist Party.
The first elections are held for the new Northern Ireland Parliament.
The Northern Ireland Parliament is formally opened by George V (22 June). The Southern Parliament is boycotted by Sinn Fein and adjourns (28 June).
Custom House, Dublin, is burnt down by the IRA. A truce between Sinn Fein and the British Government comes into operation (11 July). Anti-Catholic riots in Belfast in response to the truce claim 16 lives (July). Sinn Fein convenes the Second Dail Eireann (16 August) and sends a delegation lead by Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith to London (9 October).
At the Anglo-Irish Conference, Lloyd George insists that the six Ulster counties remain outside of an independent Ireland. He threatens to resume hostilities within three days (11 October – 6 December.). The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed by the Irish delegation, excluding the six Ulster counties (6 December). De Valera rejects the Treaty (8 December).

1922
The Dail Eireann ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64-57 votes.
The Irish Civil War begins.
Michael Collins (born 1890) is killed in an ambush at Beal na mBlath, Co. Cork (22 August).
Arthur Griffith (born 1871) and Erskine Childers (born 1870) are executed by the Free State.

1923
De Valera orders anti-Treaty forces to cease fighting (27 April). The Civil War ends (24 May).

Chronology of Irish History : Epilogue

Despite a residue of bitterness from the Civil War lasting right up to the 1950’s the 26 County Free State enjoyed political stability and a degree of relative prosperity. In 1949 it ceded from the British Commonwealth and became the Republic of Ireland. However it was not until it opened up to free trade with Britain and later on with its European neighbours that the present day vibrant and self-confident nation finally emerged.

Chronology of Irish History, Part 1

Edited by C. Ward

Further Study of Irish History

For those who wish to pursue a more detailed study of the “Chronology of Irish History” from earliest times right up to the present day we recommend the book of that name, compiled by David Pritchard and published by Geddes & Crosset for Lagan Books.