1871 - 1875 AD
"The Ballot Act - Boycott - Irish Home League - Obstuctionism"
1871 AD
The population of
Ireland
was now at
5,412,377.
Charles Gavan Duffy
the "Young Irelander"
leader who
had previously left Ireland in "disgust" of any real change being implemented by
the British Imperial Government under their
"Immoral Union" in Ireland, had "migrated" to
Australia, where he was to
become the
Premier of
the
State of Victoria and possibly the actual initial
catylist as the Father of
Federation there.
January 5th:
Jeremiah
O Donovan
of Rossa was
released
into "exile" by the
British
Imperial Government after "terrible
documented experiences" in the
prisons in England, which were later "authenticated" by the
Devon Commission, and he also went to
America, were he became a
member of the Clann na Gael
/ The Organization
there and would be involved in the dynamiting,"" which would begin in
England in
1903 AD and continue until
1905 AD, to try and gain increased publicity there
among the general British population for the never - ending ongoing oppression and problems in Ireland.
Thomas Clarke Luby was
also released by the British Imperial Government and he too went into exile.
Windham Thomas Wyndham
- Quin
from Co. Limerick
in the mid - north - west of the Munster Province was
to become the English
fourth Earl of Dunraven..
Under the guidance of
Cardinal
Paul Cullen the number of
Catholic priests in
Ireland had by now increased by
20%, and the nuns
by
50%, and there
was now 1
Catholic
priest to
every
1,560 people
and
1
Catholic Nun to
every 1,100 people, although the
population itself in Ireland was now down to
what it had been.
January 1st: The
Ascendancy's
authoritative position in
Ireland
was now to fall further into
decline,
after the Ascendancy Church of
England / Ireland
was officially
disestablished
by the British
Liberal Government
when the church was separated legally
from the state, although this actually
breached the tenets of the
"Immoral Union,"
and
William Ewart Gladstone the British Liberal Prime Minister came under
personal attacks from within
England and
Ireland by the
Church of England Ascendancy leaders
for his sensible positive actions in this regard.
The properties gained by the previous "confiscation" of the
Irish
Catholic Church Institutions under
Henry
V111, and the
receipt of the "Enforced
Tithes" for
"hundreds of years" from the
majority
of the
population in Ireland who were not in anyway connected to the
Ascendancy Church of England
/ Ireland, was estimated to be still bringing in
600,000
pounds of income
per year
just on all of the extra properties and under the British Act the churches and
churchyards the Ascendancy Church of England still controlled were to be retained by them, while the
excess properties although they were originally confiscated, were
not returned to the Catholic Church, and instead were handed over to
Commissioners. They were to
also provide for the life interests of the
Ascendancy Church of England / Ireland clergy, their
schoolmasters and their officials, plus the payment of the
Regnum Donium to the
Presbyterian ministers. A lump sum
was to be paid to Maynooth College
in lieu of the annual grant
being paid by the British Exchequer,
while the balance of the properties were to be returned to the people of
Ireland who were suffering poverty,
but were not to be used to promote any religious purpose.
The
Life - Annuities
were eventually allowed to be consolidated to form the
Ascendancy Church of England / Ireland body, while the
"Enforced
Tithes" still had to be paid,
but now to the state, not to the Ascendancy Church of England /
Ireland clergy. (Later on legislation was to also allow the redemption of the
annual "Tithe" charges by a capital payment. The total amount of
compensation
amounted to
16,000,000 pounds.
which was over half of the property value, while another
13,000,000 pounds was paid out for
the relief of poverty by encouraging rural pursuits and
fisheries, together with
higher education until 1923 AD.
The tenant farmers who worked the
Ascendancy Church of
England / Ireland Estates in Ireland were given the option of
buying them outright, and were allowed
finance on 3/4
of the value of the property
at 4 %
interest per annum, and
by 1880 AD 6,000 of their tenants
in Ireland had
taken up the option from the overall total of
8,400, which saw the beginning of
real
land
purchase for the
population in Ireland.
March 31st: Arthur Griffith / Art O Griobhta, who was to become the "Father of the Irish Nation," as the co - founder of the Gaelic League and the "political" Sinn Fein Party (We Ourselves - Self Reliance), which was to be the catalyst for bringing about the initial Irish Independence in 26 of the 32 Counties, was born this year and later become a journalist.
John Millington Synge the
Irish
playwright was also born this year.
1872 AD William Gladstone the British Liberal Prime Minister made another "reform" when he brought in the Ballot Act , which had measures in it to protect the independence of the voters in Ireland by taking away the Land Lords' influence over them in Ireland.
Alexander Sullivan, who was a lawyer, this year, became the leader of the "Clann na Gael / The Organization" in America.
The atitude of those Ascendancy Conservatives who were still in authority in the British Imperial Government in England had not changed, as Lord Salisbury typically stated that, "Ireland, must be kept like India, at all hazards, by persuasion if possible, if not, by force."
1873 AD
February:
William Gladstone
the British Liberal
Prime Minister,
who was against any form of state endowments for denominational colleges,
bought in the Higher Education Act,
whereby the Queen's University
was to be replaced by a new larger
University of
Dublin, which was to
include Trinity
College, the
3 Queen's
Universities and the
Catholic University, while Trinity College
was to retain its endowments and the
Queen's Colleges their grants, but
there would be no aid for the
Catholic University, so the
Catholic
Bishops were against it and it was defeated on the second reading by
only
3 votes.
Charles Gavan Duffy, the last of the "Young Irelanders" who had been born in Co. Monaghan in Southern Ulster and left Ireland finally in despair of any independent self - determination in Ireland, and who was now the Premier of Victoria in Australia was "knighted" by the British Liberal Government, although he had previously been tried 5 times for "Treason" in Ireland by the Dublin Castle (The Devill's 1/2 Acre) authorities without success.
Most of the Conservatives in Ireland by now had all abandoned Isaac Butt's "Irish Home Government Association / Irish Home Rule League," as it now also included a call for further "land reform" in Ireland.
William Gladstone the British Liberal Prime Minister now also had the Fawcett Act brought in to ensure "religious" tests on all creeds was abandoned and Irish Catholics were now allowed "legally" into Trinity College in Dublin, with it's full rights and endowments, that had long been formally the Ascendancy bastion only.
Charles Boycott
from Norfolk in
England
became the land agent for
the non - Catholic Land
Lord, Lord
Erne who had his confiscated Estate at
Loughmask House in
Co. Mayo in the mid - west of the
Connacht Province in Ireland where he
was to use very "harsh"
measures
against the "tenant farmers" on
his Estates there and because of this the "tenants" were to rebel against his authority by
ostracising (boycotting)
him, and this type of "tenant" rebellion was to introduce this word and meaning into the
English language forever, after he
was to use "Orangemen" from
Co. Cavan
and
Co. Monaghan
in Southern Ulster on the Estate with major assistance from the
British Imperial Government
to harvest the crops.
Spring:
The
Irish Liberals
now
began to join up with Isaac Butt's
Irish
Home Government Association / Irish Home Rule League brought on by
William Gladstone's
Higher
Education Act,
and
Isaac Butt
was also to be elected the President of the
Irish Home Rule Confederation
also in
Great Britain
and the
November:
A Conference was held at the
Rotunda in Dublin were the
Irish Home
Rule League was set up as the
Inalienable right of the
population
in Ireland to self - government, and it came under the control of those who also
supported the popular cry for denominational education
in Ireland and
the return of
Irish land
to the population
without rent, and they
were to actually place
Irish
Home Rule subordinate to these 2
further reforms, which they considered were
more important personal requirements at this time, as they prepared for the coming
General Election for a position in the British Westminster Parliament in England.
St. Eugene's
Catholic Cathedral,
was erected outside of the walls of
Derry in Co.
Derry in the north - east of the Ulster Province,
so as to also not upset the status quo of the Ascendancy there
and a mile from there
towards Moville is
St. Columba's Stone 6'
square, plus the
Inauguration Stone
site of the Dal Cuinn
"northern"
Ui Niaill
Cenel nEogain
Sept in
Co. Tyrone, and the ruined
Elagh Castle of the
Dal Cuinn "northern"
Ui Niaill
Cenel Conaill O Dohertys.
The German Hanoverian Queen
Victoria's
favourite, the anti - Catholic
Benjamin Disraeli
was now once again to become the
British Conservative Prime Minister
in England until
1880 AD).
1874 AD January: The British Westminster Parliament was "dissolved" indirectly by the Higher Education Act as the Catholic Bishops had now turned to "Irish Home Rule" as the answer to the continuing democratic problems in Ireland, as did the Liberals who now also realised that William Gladstone was in trouble electorally, as they now considered this to be the most popular "cause," and all of a sudden the Irish Home Rule movement was on it's way, but the actual organizational preparations, which were intended to be carried out by the original Irish Home Rule candidates was thrown into disarray. Despite this initial setback, although they expected to win 30 seats they actually won 59 seats, with only 2 of these in the Ulster Province, and even then both of these were in Co. Cavan in Southern Ulster, as the non - Catholic Unionists were against Irish Home Rule, just as they had been against Repeal of the Immoral Union.
John O Connor - Power who was a member of the
I.R.B. and an
"Irish Home Rule"
supporter became the
M.P. for Co. Mayo
in the mid - west of the
Connacht Province and along with the
other
successful candidates they held a meeting in
Dublin
were they set up themselves up as a separate Irish Home Rule -
Irish Parliamentary Party / I.P.P. of their own in the
British Westminster House of Commons and
were to continue as such for another
40
years
throughout their various changes and their goal now was for
limited
autonomy
under a federal system by a British
Act of Parliament, and
Isaac Butt as their
immediate leader
was now to be indifferent in his attitude. His influence was to
"decline" from now on, as
the Conservatives still had an
absolute overall majority in the Westminster
Parliament, but he personally believed that they could still be persuaded by
"sensible" reason and argument.
June 30th:
Isaac Butt, as the
leader of the
Irish Home Rule Party
/
Irish Parliamentary Party,
put forward his proposition for "Irish Home Rule" in the
British
Westminster Parliament, which was by now well and truly under the control of
Benjamin Disraeli the overall leader of the
Conservatives, and
Irish Home Rule was
defeated by
458 votes against to
61 for, and although he continued to bring it forward over the next few years
they
always came up with the same result.
10,000 more "tenant farmers" and their families in Ireland from this year on were to be "evicted" up to 1881 AD.
Joseph Gillis Biggar a non - Catholic merchant from Belfast in Co. Antrim in the north - east of the Ulster Province became the M.P. for Co. Cavan in Southern Ulster until 1890 AD, and he was also to become a member of, and elected to the "Supreme Council" of the I.R.B. / Irish Republican Brotherhood and he was also to be an avid Irish Home Ruler, and was heavily involved in Irish "land rights."
Classiebawn Castle was constructed this year, which later was to come into the hands of the ill - fated Lord Earl Mountbatten.
Oscar Wilde who was now 20 years of age left Dublin to go to England where he was to create great controversy.
A Catholic Cathedral
was also constructed in
Co. Sligo in the north - west of the Connacht
Province
this year.
1875 AD
Joseph Gillis Biggar
the non - Catholic merchant and M.P. for
Co. Cavan
in Southern Ulster started off his
"Obstructionism"
in the British Westminster Parliament
in England in support of
Irish Affairs as attached to
Irish Home Rule, which was
now being
totally ignored by Benjamin Disraeli and the Conservative
British Imperial Government, and he was to be supported by
6 others in his group of
Irish Home Rulers,
including
Charles Stewart - Parnell a young
23 year old
non - Catholic Land Lord who had
5,000 acres at
Avondale in
Co. Wicklow
in the south - east of the Leinster Province.
Charles Stewart Parnell's grandfather had not only opposed Catholic Relief in
1793 AD but also the Immoral Union
in 1800 AD. Charles - Stewart Parnell
had just been elected the M.P.
for Co. Meath
in the south - east of Northern Leinster in a bye -
election as an Irish
Home Ruler
and he was to eventually become the
Irish Parliamentary Party leader
at
29 years of age,
as both his grandfather and great - grandfather had
opposed
the "Immoral Union"
in the first instance when it was previously forced on
Ireland by
the Robert "Orange " Peel's
Conservative Government in England. His mother was
an
American,
and her father had been
Admiral
Stewart who had been in the American
Navy who had fought against the British Conservative Imperial Government
in the war of
1812
AD.
Later on Charles Stewart - Parnell was to also become the leader of the "Irish Land League"
while endeavouring to bring about further land reform for the
tenant farmers in Ireland, although he was a
Land Lord
himself. As the
British Imperial Conservative Government under
Benjamin Disraeli tried to restrain the attempts of the
"Obstructionists" in the Westminster Parliament, it only brought the
Irish Parliamentary Party's message more to the fore in the eyes of the population
in Ireland, and
Charles Stewart - Parnell was to stand out as future leadership material
on account of his aggressive attacks in the Parliament, compared to the gentlemanly approach
of
Isaac Butt, for the causes
of
Ireland.
Although the "Obstructionists" were to actually gain nothing in the
Westminster Parliament their
efforts strengthened the "Irish
Home Rule"
movement in
Ireland and from now on
Charles Stewart - Parnell's
actions in the Westminster Parliament were to be constantly compared to the livid attempts
of
Isaac Butt who tried to be conciliatory towards the
Conservatives hoping somehow that they
would finally listen to his arguments, while
Charles Stewart - Parnell was to continue to make a
nuisance of himself until they would have to finally pay attention to the
Irish Question.
Benjamin Disraeli and the British Imperial Conservative Government in England now "banned" the "Irish Land League."
John Mitchell the Unitarian journalist who had previously been "transported" to Australia and escaped to America over 20 years before was now "elected" as the M.P. for Co. Tipperary in the mid - north - east of the Munster Province and any chance of democracy and conciliation was to be once again abandoned under the British Imperial Conservative Government as the way forward was to be once again replaced by "violence," as the Dublin Castle (The Devill's 1/2 Acre) authorities now issued a new warrant for his "arrest."
Charles Bianconi known as the "King of the Road," died this year, who at this time was living at Longfield House in Co. Tipperary situated on the River Suir north - west of Cashel, and he was to be interred there in the Catholic church at Boherlahan.
Cannon
Sheen who was to become famous as an Irish
novelist was ordained as a
Catholic priest this year.