1879 AD

                                                                                                                                        "Mass Evictions - Tenant Rights - Irish National Land League"

1879 AD There was to be a terrible "economic crisis" throughout the Winter in Ireland, leading into and throughout 1880 AD, where there were to be further "mass evictions" of the "tenants" and their families off of the land in Ireland by the Land Lords' confiscated Estates, and the energies of the "Irish Land League" now had to be directed toward the "relief" of the ongoing "rural distress," with Connacht Province and Co. Donegal in the west of the Ulster Province faring the "worst," and further "evictions" of the "tenants" and their families were to be still carried out in Ireland over the next 3 years also by the Land Lords, and these "cruel "actions were to be also coupled with near Famine, and this period in Ireland was to become known as the "Land Wars." These would last until 1882, as it was also be another grave crisis year for the rural "tenants" in Ireland and as the bad season continued on 14,600 more "tenant farmers" and their families were now to be "evicted" in Ireland by the Land Lords for the "non - payment of rent," which under the British Imperial Conservative Government legislation had taken away "any protection" they might have gained previously, To be "evicted" meant the loss of any "compensation" money also for "Disturbance," which meant their "creditors" now also had no means of recovering any monies they had "lent" them on this previous "surety." Together with another threat of ongoing further Famine, all of these factors, coupled together with "no sign" of any British Imperial Government "relief" under their "Immoral Union" and as Benjamin Disraeli, the present British Conservative Prime Minister had no interest at all in Irish Affairs, this was to bring on and continue the "Land Wars" in Ireland.

February: Another Conference was held in Dublin by the members of the "Irish Home Rule Party," which was still under the control of the dower "Conservative" Isaac Butt, but the young Land Lord activist Charles Stewart - Parnell was becoming more "popular" all the time, especially so with the Clann na Gael / The Organization in America who at this time was "raising funds" to purchase further "arms" for use in Ireland, if they were needed to bring pressure on the British Imperial Conservative Government and their Dublin Castle (The Devill's 1/2 Acre) authorities in Ireland to bring about further "reform." John Devoy, the leader of the Clann na Gael / The Organization, was in the meantime also considering the "New Departure Strategy"still proposing to the I.R.B. / Irish Republican Brotherhood, who were the "revolutionary" wing in Ireland, to give their support to the Constitutional movement for Irish Home Rule, if it was to come under the control of the young activist, Charles Stewart - Parnell who was to use "Obstructionism" in the British Westminster Parliament,to bring about a result by the use of "democracy," not "violence." The possibility of an "Irish National Movement" under his leadership was now possible, as the whole Country was truly in a "desperate situation," and all of the population in Ireland were now linked by a "common cause" that was the continuing "low economic" situation, which was allowed to continue on without anything being done in Irish Affairs to correct it by Benjamin Disraeli and the British Imperial Conservative Government who were still operating under the "Immoral Union," to alleviate the terrible shared distress that was now occurring once again in Ireland. The I.R.B./ Irish Republican Brotherhood  "Supreme Council" in Ireland having previously laid off doing anything that would upset the British Conservatives after suffering so many previous attempts at obtaining "democratic reform" with only "negative" results were to "reject" this "New Departure Strategy" proposal by John Devoy and the followers of Charles Parnell in the Irish Parliamentary Party.  

      Benjamin Disraeli, the British Conservative Prime Minister in England, continued  to virtually show "no interest" at all in Irish Affairs, which were now in a state of "total collapse," as he was preoccupied with British Imperial Foreign Affairs, but despite this he did do one "positive act" by appointing a Committee of Inquiry to look into the situation, and the result was that he was to bring in the University Act, where he dissolved the Queen's University and replaced it with the Royal University of Ireland, which was to be established, granting "degrees" to those who were capable of passing the required examinations regardless of attending colleges or other institutions, except for "medicine." This new arrangement then suited the students from the Catholic University who could now "officially graduate" and get a "degree," and they also received 15 Fellowships from the 29 granted all up, which was worth 400 pounds each per annum.  

April 20th: The Irishtown meeting was launched for "land agitation, and Michael Davitt had also returned from America, were he had personally studied the land schemes of Henry George there, and he began his campaign for "land rights," for the population in Ireland forming the first "Irish Land League" in Co. Mayo in the mid - west of the Connacht Province from were his family had been previously evicted when he was a 4 year old child, and James Daly, who was also from Co. Mayo, was installed as the "Secretary" of the Mayo Tenants Defence Association. To achieve his goals of "tenant" ownership of their own land in Ireland he wanted them firstly "not to pay" any "unjust" rent, and also any reduction in their rents that were still too "high" to be eventually economically able to "buy back" their own land in Ireland, and he also wanted them to set up their own "organization" against any further "evictions" that were to be carried out by the Land Lords and he also began what became generally known as the "Boycotts" against the hard - line Land Lords, and also while taking this action he was out to convince Charles Stewart - Parnell the Anglo - Irish Land Lord and Irish Home Ruler, to not only back him, but to even become the "Presiden" of the Irish Land League who were to set up their "own courts" of law to ensure that "real justice" was to be finally carried ou in Ireland.    

      O Gorman - Mahon was still representing the people of Ennis in Co. Clare in the north - west of the Munster Province, as their M.P. in the Westminster Parliament in England.

    Another positive occurred when Dr. Henry Neville took over as head of the Catholic University at Maynooth in Co. Kildare in Central Southern Leinster, which also brought about a change of attitudes there by the "younger" priests who were students there now, who had previously been "educated" by mentors who had been anti - Republicans previously brought about by the treatment of the clergy in France during the "French Revolution."

May: Isaac Butt who had been the first leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and who had also founded the Irish Home Rule League, died, suddenly, and the Irish Parliamentary Party members chose William Shaw another non - Catholic bank manager from Co. Cork in Southern Munster to replace him as a Conservative, because they were wary of the young Charles Stewart - Parnell and his small, but aggressive group of Irish MPs in the Westminster Parliament and especially of his fast growing "popularity" throughout Ireland.   

June: Charles Stewart - Parnell, although a Land Lord himself began, for the first time, a campaign to call for "rural" agitation for "tenant rights" in Ireland at Westport / Cathair na Mart (The Stone Fort of the Oxen) on the Carrowbeg River in Co. Mayo in the mid - west of the Connacht Province the territory of Michael Davitt.  

August 27th: A vision occurred on this day at Knock in Co. Mayo in the mid - west of the Connacht Province were the images of the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and St. John were seen accompanied by a Lamb with a cross, that was sighted initially by two women who thought they were all "statues" until they "moved," and they called on the parish priest there to come out and have a look, but he said he was "too busy," and this vision then continued to occur for 3 1/2 hours in the pouring rain, behind the "old" Church there in the presence of the 35 people who were attending the Mass there on that day, and who were to continue to "confirm" their sighting until the day they died. (Knock is a very World wide popular place of Holy Pilgrimage in Ireland today). 

October 5^th: Charles Stewart - Parnell held a rally in Cork City in Co. Cork in Southern Munster, where a crowd of 25,000 - 30,000 people came to hear him call for the Land Lords to share the "losses" that were being incurred by the "tenants" on their confiscated Estates in Ireland.

October 21^st: Michael Davitt now formed the "Irish National Land League" in Dublin, which later was carried out under the generic term of "Captain Moonlight," which took in his already existing Mayo Tenants League and the Irish Tenant’s Defence Associations, who were now calling for a "reduction" in the "rack" rents, the defence of those "tenants" and their families who were threatened with "eviction," and the personal "ownership" of their own land in Ireland. It was also intended that the "tenants" would be able to pay for their holdings as a "fair rent" over a certain number of "years" and he was supported by Charles Stewart - Parnell the MP for Meath who had become its "first" President, and who would combine the Irish Land Movement, and the Irish Parliamentary Party when he was to eventually become it's "leader" also.

      Joseph Gillis Biggar, who was now well known for his "Obstructionism" in the British Westminster Parliament in England, to bring attention to the matter of Irish Home Rule, became the Treasurer of the Irish Land League, and he made the following amusing comment that, "It was wrong to "shoot" at the Land Lords, as they often missed and hit someone else."  John O Connor - Power was the "first" of the non - Catholic M.Ps. to join the Irish Land League. Anna Parnell, who was a sister to Charles Stewart - Parnell, at this time also organised a Famine Relief Fund for what was by now once again the "starving" population in Ireland.  

     John Devoy, the leader of the Clann na Gael / The Organization in America, made a visit to France and Ireland were he met up with Michael Davitt and Charles Stewart - Parnell and gave them the "moral and financial support" they needed from the Clann na Gael / The Organization in America, and this created an "informal alliance," which then became commonly known as the "New Departure Strategy" of trying to use "constitutional" means instead of "violence" to achieve "reform" in Ireland from the British Imperial Conservative Governmen and their "Immoral Union."  

     The British Imperial Governments in England had always previously given themselves "extraordinary powers" to be used against the population in Ireland in 3 out of every 4 years for the last 35 years, and from 1835 AD until 1885 AD only 3 years were to pass without any further Irish Coercion Acts or Irish Crime Acts being introduced in Ireland with the Ascendancy anti - Irish newspaper, "The English Times" in England so exuberant about this that they published the fact that, "Now for the first time in 600 years England has Eire - Ireland at her mercy, and can deal with her as she pleases." 

      Edward Saunderson, the previous Ulster "Whig" and hard - line anti - Catholic, who had "resigned" from the Liberal Party under the Statesman William Ewart Gladstone, over the disestablishment of the Ascendancy Church of England / Ireland and had joined up with the Conservatives, paid homage to the "siege mentality" that still existed in the Ascendancy and was convinced that the non - Catholics must "organize" themselves in the interests of their "self defence," as the momentum to gain Irish Home Rule grew stronger for the population in Ireland.

     It was in this year that John Henry Newman the former Ascendancy Church of England prelate from Oxford University became a Catholic Cardinal.

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