1889 - 1890 AD
1889
AD
In a further attempt to try and discredit
Charles Stewart - Parnell the leader of the Irish
Parliamentary Party, a
British Conservative Government Commission was set up to inquire
into the allegation that he
had condoned the killing of
Lord
Frederick Cavendish
and
T.H. Burke
in Phoenix Park by the
Invincibles, that was based on the
fraudulent letters of Richard
Piggot the
journalist for the anti - Irish newspaper, "The
Times" in England, who had forged
them himself to suite his employers.
Joseph
Gillis Biggar, who had originally begun
"Obstructionism" in the Westminster Parliament to try and make them pay attention
to Irish Affairs, also appeared before this
Commission to give evidence and the result of all of this
skulduggery was that
Charles Stewart - Parnell
was to be exonerated later on in the spring of 1890 AD by the
British Commission of Enquiry of any
implication into the Phoenix Park
killings, and
Richard Piggot
"The Times" journalist was exposed as the forger of the letters.
The upside of this was that Charles Stewart - Parnell's
popularity increased even more, and at the next session of the
British Westminster Parliament the entire
Opposition, which included the front bench gave him a standing ovation. William O Brien,
the Labour M.P.
from Co. Cork,
who was ever diligent for the good of the
Irish people now won
Charles Stewart - Parnell's support for the
"Irish Tenants Defence
Association" and
Arthur. J.
"Bloody"
Balfour
the British
Conservative Chief Secretary
in
Ireland was
now well aware that the land system
operated in Ireland by the
Land Lords was the main bone of
contention, that ensured a constant push for
Irish Home Rule
and to counteract this it was his intention to make
land purchase
"compulsory," but the
Conservative Government in Britain
instead brought in a voluntary selling scheme
that actually suited the Land Lords
better and they put up
33,000,000 pounds
in advance to carry it out, but the
Liberals and the
Irish Home Rule members who were
in the Opposition were to
delay the Bill's operation
until
1891 AD.
Horace Plunkett a Unionist Land Lord returned to Ireland from America and introduced Co - operatives into Ireland, as he believed the problems in Ireland were only social and economic, not political, as he was convinced only by helping themselves (Sinn Fein) would they ever fix all the problems, and he came under attack from the Irish Nationalists who now feared for any chance of Irish Home Rule occurring, but despite this his ideas were to be quite successful and there were many Co - ops to be set up.
Captain
William O Shea,
the previous husband of
Kitty O Shea, from whom
he had long been separated, and who was in a long time liaison with
Charles Stewart - Parnell
was biding his time, as Kitty O Shea's aunt was a very wealthy woman, and
Kitty was
her beneficiary and it was now in his" economic interests" to wait for the aunt to pass on and
leave
Kitty her
money, to which, as her husband, he would be entitled to a share, and when he
was ready to make his move it was
to bring about terrible disaster and further uneccessar conflicts in Ireland.
William Allingham the poet
who had previously expressed the opinion that the Irish
Penal Laws were the deliberate destruction of any industry in
Ireland, had been born at
Ballyshannon / The Falls of Assaroe, died
this year and his ashes were brought from England to be interred at Mullinashee
/ Mulagh Na Sidh / The Hill of the Fairies situated behind the house
where he was born, which was where Aed Ruadh / The Fire God was drowned
while admiring himself, and was interred on the mound there.
1890 AD
The "Moonlighters" / Captain
Moonlight the Irish Land League were still
continuing to be active against the
oppressive
Land Lords and their
agents in Ireland.
November 17th / Autumn: Captain
William O Shea,
the husband of
Kitty
O Shea
/ O Shee, was now ready to
make his move, as her rich aunt had
died and she would now receive her
inheritance to which he would be legally entitled to a share, and he brought forward
divorce proceedings against her, naming
Charles Stewart - Parnell
as the other party, and
in such a strong religious Country as
Ireland
his
enemies were now able to use the resultant
publicity given to the case to their advantage while the non - Conformists in the
Liberal Party seeking their
advantage wanted their leader,
William Gladstone,
to have nothing further to do with the
Irish Parliamentary
Party while Charles Stewart - Parnell remained their leader, but despite this a public
meeting was held in
Dublin where all present
re - affirmed their
confidence in his leadership.
November 25th:
The
Irish Parliamentary
Party held a meeting in London,
and
Charles Stewart - Parnell
was once again re - elected their chairman, so that there was
no moral stand taken against him up until this time.
November
29th: Charles Stewart -
Parnell
published his
"Manifesto to the Irish
People" in which he denounced
William Gladstone's
Irish Home
Rule proposals as inadequate and
repudiated any alliance with any of the
British
Parties, but at the by -
election for the seat of
Northern Kilkenny he was
pelted with mud, but still continued on with his campaign,
although health wise he was deteriorating
and his Manifesto seemed
to fortify the previous outlook of any one who was
suspicious of any chance of obtaining any constitutional
method that would now not to be able to really gain any future real reform in
Ireland.
December 1st: The Irish Parliamentary Party met in London over the next few days again, under the chairmanship of Charles Stewart - Parnell, to discuss his position and theirs in relation to the Liberal Party's opposition to him, and also to him continuing on as their leader and he was to stall any decisions they tried to reach about the matter.
December 6th: Justin Mac Carthy, the M.P. for Co. Longford in the north - west of Northern Leinster, who was the vice - chairman of the Irish Parliamentary Party called on all the members who agreed with him that Charles Stewart - Parnell should stand down as their leader to follow him instead and leave the meeting with him and a majority of 45 / 43 walked out of the meeting while 29 / 27 remained, and William O Brien the old Labour social stalwart from Co. Cork once again made a Statesman like appearance in Irish history trying to negotiate an amicable agreement with those who had left. Arthur Griffiths who was to become the future founder of the Sinn Fein Party (We Ourselves) and become the "Father of Irish Independence" in 1922 AD, was another strong supporter of Charles Stewart - Parnell during his troubles, but the Irish Parliamentary Party were now certainly split, and there previous influence in the Westminster Parliament was going to suffer because of this, giving the Conservatives once again the upper hand. The anti - Parnellites breakaways who left the scene, eventually elected Justin Mac Carthy to be their new chairman, but he was not a strong leader and lacked authority because of it, but he had a committee of 8 to back him up and among his breakaway committee were John Dillon, and Timothy M. Healy the barrister, who had previously acted as a secretary to Charles Stewart - Parnell. Timothy Healy had also figured prominently in Charles Stewart - Parnell's overthrow, but although he certainly had the capacity to personally lead, he also suffered from bad character defects, and besides this John Dillon and Timothy Healy were to become very bitter rivals also, which was now to cause great damage to the Irish Home Rule movement. Charles Stewart - Parnell began a personal campaign, which he was to run for nearly a year, to try and win back his lost support and regain his overall leadership, but he was also now up against the Catholic Irish clergy, who attacked him on "moral grounds" over his liaison with Kitty O Shea.
Arthur.J.
"Bloody Balfour," the British
Conservative Chief Secretary in Ireland, who
was to gain his epithet in
Ireland due to the atrocities he carried out there, now also suppressed the
"Irish
National League" and their
Plan of Campaign.
John Dillon the
Irish Parliamentary Party M.P.
for
Co. Wexford
in Southern Leinster,
along with the old Labour stalwart
William O Brien
the Irish Parliamentary Party M.P.
for Co. Cork, and another
3
Irish Parliamentary Party
M.P's,
together with 7
other Irish men,
were also arrested in Co. Tipperary
in the north - east of the Munster Province
for inducing the tenant farmers on the Estate of
Smith - Barry to stand
up for themselves and not pay their rent.
Meanwhile the
British Conservative Government in
England was losing one by - election after another, and were down from
188 seats,
which included the
Liberal
Unionists who were under the leadership of
Joseph Chamberlain to
77, while the
Liberals were slowly regaining their lost
ground, and still at this time it was possible that a Liberal Party
win could see the re - introduction of
Irish Home Rule with the
additional votes of the
Irish Parliamentary
Party M.P.s.
The
Gaelic Athletic
Association,
previously introduced and run by
Michael Cusack in
Ireland, was to have a great influence in Ireland
although it had been set up
to promote Irish Sports and
T.D. Sullivan
wrote the
Fenian Anthem, "God Save
Ireland," and during this decade and the next, many
Gaelic historians recreated the
awareness of
Ireland's
National
heritage, which was previously taken away under the
original decree of Elizabeth 1st so that,
"No
Irishman was to ever know his
grandfather."
Michael Collins / Ua Coileain, a descendent of the Heberian Eoghanacht Ui Chonaill Sept of Upper and Lower Conilloe in Co. Limerick in the mid - north - west of the Munster Province, who would become the future "Light of Ireland," who would be the main catalyst in directing the withdrawal of the British Imperial Government oppression from 26 Counties of the 32 Counties of Ireland after 750 years of oppression in 1921 AD, was born this year and was the youngest child of 8 children to Michael Collins Snr. who was 75 years of age and Mary Anne nee O Brien who was 35 years of age, the daughter of James O Brien of Sam's Cross near Rosscarbery in West Co. Cork in Southern Munster, 4 miles from Clonakilty. Michael O Brien Snr's mother was a cousin to the hedge schoolmaster, Diarmait O Sullivan / Diarmuid Ua Suileabhain, who had been a personal acquaintance of Theobold Wolfe Tone the Irish Republican founder, and he had also taught Michael Snr. Their home was near the Rock of Cliodhna / Carraig Chliodhna (The Queen of the Munster Fairies), which was adjacent to the Barry Castle. His Tuath / Family region had been the Heberian Eoghanacht Kings of Conaill Gabhra who in 1178 AD as the main body of the Sept (Family branch) had been driven out by the invading Anglo - Normans from there and settled in the west of Co. Cork while those of the Tuath who stayed behind became the Kings of Claonghas in the south - west of Co. Limerick, until the 13th Century AD, when they too were also driven out by the Anglo - Norman Fitz Geralds.
Joseph Gillis Biggar well known for his original "Obstructionism" in the British Westminster Parliament to try and have them pay attention to Irish Affairs, died this year.