1906 - 1908 AD
1906 - 1914 January : Sir Henry Campbell - Bannerman, the leader of the Liberal Party was to win the British Westminster General Elections in England, with a big majority, and they then became the new British Imperial Government and granted self - government to South Africa under General Botha and General Smuts and they also tried to bring in social reform, but due to their majority in the Parliament they were to have no need to offer Irish Home Rule to the Irish Parliamentary Party until 1918 AD as although it was still in their Party's platform, it had played no part in their election strategy, although the Irish Parliamentary Party had returned 81 members, of which 73 were elected unopposed, During the speech by the German Saxe - Coburg British King, on behalf of the Liberal Party, devolution was to be mentioned for Ireland, involving an Irish Council that would be "partly" elected, partly "appointed" by the British Government, to control certain Irish departments, which were to be financed by the Imperial Exchequer. As it was not to be Irish Home Rule, John Redmond who was now the Irish Parliamentary Party leader rejected it completely and despite this rejection the Ascendancy Unionists in the Ulster Province still carried on their activities in defiance of an expected introduction of Irish Home Rule. (No one outside of Ulster was to take any notice of them).
Edward Saunderson, the staunch non - Catholic Ascendancy Unionist leader, who previously had quit the Whigs under William Gladstone over the disestablishment of the Ascendancy Church of England / Ireland, died, and he was to be replaced in the British Westminster Parliament by Walter Long the M.P. for South Dublin, until he later became an M.P. once more in England.
The defeated
Conservatives in the Westminster Parliament, who were now the
Opposition
were to use their permanent Conservative majority in the
unelected House
of Lords, as they still had the "veto" over
all
legislation, to either delay it, amend it or defeat any measure
the new British Liberal Government
was to bring forward despite the Liberal Government having the elected overall majority in the British House of
Representatives / Commons. (This constant use of the undemocratic power of veto
by the
unelected Conservatives would finally see the end of their Centuries
of negativity over
all previous legislation in England.
Joseph Devlin now became the M.P. for West Belfast in Co. Antrim in the north - east of the Ulster Province.
Arthur Griffith who had founded the political "Sinn Fein Party" (We Ourselves), and who was the editor of the United Irishmen newspaper resigned from it, and also resigned from the Irish Republican Brotherhood / I.R.B., and wrote an article entitled, "The Resurrection of Hungary, a parallel for Ireland," which were to become the basic principals for the development of policies in the future for the political Sinn Fein Party in Ireland and Edward Martyn, the President of the Sinn Fein Party joined the Gaelic League, and Dennis Mac Cullough became a member of the Supreme Council of the I.R.B. / Irish Republican Brotherhood,
Michael Collins, who was to become Ireland's leading light in the future, was now 15 year old, and he passed the test to obtain employment in the Post Office where he began to gain administration capabilities that he would utilise in the future, and to this end he went to Kensington in England to live with his sister.
Michael Davitt,
the
intrepid founder of the "Irish
Land League," that had begun the
return of the land
in Ireland back to the
Irish people,
died, this year.
1907 AD James Larkin, who had been born in Lancashire in England, and who was to become a great Labour leader in Ireland, organized the Dockers in Ireland, and also carried out dock strikes in Belfast in Co. Antrim in the Ulster Province, with green and orange banners, to try and gain better working conditions there, and as a consequence strike breakers were brought over from England and Scotland to counteract his actions.
The Royal Irish
Constabulary / R.I.C who were also in Belfast in the north - east
of the
Ulster Province mutineered
and
British Imperial Military forces were brought into there, and Joseph Devlin
the M.P. for Belfast
was among those who supported their strike.
Patrick
Mac Cartan, from Carrickmore in Co Tyrone
in Central Ulster had previously formed the "Dungannon Club" for
students there in the north of
Ireland, to play a part in their Country’s political affairs
and they came out and backed the principals of the political
"Sinn Fein Party" (We Ourselves) and the
Sir Henry Campbell - Bannerman, the leader of the British Liberal Government in England, in a move towards Irish Home Rule had Augustine Birrell, who they had appointed as their British Chief Secretary in Ireland until 1916 AD, introduce the Irish Council Bill, which was to allow for 82 elected members and 24 "nominated" members by the British Imperial Government, to govern Ireland, with the "appointed" British Lord Lieutenant in Ireland having the power also to "annul" any resolutions that did not suite the British Imperial Government. John Dillon one of the Irish Parliamentary Party M.P.s opposed it, and after a meeting of the Convention of the United Irish League the Irish Nationalists rejected it also, so the British Liberal Government was forced to drop it altogether. John Redmond who was now the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party was in trouble politically, as many of the Irish Parliamentary Party members attending the Westminster Parliament now wanted out of the alliance with the Liberal Party, which they now saw as going back on their word, and they now saw their alliance with them as being next to useless. Once again another recalcitrant British Government had finally pushed the Country to become determined to bring about real change in Ireland by more vigorous means.
John Mac Dermott / Sean Mac Diarmada from Co. Leitrim in Northern Connacht joined the Gaelic League, the I.R.B. / Irish Republican Brotherhood and the "Hibernians," and was to become a great influence on all of those who were to be willing to physically fight once again for Irish Independence / Freedom, (especially the young Michael Collins), and he was now ready to move the I.R.B. forward, towards actually doing something physically to bring about Irish Independence from the never ending oppression of the endless disinterested British Governments who still had total control over the population in Ireland under the auspices of the Immoral Union. Tom Clarke, the Old Republican, who had previously spent 15 years in English prisons for his actions earlier on in trying to bring about Irish Independence returned from America to Ireland and set up a newsagency and tobacconist shop in Dublin, which was to become a meeting place for the Irish Republicans, and where he was to produce the "Irish Freedom," which was to be the I.R.B / Irish Republican Brotherhood's newspaper.
The people at
Liscannor in
Co. Clare
in the north - west of the Munster Province,
this year,
rescued the members of a
French ship, that had been wrecked off their coastline and in
gratitude the French were to build a
Celtic Church there.
1908 AD Under the
Irish
Universities Act / Queens College in Belfast
in Co. Antrim in the north - east of the
Ulster Province became a separate University, with
those in Co. Cork in Southern
Munster and Co. Galway in
Southern Connacht also becoming Colleges of the National University of Ireland,
but the hierarchy of the Irish Catholic Church objected to Queen's College being non -
denominational, without any religious instruction, where over time most of the graduates were
to be
Presbyterian, while adherents to the Ascendancy Church of
England / Ireland went to Trinity College in
Dublin.
Eamonn de Valera, a Professor of Mathematics, who had been born in America and grew up in Co. Limerick in the mid - west of the Munster Province was also educated by the Christian Brothers, and he now joined the Central Branch / Ard Chraobh of the Gaelic League, and was to be a major player in future political developments in Ireland.
William O Brien the old Labour stalwart from Co. Cork in Southern Munster, who was always on the job, rejoined the Irish Parliamentary Party this year.
Eammon Ceannt / Kent joined the political Sinn Fein Party and Sean O Kelly was to become their secretary up until 1915 AD, and at this time they tried standing a candidate in the bye - election for the seat of Northern Leitrim, but they had no success as it was won by the Irish Parliamentary Party under John Redmond although they were by now becoming well and truly out of step with the rest of the population in Ireland, but this initial Sinn Fein Party political assault on the seat there in Northern Leinster, in reality actually showed up the declining position of the Irish Parliamentary Party now in the overall scheme of things, and should have sent them a warning to become more active on behalf of the general population in Ireland or make way for those who would. John Redmond was to keep pressing the British Liberal Party Government for an Irish Home Rule Bill, but he continued to receive no satisfaction from them, and was still living in hope and continued to maintain the alliance with them, while under the pressure of it all back in Ireland.
At this time, Robert Erskine Childers, who was an English civil servant also firmly believed in Irish Home Rule, and he too would also play a part in the future scheme of things to bring it about.
Hanna Sheehy - Skeffington
founded the
"Womens Franchise League" and was to become their secretary
in anticipation of obtaining the right to vote for all women.
Sir Campbell - Bannerman, the British Liberal Prime Minister, died this year, and Herbert Asquith, another member of the Liberal Party, took over his position as the British Liberal Prime Minister until 1915 AD, who would be forced to take head on the un - elected Conservative controlled British House of Lords in regard to their "veto" power over all British legislation, when they would reject the Supply Bill just like they had continued to exercise this negative over riding power over English legislation for Centuries, especially against any chance of reform for the people of Ireland, without any elected right, handed down from the original Land Barons under the Magna Carta.
Herbert Asquith,
the new British Liberal Prime Minister, now gave a public assurance that
Irish Home Rule
was the only solution for the ongoing problems in
Ireland.
The Irish Universities Act was bought in under the control of Augustine Birrell the British Liberal Government's Chief Secretary in Ireland, and the Royal University was abolished, with the establishment of 2 new ones to replace it, the National University of Ireland to accommodate the Catholic Bishops preferences with colleges in Co. Dublin, Co. Cork and Co. Galway, and the Queen's University at Belfast in the Ulster Province that was to become a separate University as this action was to placate the non - Catholics there, and it was now opened to all students, but the Ascendancy Unionists were even then still against it, as before most of it's graduates had been Presbyterians, while the Trinity College in Dublin was an Ascendancy Church of England / Ireland stronghold, and both Universities had previously been denied to the Catholic Irish.
Up until now,
Augustine Birrell, the British
Liberal
Government's representative in Ireland,
had brought on improvements in
rural and urban
housing, the re - instatement of the
Irish tenant farmers and their families
evicted
from their holdings, and protection for the Irish tenants in the
towns.
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