PART 2 OF 2 IRISH HISTORY ARTICLES, PUBLISHED TO COMMEMORATE THE 110TH ANNIVERSARY OF DUBLIN’S EASTER RISING

Final Steps to Irish Freedom 1801 -1949

From The Act Of Union To The Irish Republic

Easter Sunday Parade, celebrating the Centenary of the 2016 Easter Rising. Photo by William Murphy, Dublin, Ireland on 27 March 2016. wikimedia commons, This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

(*Part 1 of Steps on the Road to Irish Freedom can be found here, if you want to read it too.)

Background

The British government intended the Act of Union (1801) to end Ireland’s rebellions by imposing direct rule. The mainly Anglican Protestant ascendancy owned about 90% of Irish property, while nearly everyone else lived in poverty. This ongoing oppression of Catholics, Presbyterians and others in every area of life made it impossible for them to accept anything other than independence.

A rising led by Robert Emmet took place in 1803, and 1829 saw the start of a new campaign for Catholic emancipation. But in 1837 Queen Victoria succeeded William IV in England — she was determined to increase the British Empire’s power, and its Irish colony would not be treated well.

“The Irish Problem”

Defined by Benjamin Disraeli in 1844, the problem he referred to was a growing population weakened by poverty, and ruled by absentee landlords. His comments proved…