The Home Rule League (1873–1882), sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was an Irish

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

which campaigned for

home rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

for Ireland within the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

, until it was replaced by the

Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nati ...

. The Home Rule Confederation of Great Britain was a sister organisation in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Origins

Following the failure of the Fenian Rising of 1867 less revolutionary tactics were considered. The Home Rule League grew out of the Home Government Association, a pressure group formed in 1870 and led by Isaac Butt, a Dublin-based barrister who had once been a leading Irish Tory before becoming a convert to

Irish nationalism Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

. On 18–21 November 1873, the loose association re-constituted itself as a full political party, the Home Rule League, and in the 1874 general election, many of whom were from an Irish aristocratic or gentry

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

background, some newly dedicated former Irish

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

members, such as Sir John Gray MP, and other more radical members who gathered around Cavan MP Joseph Biggar and Meath MP Charles Stewart Parnell. This radical wing of the party launched parliamentary

filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...

s to obstruct the passage of Parliamentary business, to the embarrassment of Butt and frustration of successive British governments.

Changes under Parnell

On 28 August 1877 Parnell was elected leader of the Home Rule Confederation of Great Britain in place of Butt. In January 1878, Butt retained control of the Home Rule League in Ireland, which had a more middle-class and less Fenian membership and structure. The division affected the disciple of the parliamentary party at Westminster. Following Butt's death in 1879, William Shaw served as chairman (leader) for one parliamentary session. In 1880, Parnell was elected chairman of the party, and in the 1880 general election, the party increased its number of seats. In 1882, as part of a wholesale move from being an informal alliance to a cohesive unified, political movement Parnell renamed it the

to pursue Irish Home Rule. The party under Parnell, himself a Protestant, became more radical, middle class, and Catholic. It largely, though not completely, squeezed out other political rivals, notably the Irish Liberal Party and the Irish Conservative Party.

Chairmen (leaders) of the Party, 1873–1882

* Isaac Butt 1873–1879. * William Shaw 1879–1880. * Charles Stewart Parnell 1880–1882.

Notes

External links

Isaac Butt and the Home Rule Party
{{Authority control All-Ireland political parties Political parties established in 1873 Irish nationalist parties Political parties in pre-partition Ireland History of Ireland (1801–1923) 1873 establishments in Ireland 1882 disestablishments in Ireland Defunct political parties in Ireland Defunct political parties in the United Kingdom Political parties disestablished in 1882

Origins

Changes under Parnell

Chairmen (leaders) of the Party, 1873–1882

See also

Further reading

Notes

External links