Charles Stewart Parnell

Charles Stewart Parnell (June 27 1846 – October 6 1891) was an Irish political leader and one of the most important figures in 19th century Ireland and the United Kingdom; William Ewart Gladstone thought him the most remarkable person he had ever met. A future Liberal Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith, described him as one of the three or four greatest men of the nineteenth century, while Lord Haldane described him as the strongest man the British House of Commons had seen in 150 years.

Leader

Parnell, though a surprisingly poor speaker in the House of Commons, showed himself to be a skilled organizer. By 1880 he had replaced Isaac Butt and William Shaw as chairman of the Nationalist Party.

Related Topics:
House of Commons - 1880 - Isaac Butt - Nationalist Party

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Under his leadership, he reorganized the party as the Irish Parliamentary Party in 1882, becoming perhaps the first professionally organized political party anywhere in Britain and Ireland. Professional selection of candidates took place, with party MPs (who previously had been notorious for their lack of unity) whipped to vote as a block. Parnell's unified Irish block came to dominate British politics, making and unmaking Liberal and Conservative governments in the mid-1880s as it fought for home rule (internal self government within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) for Ireland. In the mid 1880s, Liberal Party leader William Ewart Gladstone committed his party to support for the cause of Irish Home Rule, introducing the First Home Rule Bill in 1886. However the measure failed to pass the British House of Commons, following a split between pro- and anti-home rulers within the Liberal Party.

Related Topics:
Irish Parliamentary Party - 1882 - Whipped - Liberal - Conservative - 1880s - Home rule - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland - Ireland - William Ewart Gladstone - First Home Rule Bill - 1886 - House of Commons

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Though home rule was a central demand of the Irish Parliamentary Party, it also campaigned for Irish land reform. In its campaign, some of its members worked closely with a radical agitation organization known as the Irish Land League. These associations led various members, including John Dillon, Tim Healy, William O'Brien and Parnell himself to serve periods in prison. The agitation led to the passing of a series of Land Acts that over three decades changed the face of Irish land ownership, replacing large Anglo-Irish estates by tenant ownership.

Related Topics:
Irish Land League - John Dillon - Tim Healy - William O'Brien - Anglo-Irish

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