Irish Unionist Party
Encyclopedia
The Irish Unionist Alliance (also known as the Irish Unionist Party) was a Unionist
party founded in Ireland
in 1891 to oppose plans for Gladstonian
and Parnellite
Home Rule for Ireland. The party was led for much of its life by Colonel Edward James Saunderson
and later by the William St John Brodrick, Earl of Midleton
. In total, eighty-six members of the House of Lords
affiliated themselves with the Irish Unionist Alliance, although its membership was small.
The party aligned itself closely with Liberal Unionists
and the Conservative Party
to campaign to prevent the passage of a new Home Rule Bill
. Among its most prominent members were Dublin barrister, Edward Carson
, and founder of the Ireland's Co-operative
movement, Horace Plunkett. Its electoral strength was largely (though not exclusively) Dublin-based, with it electing MPs
from constituencies in the south Dublin area and for the Dublin University
constituency. As late as 1929 there was a Unionist majority on Rathmines
district council.
by the Ulster Unionist Party
from the start of the twentieth century. In Ulster, other reasons for unionism included the industrial growth of Belfast after 1850 that depended on the British Empire, and a fear of Rome Rule
, the worry about an overly Catholic-dominated new Irish parliament. In the tense period between the Parliament Act 1911
and the Home Rule Act 1914
, the fear arose that an Irish civil war would occur between nationalists in the south and west and the Ulster unionists, who created their own paramilitary group, the "Ulster Volunteers".
From 1914 to the formal partition of Ireland
in 1920-21, the Ulster Unionists relied upon their local electoral majority in what became Northern Ireland
. Under the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty
Northern Ireland became a part of the Irish Free State
from its creation on 6 December 1922; and the Northern Irish parliament voted to leave the Free State two days later.
From the suggestion of some sort of north-south partition under the 1914 Home Rule Act, the Southern Unionists (in what would become Southern Ireland
and then the Republic of Ireland
) were in a much weaker electoral position than the Ulster Unionists, and necessarily they had to compromise with their opponents.
led to their description locally as Anglo-Irish
, and by unkind opponents as "West Brits". They were generally Anglicans while many of the more strident Ulster Unionists were Presbyterians.
Though their numbers were small, a considerable amount of industry in Southern Ireland had been developed indigenously by Southern Unionist supporters. These included Jacob's Biscuits
, Bewley's
, Beamish and Crawford
, Jameson's Whiskey
, W.P. & R. Odlum
, Cleeve's
, R&H Hall
, Dockrell's, Arnott's
, Goulding Chemicals
, the Irish Times and notably the Guinness brewery, then Ireland's largest company. They controlled financial entities such as the Bank of Ireland
and Goodbody Stockbrokers
. They were concerned that a new home rule state might create new taxes between them and their markets in Britain and the British empire, that would add to their costs and probably reduce sales and therefore employment. They were all considered to be good employers by contemporary standards.
Southern Unionist landowners had inherited large estates that were being sold off to tenant farmers under the recent Irish Land Acts. As a group they were richer by about £90 million by 1914, which would either stay in the Irish economy, given a favourable political arrangement, or leave if the outcome appeared too uncertain or too radical. This temporarily gave them a voice far beyond their number in the Irish electorate. Some of the more progressive of these attempted to introduce a moderate form of devolution through the Irish Reform Association
. Others of the landed gentry were prominent in horse breeding
and racing, and as British Army officers.
In discussing problems of civic morality in 2011 in the Republic of Ireland, former Taoiseach
Garret FitzGerald
remarked that before 1922: "In Ireland a strong civic sense did exist - but mainly amongst Protestants and especially Anglicans".
Southern Unionist members sided with Irish Nationalists
against the Ulster Unionists during the 1917–18 Irish Convention
in an attempt to bring about an understanding on the implementation of the suspended Home Rule Act 1914
. Home Rule did however come to pass for Northern Ireland
under the Government of Ireland Act 1920
.
The Alliance's opposition to Irish partition
led to its being marginalised at the 1918 general election, which showed the rising influence of the republican
Sinn Féin
party on the one hand and the Ulster Unionist Council on the other. Just three Southern Unionists were elected, one for Rathmines in Dublin and two in the University of Dublin constituency. Although the election saw many Alliance members such as Edward Carson returned for Ulster constituencies, they did not agree with the need to keep Ireland united, even under Home Rule.
Though the IUA hoped to play a part in the Parliament of Southern Ireland
envisaged under the 1920 Act, the parliament never functioned. The Irish Times, said to be the "voice of Southern Unionists", realised that the 1920 Act would not work and argued from late 1920 for "Dominion Home Rule"
, the compromise that was eventually agreed upon in the 1921-22 Anglo-Irish Treaty
.
Despite its impotence, hundreds of those seen as its supporters were attacked as soft targets in the Anglo-Irish War (1919–21) and the Irish Civil War
(1922–23), tens of thousands emigrated and hundreds of houses were burnt. The IUA helped form the Southern Irish Loyalist Relief Association to assist war refugees and claim compensation for damage to property.
The party lost its reason to exist following the creation of the Irish Free State
in 1922. Some of its leading figures, such as the Earl of Midleton
, Lord Dunraven, James Campbell
and Horace Plunkett (a cousin of Count Plunkett
), were appointed in December 1922 by WT Cosgrave to the Free State's first Senate
. Amongst others, Horace Plunkett's home in County Dublin
was then burnt down during the Irish Civil War
(1922–23) because of his involvement in the Irish Senate. From 1921 IUA voters generally supported the mainstream Cumann na nGaedheal party.
In the 1923 election
three formerly loyalist businessmen were elected as the Business and Professional Group
.
Many of its leading figures were associated before 1921 with the Kildare Street Club
, a gentleman's club in Dublin. From 1921 to 1991 the proportion of Southern Irish Protestants declined from 10% to 3% of the population; these had provided the bulk of the IUA's support base.
Unionism in Ireland
Unionism in Ireland is an ideology that favours the continuation of some form of political union between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain...
party founded in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1891 to oppose plans for Gladstonian
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
and Parnellite
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
Home Rule for Ireland. The party was led for much of its life by Colonel Edward James Saunderson
Edward James Saunderson
Edward James Saunderson PC, JP, DL was an Irish unionist politician.He was born at Castle Saunderson, County Cavan. He was the son of Colonel Alexander Saunderson, Member of Parliament for Cavan , his mother being a daughter of the 6th Baron Farnham...
and later by the William St John Brodrick, Earl of Midleton
St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton
William St John Fremantle Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton, KP, PC , known as St John Brodrick until 1907 and as The Viscount Midleton between 1907 and 1920, was a British Conservative Party politician....
. In total, eighty-six members of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
affiliated themselves with the Irish Unionist Alliance, although its membership was small.
The party aligned itself closely with Liberal Unionists
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
and the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
to campaign to prevent the passage of a new Home Rule Bill
Irish Government Bill 1893
The Government of Ireland Bill 1893 was the second attempt made by William Ewart Gladstone, as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, to enact a system of home rule for Ireland...
. Among its most prominent members were Dublin barrister, Edward Carson
Edward Carson, Baron Carson
Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson PC, PC , Kt, QC , often known as Sir Edward Carson or Lord Carson, was a barrister, judge and politician from Ireland...
, and founder of the Ireland's Co-operative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
movement, Horace Plunkett. Its electoral strength was largely (though not exclusively) Dublin-based, with it electing MPs
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
from constituencies in the south Dublin area and for the Dublin University
Dublin University (constituency)
University of Dublin is a university constituency in Ireland, which has been used to elect members of various legislative bodies including currently Seanad Éireann. Alternative names are Dublin University or Trinity College, Dublin...
constituency. As late as 1929 there was a Unionist majority on Rathmines
Rathmines
Rathmines is a suburb on the southside of Dublin, about 3 kilometres south of the city centre. It effectively begins at the south side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to the south, Ranelagh to the east and Harold's Cross to the west.Rathmines has...
district council.
Ulster Unionism
The party was replaced in UlsterUlster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
by the Ulster Unionist Party
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
from the start of the twentieth century. In Ulster, other reasons for unionism included the industrial growth of Belfast after 1850 that depended on the British Empire, and a fear of Rome Rule
Rome Rule
"Rome Rule" was a term used by Irish unionists and socialists to describe the belief that the Roman Catholic Church would gain political control over their interests with the passage of a Home Rule Bill...
, the worry about an overly Catholic-dominated new Irish parliament. In the tense period between the Parliament Act 1911
Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 are two Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which form part of the constitution of the United Kingdom. Section 2 of the Parliament Act 1949 provides that that Act and the Parliament Act 1911 are to be construed as one.The Parliament Act 1911 The...
and the Home Rule Act 1914
Home Rule Act 1914
The Government of Ireland Act 1914 , also known as the Third Home Rule Bill, was an Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to provide self-government for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.The Act was the first law ever passed by the Parliament of...
, the fear arose that an Irish civil war would occur between nationalists in the south and west and the Ulster unionists, who created their own paramilitary group, the "Ulster Volunteers".
From 1914 to the formal partition of Ireland
Partition of Ireland
The partition of Ireland was the division of the island of Ireland into two distinct territories, now Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland . Partition occurred when the British Parliament passed the Government of Ireland Act 1920...
in 1920-21, the Ulster Unionists relied upon their local electoral majority in what became Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Under the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...
Northern Ireland became a part of the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
from its creation on 6 December 1922; and the Northern Irish parliament voted to leave the Free State two days later.
Southern Unionists
Southern Ireland
Southern Ireland was a short-lived autonomous region of the United Kingdom established on 3 May 1921 and dissolved on 6 December 1922.Southern Ireland was established under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 together with its sister region, Northern Ireland...
and then the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
) were in a much weaker electoral position than the Ulster Unionists, and necessarily they had to compromise with their opponents.
Social position
Their leaders included wealthy and well-educated men who wanted to live in Ireland, and felt Irish. Their cultural affiliations with the British EmpireBritish Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
led to their description locally as Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
, and by unkind opponents as "West Brits". They were generally Anglicans while many of the more strident Ulster Unionists were Presbyterians.
Though their numbers were small, a considerable amount of industry in Southern Ireland had been developed indigenously by Southern Unionist supporters. These included Jacob's Biscuits
Jacob's
Jacob's is a brand name for several lines of biscuits and crackers. The brand name in the Republic of Ireland is owned by Jacob Fruitfield Food Group and in the United Kingdom it is owned under license by United Biscuits.-History:...
, Bewley's
Bewley's
Bewley's Limited is an Irish company, established in 1840, that produces tea and coffee for sale around the world. The company is owned by Campbell Bewley Group Ltd....
, Beamish and Crawford
Beamish and Crawford
Beamish and Crawford is the longest-established brewery in Cork, Ireland. Established in 1792 by William Beamish and William Crawford on the site of an existing porter brewery, it has had a number of owners over the centuries...
, Jameson's Whiskey
Jameson Irish Whiskey
Jameson is a single distillery Irish whiskey produced by a division of the French distiller Pernod Ricard. Jameson is similar in its adherence to the single distillery principle to the single malt tradition, but Jameson combines malted barley with unmalted or "green" barley...
, W.P. & R. Odlum
Odlums Group
Odlums Group is an Irish food processing and marketing company owned entirely by Origin Enterprises, itself a subsidiary of the IAWS Group, all of Dublin...
, Cleeve's
Condensed Milk Company of Ireland
The Condensed Milk Company of Ireland Limited was an Irish manufacturer of dairy products and, in its heyday, the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom. Its most famous product was Cleeve's Toffee, a popular confectionery which continued to be sold in Ireland until the 1980s.-Origins:The...
, R&H Hall
R&H Hall
R&H Hall plc is Ireland's biggest importer and supplier of animal feed ingredients for feed manufacturing through its extensive trading, purchasing, shipping and storage capability.-Company history:...
, Dockrell's, Arnott's
Arnotts (Ireland)
Arnotts is the oldest and largest department store in Dublin, Ireland. The company has two stores in Dublin. Its flagship store is located on Henry Street on the northside of the city centre, and there is a smaller store selling mainly shoes in an outlet in Stillorgan Shopping Centre in south...
, Goulding Chemicals
Goulding Chemicals
Goulding Chemicals Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of IAWS Group plc and has been operating since 1856. It was run for decades by the Goulding family that included Valerie Goulding...
, the Irish Times and notably the Guinness brewery, then Ireland's largest company. They controlled financial entities such as the Bank of Ireland
Bank of Ireland
The Bank of Ireland is a commercial bank operation in Ireland, which is one of the 'Big Four' in both parts of the island.Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history...
and Goodbody Stockbrokers
Goodbody Stockbrokers
Goodbody Stockbrokers is Ireland's longest established stockbroking firm with roots dating back to 1877. As well as being one of the leading institutional brokers, it is one of the largest private client firms in Ireland. It is a member firm of the Irish Stock Exchange and a SETS participant of the...
. They were concerned that a new home rule state might create new taxes between them and their markets in Britain and the British empire, that would add to their costs and probably reduce sales and therefore employment. They were all considered to be good employers by contemporary standards.
Southern Unionist landowners had inherited large estates that were being sold off to tenant farmers under the recent Irish Land Acts. As a group they were richer by about £90 million by 1914, which would either stay in the Irish economy, given a favourable political arrangement, or leave if the outcome appeared too uncertain or too radical. This temporarily gave them a voice far beyond their number in the Irish electorate. Some of the more progressive of these attempted to introduce a moderate form of devolution through the Irish Reform Association
Irish Reform Association
The Irish Reform Association was an attempt to introduce limited devolved self-government to Ireland by a group of reform oriented Irish unionist land owners who proposed to initially adopt something less than full Home Rule...
. Others of the landed gentry were prominent in horse breeding
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
and racing, and as British Army officers.
In discussing problems of civic morality in 2011 in the Republic of Ireland, former Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald was an Irish politician who was twice Taoiseach of Ireland, serving in office from July 1981 to February 1982 and again from December 1982 to March 1987. FitzGerald was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1965 and was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD in 1969. He...
remarked that before 1922: "In Ireland a strong civic sense did exist - but mainly amongst Protestants and especially Anglicans".
Political realities 1914-22
Having opposed Home Rule before 1914, they came to regard a Home Rule Ireland within the empire as preferable to an entirely independent Ireland outside it. They were said to represent about 300,000 people out of a population of about 3 million.Southern Unionist members sided with Irish Nationalists
Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish Parliamentary Party was formed in 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nationalist Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons at...
against the Ulster Unionists during the 1917–18 Irish Convention
Irish Convention
The Irish Convention was an assembly which sat in Dublin, Ireland from July 1917 until March 1918 to address the Irish Question and other constitutional problems relating to an early enactment of self-government for Ireland, to debate its wider future, discuss and come to an understanding on...
in an attempt to bring about an understanding on the implementation of the suspended Home Rule Act 1914
Home Rule Act 1914
The Government of Ireland Act 1914 , also known as the Third Home Rule Bill, was an Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to provide self-government for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.The Act was the first law ever passed by the Parliament of...
. Home Rule did however come to pass for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
under the Government of Ireland Act 1920
Government of Ireland Act 1920
The Government of Ireland Act 1920 was the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which partitioned Ireland. The Act's long title was "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland"; it is also known as the Fourth Home Rule Bill or as the Fourth Home Rule Act.The Act was intended...
.
The Alliance's opposition to Irish partition
Partition of Ireland
The partition of Ireland was the division of the island of Ireland into two distinct territories, now Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland . Partition occurred when the British Parliament passed the Government of Ireland Act 1920...
led to its being marginalised at the 1918 general election, which showed the rising influence of the republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
party on the one hand and the Ulster Unionist Council on the other. Just three Southern Unionists were elected, one for Rathmines in Dublin and two in the University of Dublin constituency. Although the election saw many Alliance members such as Edward Carson returned for Ulster constituencies, they did not agree with the need to keep Ireland united, even under Home Rule.
Though the IUA hoped to play a part in the Parliament of Southern Ireland
Parliament of Southern Ireland
The Parliament of Southern Ireland was a home rule legislature set up by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence under the Fourth Home Rule Bill...
envisaged under the 1920 Act, the parliament never functioned. The Irish Times, said to be the "voice of Southern Unionists", realised that the 1920 Act would not work and argued from late 1920 for "Dominion Home Rule"
Dominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
, the compromise that was eventually agreed upon in the 1921-22 Anglo-Irish Treaty
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...
.
Despite its impotence, hundreds of those seen as its supporters were attacked as soft targets in the Anglo-Irish War (1919–21) and the Irish Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
(1922–23), tens of thousands emigrated and hundreds of houses were burnt. The IUA helped form the Southern Irish Loyalist Relief Association to assist war refugees and claim compensation for damage to property.
The party lost its reason to exist following the creation of the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
in 1922. Some of its leading figures, such as the Earl of Midleton
St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton
William St John Fremantle Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton, KP, PC , known as St John Brodrick until 1907 and as The Viscount Midleton between 1907 and 1920, was a British Conservative Party politician....
, Lord Dunraven, James Campbell
James Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy
James Henry Mussen Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy PC was an Irish lawyer, politician in the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and later in the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State...
and Horace Plunkett (a cousin of Count Plunkett
George Noble Plunkett
George Noble Plunkett or Count Plunkett was a biographer and Irish nationalist, and father of Joseph Mary Plunkett, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916....
), were appointed in December 1922 by WT Cosgrave to the Free State's first Senate
Seanad Éireann (Irish Free State)
Seanad Éireann was the upper house of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State from 1922–1936. It has also been known simply as the Senate, or as the First Seanad. The Senate was established under the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State but a number of constitutional amendments were...
. Amongst others, Horace Plunkett's home in County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
was then burnt down during the Irish Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
(1922–23) because of his involvement in the Irish Senate. From 1921 IUA voters generally supported the mainstream Cumann na nGaedheal party.
In the 1923 election
Irish general election, 1923
The Irish general election of 1923 was held on 27 August 1923. The newly elected members of the 4th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 19 September when the new President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of the Irish Free State were appointed. The election was held just after the end...
three formerly loyalist businessmen were elected as the Business and Professional Group
Business and Professional Group
The Business and Professional Group was a minor political party in the Irish Free State that existed between 1922 and 1923. It largely comprised ex-Unionist businessmen and professionals., fielding five candidates in Dublin and Cork at the 1922 general election, one of whom was elected...
.
Many of its leading figures were associated before 1921 with the Kildare Street Club
Kildare Street Club
The Kildare Street Club was a gentlemen's club in Dublin, Ireland, at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Protestant Ascendancy.The Club remained in Kildare Street between 1782 and 1977, when it merged with the Dublin University Club...
, a gentleman's club in Dublin. From 1921 to 1991 the proportion of Southern Irish Protestants declined from 10% to 3% of the population; these had provided the bulk of the IUA's support base.
Publications
- The Home rule bill in committee, session, 1893 from Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- "60 Years on: the “Southern Unionists”, the Crown and the Irish Republic" essay by Mary KennyMary KennyMary Kenny is an Irish author, broadcaster, playwright and journalist. She was a founder member of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement, though she has modified her radical past, but not rejected feminist principles....
in Studies, Dublin 2009