Western Civilization
The "Irish Question"
The "Irish Question" was the growing discontent in Ireland and the continuing calls for Irish independence from Great Britain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A majority of Irish people, who resented British intervention and rule, had been calling for independence for years, and William Gladstone attempted to appease the Irish by creating limited land reforms in the 1870s. However, the reforms did little to stop Irish tenants being evicted by English property owners, and so they were ineffectual at best, and created more animosity as the government took more control in attempting to make them work. Irish Catholics started to call for independence, as well. Several home rule bills were initiated, but did not pass. When a home rule bill finally did pass in 1914, the Northern Irish Protestants did not want to be part of an Irish Catholic state. Thus, the "Irish Question" continued to needle British politics even after politicians thought they had solved the problem.
British politics were filled with the "Irish Question" in the early 20th century. First, several home rule bills were introduced by Liberals in parliament, and the question dominated the political field for literally decades. The Irish and English could not agree, and Ireland continued under British dominance for so long, the people became increasingly angry and violent about their lack of freedom and self-government. It seemed as if nothing else took up as much time in the political arena, and caused as much contention. The situation was put on hold during World War I, but uprisings like the Easter Uprising in 1916 indicated the situation would not wait. Ireland went through a Civil War in 1921. Northern Ireland, the Protestant area, is still under British rule, so the problem still exists in some form. Gladstone could not solve the problem, although he tried, and it lasted longer than many politicians thought it would.
References
Spielvogel. Jackson J. Western Civilization. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company, 1997.
