The many dimensions of the Irish Question, 1800-1922,
constituted the most emotion-laden problem in British politics,
often to the detriment of other imperial interests -- a Gordian
knot only severed by the establishment of the Irish Free State in
1922. In this volume Lawrence J. McCaffrey presents a coherent view
of the evolution of Irish nationalism since 1800 and the impact of
the Irish Question on British culture, politics, and
institutions.
The emotional nexus of the Irish Question was the religious
issue, but McCaffrey believes that nationalism emerged from the
attempt of the Irish Protestant minority, supported by Britain, to
maintain religious, political, economic, and social ascendancy over
a deprived and resentful majority. Although British concessions to
Irish agitation removed many grievances -- granting to Ireland
virtual religious equality, along with substantial social,
economic, and political reforms -- nationalism, often frustrated in
its attempts to secure reform and freedom, assumed an increasingly
rigid position. Nationalists were not willing to settle for less
than self-government, and as constitutional methods failed to
achieve this goal, violence seemed the only other alternative.
The bitter dissensions created by the Irish Question left
permanent marks upon British politics and institutions. The efforts
of two Prime Ministers, Peel and Gladstone, to resolve the conflict
split their parties, thus contributing to political confusion and
instability. But the Irish nationalist-British Liberal alliance
achieved improvement in the condition of Ireland and speeded
advancement of democracy in Britain. And the attempt of British
politicians to deal with the economic and social aspects of the
Irish Question undermined laissez faire and encouraged the progress
of the welfare state in both islands. On the other hand, the
challenge of Irish nationalism sustained and stimulated the
no-Popery roots of British nativism, making it an influential
factor in politics until early in the twentieth century.
The Irish Question, McCaffrey believes, has particular relevance
in our contemporary world of emerging nations, wars of liberation,
and tensions between majorities and minorities. Ireland offers an
early example of the dreams of cultural nationalists becoming
realities and of the sobering fact that ideological revolutionaries
often make poor practical politicians.
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