IRISH QUESTION

The 'Irish Question' is the phrase used for the internal dispute in Britain concerning Irish nationalism and calls for independence. This ended in the separation of an independent country, at first known as the Irish Free State, now called Ireland, from Northern Ireland which remained part of the United Kingdom. The Irish Question is a term from the early nineteenth century, and the height of the independence movement was from the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish Civil War in 1921, although independence has been a political aim of Irish nationalists since the time of Wolfe Tone. Key nationalist leaders include O'Connell, Parnell and de Valera. Many British politicians tried to resolve "The Irish Question", including Disraeli, Gladstone and Peel. However, it was such a multi-faceted conundrum that conflict remained prevalent throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
1829 Catholic Emancipation Act
1845-47 the Great Potato Famine
Fenian Brotherhood set up by Irish immigrants in the USA.
Gladstone, one of few English politicians who understood the Irish problem and was determined to find a solution
1869 The Irish Church Act
1870