What was Irish Home Rule?
Q: What was Irish Home Rule?
A: Irish Home Rule was a proposed system of government in Ireland, in which Ireland would have its own government inside the United Kingdom.
Q: Who supported and opposed Home Rule?
A: Irish Nationalists supported Home Rule, and Irish Unionists opposed it. The 1886 bill was supported by the Liberal Party, but did not get enough votes in the House of Commons.
Q: How did Unionists respond to the 1912 bill?
A: In 1912, Unionists in Ulster signed a document called the Ulster Covenant, and made an army called the Ulster Volunteers, to fight against Home Rule.
Q: What did some Nationalists think about Home Rule?
A: Although many Nationalists wanted Home Rule, some thought it was not good enough. Most members of the party Sinn Féin wanted Ireland to be completely separate from Great Britain.
Q: What happened after 1916?
A: After 1916, Sinn Féin became the most powerful party and made their own government in Dublin called Dáil Éireann. Irish Nationalists then fought in the Irish War of Independence against Britain from 1919-1921.
Q: What law passed in 1920?
A: In 1920 Britain passed a law that said there would be two parliaments; one for Northern Ireland and one for Southern Ireland - this was a form of home rule. However, the Southern Ireland parliament never met.
Q: How did independence come about for Ireland?
A: The war ended with the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty which created an independent state known as The Irish Free State - although still having same king as Britain they had their own separate government.
