The history of
19th century Ireland is dominated by the Great Famine of 1845-48,
which was caused by the total failure of potato crop. Although Irish grain was
still being exported to England, more than one million people died from hunger
or disease, with even more fleeing to North America. By 1900, the pre-famine
population of eight million had fallen by half. Rural hardship fuelled a
campaign for tenant’s rights which evolved into demands for independence from
Britain. Great strides towards “Home Rule” were made in Parliament by the
charismatic politician Charles Stewart Parnell.
1800
1800 Act of Union: Ireland legally becomes part of Britain
1803 Uprising, led by Robert Emmet, is crushed after feared
Napoleonic invasion of England fails to materialize
1810
1815 First coach service begins in Ireland
1817 Royal Canal is completed
1820
1829 After a five-year campaign by Daniel O’Connell,
Catholic emancipation Act is passed, giving a limited number of Catholics the
right to vote
1830
1838 Father Mathew founds temperance crusade – five million
Irish take abstinence pledge and whiskey production is reduced by half
1840
1845 Start of Great Famine, which lasts for dour years
1848 Failure of the Young Ireland Uprising – a spontaneous
response to insurrections elsewhere in Europe
1850
1853 Dublin Exhibition is opened by Queen Victoria
1860
1867 Irish – Americans return home to fight in a rising led
by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, also known as the Fenians
1870
1877 Parnell becomes leader of the new Home Rule Party
1879 – 82 Land War, led by Michael Davitt’s Land League,
campaigns for the reform of tenancy laws
1880
1881 Parnell is jailed in Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin
1884 Founding of Gaelic Athletic Association, first group
to promote Irish traditions
1886 Brisith PM Gladstone sponsors first Home Rule Bill but
is defeated by Parliament
1890
1892 Second Home Rule Bill is defeated
