The Independent Irish Party (1852-1858), colloquially known as the Pope’s Brass Band because of their stance on
the Ecclesiastical Titles Act, was an Irish political party founded in July 1852 by 40 Irish MPs who had
been elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes mentioned as the Irish Independent Opposition Party.
It had two central aims:
- The repeal of the Ecclesistical Titles Act, which banned Roman Catholic Bishops from re-assuming pre-reformation
ecclesiastical bishropic titles in the United Kingdom, as well as the prohibition of the wearing of clerical outfits.
- The adoption and enforcement of the Three Fs, namely
- fair rent;
- fixity of tenure;
- free sale. (These would all have aided Irish tenant farms, all of whom lacked them.)
The Independent Irish Party initially achieved the balance of power in the House of
Commons. It brought down Lord Derby's Tory ministry and enabled the leader of the
Peelites Lord Aberdeen and Whigs to form a
coalition government. However two Irish MPs, John
Sadleir and William Keogh then broke ranks by joining this ministry.
Some but not all Irish Liberal candidates in the 1852 election had pledged themselves to form an independent party in
Parliament. This was done in their election address or at two conferences in 1852, one held
by the Tenants League and the other about Religious Equality. 48 Irish MPs were elected after making such a pledge. One was
unseated after an election petition.
The group began to nominate its own candidates in by-elections between 1852 and 1857 and had some limited success, winning
four seats.
The party was damaged by weak leaders and by the lack of support its received from the Roman Catholic Church. Charles Gavan Duffy left in
despair and went to Australia. Frederick Lucas proved an ineffective leader, while his successor, George Henry Moore, its new leader, having got elected in his Mayo constituency through clerical help, was defeated by clerical opposition at the
1857 general election. The party split over an internal row over
its oath, and faded into oblivion. Members of the group participated in the meeting of MPs in 1859, which agreed to support the
Second Palmerston Government and which is often regarded as the formal foundation of the Liberal Party.
Source
- Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978)
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Defunct Political Parties in Ireland |
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