Irish National League
- For the National League Party founded in 1926, see National League Party.
The Irish National League (INL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded in October 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell as the successor to the Irish Land League. Whereas the Land League had agitated for land reform, the National League also campaigned for self-government or Irish Home Rule, further enfranchisement and economic reforms.
The League was the main base of support for the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), and under Parnell's leadership, it grew quickly to over 1,000 branches throughout the island. In 1884, the League secured the support of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland.
In 1891 both the INL and the IPP split on the issue of Parnell's long standing family relationship relationship with Katharine O'Shea, the separated wife of a fellow MP. and the subsequent divorce proceedings. The majority of the League, which opposed Parnell, broke away to form the "Anti-Parnellite" Irish National Federation (INF) under John Dillon. John Redmond assumed the leadership of the remaining "Parnellite" group who remained faithful to Parnell.
The Irish National League (INL) merged with the United Irish League and the National Federation (INF) in 1900 to form a reunited Irish Parliamentary Party under Redmond's leadership.
References
- The Penguin Dictionary of British History, Ed. Juliet Gardiner
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
