The Irish Question refers to the complex political and social conflict in Ireland that dates back to the 12th century when England imposed a feudal system, granting lands to English lords while Irish laborers lived in poverty. This led to rebellions by Irish Catholics against English and Protestant domination. The 1800 Act of Union merged Ireland and Britain but tensions remained between nationalists and unionists. Famines in the 1840s exacerbated issues, and rebellions continued through the early 20th century. The island was eventually partitioned into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, but conflict continued in Northern Ireland through the late 20th century before the Good Friday Agreement established power sharing in 1998.

1. The Irish Question

2. What is The Irish Question?
• Complex problem
• Dates back to twelfth century when
England imposed a feudal landowing
system on Ireland
• Feudal lords (noblemen) were granted
large tracts of lands
• The landowners (mostly English) became
wealthy, while the farm workers and other
laborers (Irish) lived in great poverty

3. What is The Irish Question?
• Great social problems came during the 1600s and 1700s
• The English tried to impose Protestantism
• Ireland had a mainly Catholic population
• Irish Catholics rebelled against English and Protestant
domination
• Events like Irish Catholic rebellion (1641) and civil war
came
• Oliver Cromwell re-conquered Ireland killing 1/3 of Irish
Catholics

4. What is The Irish Question?
•Two very cold winters led directly
to the Great Irish Famine (1740-
1741) killing over 400 000 people
•In 1801 the Act of Union came,
which merged Kingdom of Ireland
and the Kingdom of Great Britain
to create the United Kingdom

5. What is the Irish Question?
•The second of Ireland's "Great
Famines" struck the country severely
in the period 1845-1849, leading to
mass starvation and emigration.
•It was named Irish Potato Famine.
• The impact of emigration in Ireland
was great; the population dropped
from over 8 million before the Famine
to 4.4 million in 1911.

7. What is the Irish Question?
•A series of violent rebellions by Irish
republicans took place in 1803
•In 1848 a rebellion by Young
Irelanders and in 1867 by the Irish
Republican Brotherhood- All failed…
•Tension between nationalists and
unionists (northeast- Protestants,
industry, wealth)
•But most of the island was Catholic
and nationalist

8. What is The Irish Question?
• As the First World War broke out, a failed
attempt was made to gain separate
independence for Ireland in 1916, called Easter
Rising
• In the December 1918 elections most voters
voted for Sinn Féin, the party of the rebels.
Having won three-quarters of all the seats in
Ireland
• Jan. 21, 1919: Irish Republic parliament was
established, trying to gain indipendence of the
country
• The Irish Republican Army started a fight
against the British (1919-1921)

9. What is the Irish Question?
• During this war the island was divided into
two parts- "Northern Ireland" and
"Southern Ireland„
• In mid-1921, the Irish and British
governments signed a truce that stopped
the war
• In December 1921, representatives of
both governments signed an Anglo-Irish
Treaty.
• The Irish delegation was led by Arthur
Griffith and Michael Collins.
• This established the Irish Republic and
created the Irish Free State

11. What is the Irish Question?
•Many people emigrated the new
country in 1920s due to great poverty
•Lots of Protestants left the Catholic
country, because they felt unwelcomed
•The country stayed neutral during
WWII
•In 1949 the state was formally
declared the Republic of Ireland and it
left the British Commonwealth
•In 1990s the Republic of Ireland
gained big economical strengh- ‘Celtic
tiger’

12. What is the Irish Question?
• Northern Ireland- a ‚a protestant state‘
• The founding Prime Minister, James Craig,
proudly declared that it would be ‚a
Protestant State for Protestant People‘
• Tensions came to a head with the events of
Bloody Sunday and Bloody Friday, and the
worst years (early 1970s) of what became
known as The Troubles Years.
• Private armies such as the Provisional IRA,
the Official IRA, the INLA, the Ulster
Defence Association and the Ulster Volunteer
Force
• Fights against the British army and

13. What is the Irish Question?
• During the 1970s British policy concentrated on
defeating the IRA by military force
• 1986- Anglo Irish Agreement signaling a formal
partnership in seeking a political solution.
• In the 1990s- progress towards peace
• 40% population of Northern Ireland are Catholics
• the Belfast Agreement (‘Good Friday Agreement‘)
of April 10, 1998 brought a degree of power
sharing to Northern Ireland, giving both unionists
and nationalists control of limited areas of
government
• The situation is hopefully taking a peaceful way…

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Thank You for attention