Partition of Ireland 1900-25

1905

UUC formed

1909

HoL reject the People's Budget

10th December 1909

Asquith gives speech declaring commitment to HR

January 1910

Westminster election (

February 1910

Carson becomes leader of Irish Unionist Party

May 1910

Sudden death of Edward VII - Libs and Cons will ahve 21 secret meetings to prevent from overloading novice King

December 1910

Westminster election produces hung parliament

August 1911

Parliament Act limit HoL to a two year delaying power

23rd September 1911

Craigavon House demonstration attended by 50,000 - Craig vowed to create govt for Protestant Ulster

25th September 1911

400 UUC delegates establish constitutional committee for Ulster prov gov

October 1911

Home Sec Churchill announces HR bill next session

November 1911

Bonar Law becomes Conservative leader

6th February 1912

Cabinet meeting over HR bill introduction and Birrell (Irish Chief Secretary) presents first Ulster report

9th April 1912

Ulster Unionist monster demonstration of 100,000 at Balmoral - Carson and Bonar Law appear together

11th April 1912

Third Home Rule Bill introduced

June 1912

Agar Roberts's proposal - exclusion of Antrim, Down, Derry and Armagh from HR bill - Asquith rejected it, Red,one though Ulster opposition would go away

27th June 1912

Castledawson Incident - Disturbance between AOH and Presbyterian Sunday School children raises sectarian tension - Motivates Carson to form disciplined opposition movement

27th July 1912

Blenheim Palace Unionist conference. Bonar Law: "no length of resistance to which Ulster can go in which I should not be prepared to support her"

28th September 1912

Ulster Solemn League and Covenant signed by 471,414 on 'Ulster day'

January 1913

Tactical amendment - Carson moved to exclude 9 counties from HR bill to draw attention to Ulster's hostility to HR

January 1913

Derry city by-election returns HR candidate tipping balance to majority of Ulster MPs in favour of HR (17/33)

31st January 1913

UVF formed - 90,000 members by end of year

August 1913

King George V urges Asquith to call all-party conference. Birrell concluded that Asquith should be persuaded to support partition - LG replaces Birrell as second in command

18th September 1913

Secret meeting with King, Churchill, Home Sec and BL. BL says he would be willing to accept exclusion

September 1913

Establishment of Ulster Provisional Government

1913

IRB infiltrate IVF - half of ruling committee = IRB men

9th October 1913

Churchill speech calling for all-party conference and to consider exclusion

6th November 1913

Meeting between Asquith and BL - BL says he will accept exclusion

13th November 1913

LG sells Lloyd George Initiative at Cabinet meeting for 6 counties, 6 years

17th November 1913

Redmond and Asquith meet over LG initiative - Redmond comes around to idea of some Ulster autonomy in HR

25th November 1913

IVF formed - Pearse had said of militarism: "The Orangeman with a rifle is a much less ridiculous figure than a nationalist without one"

November 1913

MacNeill publishes 'The North Began'

10th December 1913

Asquith and BL meeting raises misunderstanding over length and area of exclusion

16th December 1913

Carson and Asquith meeting - Carson offered offered Ulster veto in HR parliament and no legislation on financial, religion or industry (Home Rule within Home Rule)

December 1913

Importation of arms made illegal

2nd January 1914

Second Asquith/Carson meetings, propositions rejected - Onus on Ulster to counter offer

February 1914

Lloyd George initiative to allow Protestant majority counties to opt out of HR for 6 years

2nd February 1914

Asquith meets with Redmond and informs him that some exclusion is inevitable

2nd March 1914

Redmond and Asquith meet over Army Act threat of BL government after GE - Redmond agrees to 3 year exclusion and to abstain from voting against Army Act

March 1914

BL tries to amend Army Act to make Army in Ulster have civilian status, threatening discipline and forcing a GE

20th March 1914

BL drops Army Act amendment due to internal opposition

20th March 1914

Curragh Mutiny - 58 officers would not use force against Ulster

March - May 1914

IVF membership rises from 7,000 to 130,000 in response to Larne gun-running

April 1914

Larne gun-running - 25,000 rifles by Fred Crawford

5th May 1914

Carson and Asquith meeting agreed that there would be an amending bill for Ulster attached to HR Bill

25th May 1914

Third HR bill passed in the Commons. Lords amendment calling for all 9 counties to be exclusion nearly sabotaged bill

June 1914

Redmond attempts to take control of IVF inserting 25 new members into the Provisional Committee

July 1914

Lords pass Lansdowne amendment for permanent 9 county exclusion, 2 months left on HR bill before Parliament Act deadline - impasse

21st - 24th July 1914

All-party Buckingham Palace Conference - breaks up without agreement - amending bill delayed until 30th July

26th July 1914

Howth gun-running - 1,500 rifles, 45,000 rounds ammunition - failed military attempt to seize weapons descended into public rioting and open fire - 3 killed, 38 wounded

August 1914

IRB Supreme Council agree to stage a rebellion

18th September 1914

HR Bill receives Royal Assent along with Suspensory Act

20th September 1914

Woodenbridge speech by Redmond pledging IVF "wherever the firing line extends" - Volunteer split - only 10,000 of 170,000 split with Eoin MacNeill, Redmondites become the 'National Volunteers'

May 1915

War-time Coalition Cabinet formed - Carson = Attorney General, Redmond declined a place

August 1915

Pearse's speech at O'Donovan Rossa's funeral

September 1915

IRB appointed Military Council: Pearse, Plunkett, Ceannt, Clarke, MacDermott

January 1916

Connolly and ICA invited to join Easter Rising - removing threat a separate ICA rebellion posed to the IRB

19th April 1916

Castle Document forgery threatening to suppress the IVF emerges

24th April 1916

Easter Rising begins

June 1916

Lloyd George sent to Ireland for negotiations

July 1916

Redmond agrees to immediate Home Rule with 6 county exclusion for the rest of the war - it later transpired that LG had promised Carson permanent exclusion

December 1916

Lloyd George prisoner release ahead of Irish Convention

February 1917

North Roscommon by-election - Joseph Plunkett's father (SF sympathiser) wins with intervention of Archbishop Walsh, British govt respond by arresting SF sympathisers

May 1917

South Longford by-election - Joe McGuinness wins from prison by 37 votes against IPP (Archbishop of Dublin William Walsh criticizes IPP during campaign)

June 1917

Last of the prisoner releases

July 1917

deValera wins East Clare by-election

Meanwhile Griffith, Collins and Thomas Ashe travel Ireland recruiting SF members