Parnell Split, 1890-91, The – Syracuse University Press

The definitive account of the political crisis that shattered Irish nationalism and transformed Ireland's path to independence.

"The public revelation in 1890 of the linkage between Kitty O'Shea and Charles Parnell, with the latter being named co-respondent in a divorce case, shook the Home Rule movement and Irish politics. In a carefully argued, deeply researched reassessment of the events that unfolded in the wake of public airing of Parnell's linen, Callanan, a Dublin barrister, makes an important contribution to our understanding of Irish political history. He makes a convincing case for the importance of the reactionary views of T.M. Healy, Parnell's leading critic, and offers thought-provoking comments on how these events of the 1890s presaged modern Irish political dilemmas. Recommended for scholars and specialists."—Library Journal

Description

The crisis and tragedy which followed the naming of Charles Stewart Parnell as correspondent in a divorce decree in 1890 remains one of the most significant events in modern Irish politics. In this powerful reassessment of the split, Frank Callanan reargues the politics of Parnell’s last campaign, and establishes the critical importance of T.M. Healy’s ferocious attacks on the Irish leader for the consolidation of a conservative and reactionary Irish nationalism.

Contemporary and previously unexplored sources—newspapers, periodicals, political speeches and private correspondence—are used to examine the politics and psychological character of the split. The author draws out from the bitter controversy Parnell’s articulate and incisive critique of contemporary nationalist politics, and shows how it anticipated the predicament of the modern Irish state. Parnell’s campaign in the split, against overwhelming odds, emerges as a neglected political masterpiece.