About Me

     Hi there! My name is Charles Stewart Parnell or known to some as the “uncrowned King of Ireland”. I decided to document my experiences of my fight for freedom for my country, Ireland, but before we jump to those let us start from the very beginning. I was born on June 27, 1846 in Avondale, Co. Wicklow, to an Anglo-Irish protestant family. My parents were Henry Parnell and Delia Tudor Stewart. My mother had a hatred for England, which came from her father. Aside from that my family was huge! I was their third son, but the seventh child of my parents. They in all had eleven children. My great grandmother was part of the Tudor family so I was somewhat related to the British Royal Family. Although my family had relations to well positioned people, I had run into financial problems along with family conflicts as my parents had divorced when I was six. As a child I was sent to various schools. At school most of my classmates saw me as cold and reserved. I developed a fondness for cricket though, and I enjoyed mathematics, but I had no real interest in these studies. My unhappy childhood is not a memory I enjoy looking back upon. Then, my father had died when I was thirteen, but the estate I had inherited had financial problems. This caused me to drop out of my college at Magdalene since I was no longer able to afford my stay, thus I never received my degree. Some years later in 1867, I had found a form of salvation within nationalism and became rebel because of the execution of the “Manchester Martyrs”. Throughout the years I had ended up farming in Alabama on a tour of the United States with my older brother, John. A few years later in 1874 I had taken the position of High Sheriff in my home county of Wicklow. A year later I was elected to the House of Commons take the position for Home Rule League for Meath. I supported the Home Rule Party greatly and loyally. In 1879 I took on the position of the leader of the Irish Land League. Our purposes was to give tenants a fair rent, fixed tenure, free sale, and allow farmers to own land. We called for Parliament to make land reforms and had advocated Independence. I called for home rule which I felt was pretty reasonable. We would not have complete Independence, but we would be able to have our own parliament. I am grateful William Gladstone had tried to settle the conflicts between us, but the Parliament had disagreed to this decision. This of course angered me greatly. On 1879 I was elected President of the National Ireland Land League. I was arrested on October 13, 1881 though, because my newspaper, United Ireland had attacked the Land Act. They accused me for sabotaging the land act and we were suppressed. After the hardships we finally had a victory in 1885 when we had won every seat which allowed the Home Rule Bill of 1886 to be discussed, but my enemies were against it every bit of the way and I had been accused of many crimes I had not committed. I apologize for my non detailed explanations of my life, but as you can see my life has had many ups and downs, but I will go into detail about those events later.  

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The Uncrowned King of Ireland

The Phoenix Park Murders

On March 1887 I had been accused by a British Newspaper by the name of The Times for supporting and being involved with the murders of Fredrick Cavendish, who was Chief Secretary for Ireland, and T.H. Burke, who was the Under-Secretary for Ireland. Both had been violently stabbed to death at Phoenix Park in Dublin. I was outraged! Not only had they accused me of helping these murders, but accused me for encouraging constant crime with illegal organizations! I would never commit such an act, but letters “written by me” supporting the violent act had been found. An example of one of the letters is,

Dear Sir,

 I am not surprised at your friend's anger, but he and you should know that to denounce the murders was the only course open to us. To do that promptly was plainly our best policy. But you can tell him, and all others concerned, that, though I regret the accident of Lord Frederick Cavendish's death, I cannot refuse to admit that Burke got no more than his deserts. You are at liberty to show him this, and others whom you can trust also, but let not my address be known. He can write to House of Commons. 

Yours very truly, Charles S. Parnell.

Being thrown in jail had frightened me quite a bit as I was shaken. I thought of my tarnished reputation of a crime I had not commit and offered to resign my position as a Member of Parliament. Thankfully they had investigated more and found the letters to be fabricated due to the fact it did not sound like me in any bit. They also found out I was being wrongfully framed by Richard Piggot. That chicken had committed suicide after hearing we had figured out his devious plan. The true culprits of this crime were members of a radical Irish Nationalist group named Invinicibles.  I was vindicated, due to my proven innocence.  The Accusing Newspaper paid me £5000 for the damages they had caused me.  Gladstone had applauded my innocence and I was grateful that he had rejected my offer on resignation as a Member of Parliament. This experience was able to help me gain an upper hand in Parliament as people began to revolt terrorism allowing me to push Parliament toward a more Home Rule Party.

Kilmainham Treaty

                        The Land Act provided nothing for the people or Ireland. It was laughable and benefitted no one. How dare they think that by promising such small changes we would be satisfied? We demand more! By showing our disapproval my newspaper, United Ireland, attacked the Land Act. The government had shown their unwillingness to bend to our will by arresting me and my fellow party lieutenants who stood by my side and stated their disapproval along with me. We were imprisoned for attacking the land act under the Coercion Act in Kilmainham Goal because we signed a No-Rent- Manifesto encouraging tenant farmer’s to take on a rent strike. Unfortunately the Land League was forced down. I had no choice but to try and negotiate. With that the Kilmainham Treaty was created between Gladstone, the United Kingdom Government, and me.  The treaty created the second Land Act of 1881. Gladstone had promised to make concessions to the irish tenant farmers. The Act though was not satisfying one bit. It lacked enforcement and had holes. It was weak and was not much better than the last Land Act. It did not provide regulations at all! I was not happy at all with the Act and decided to show the government that we would not be silenced and that they needed to start taking us seriously. By doing so I launched attacks on the Chief Secretary for Ireland , William Forster, and Gladstone.  Unfortunately this did not faze them and Gladstone warned me to be silence, but I refused to! We had the right to protest for our rights. They did not know what was good for us. We knew what was good for us. The cabinet however did not agree with me and issued my arrest. I will forever fight for our rights!  

William Gladstone

          When I had first begun my interest in politics I was immediately attracted to William Gladstone. He was a Liberal Leader and I supported him. During the 1880 election I felt he would make the right choices and lead Ireland in the right direction, but his Land Act of 1881 proved me wrong. I was displeased and disappointed with his decision. Then, I decided to join the opposition of the Irish Nationalist movement. I still had a sense of respect for Gladstone though. Eventually he set his sights on the Home Rule Bill. I was glad he was able to see things the way I saw them. Gladstone created the First Home Rule Bill, which would provide Ireland a separate legislature although not a complete separation from the British Parliament. I was pleased with this decision, but the House of Commons had rejected his idea. Although, I was unhappy I was grateful towards Gladstone for trying. We kept close and continued to hope for the Home Rule Bill to pass through. Although I am not sure of how the outcome will be a few years from now. I am glad Gladstone was able to help and guide me throughout my journeys in life. He had helped me many times in trouble and has warned me to keep silence so no trouble would head my way. Although many times I had not listened to him and ran astray I am grateful he helped me. I may have disagreed with him at times, but eventually we both had one goal and it was to pass the home rule bill. 

My Downfall

          During my time I had fallen in love with a woman by the name of Katherine O’Shea. I first met her during Gladstone’s proposals for the first Home Rule Bill. She had acted as a liaison. I felt an attraction to her from the very beginning. I ended up staying at her house in Eltham, Kent and had visited the O’Shea house in Brockley, London many times; I even stayed over at times. To my dismay she was married to Captain O’Shea. He refused to divorce her as she was about to receive an inheritance, but most of it was left in her trust which was eventually given to her cousins.  People had suspected Katherine and I of being in a relationship, but it was eventually let out of the bad on November 15, 1890. We had been seeing each other for a while now and three of her children had actually belonged to me. Captain O’Shea continued through with the divorce. I was ecstatic; I could be with her without her being someone else’s. The Catholic Church however, was not pleased and had been left speechless. They were once my supporters, but now they were unsure of how to react to the news. I began to lose followers one by one my members soon joined a group against me called, anti-parnellites.  I had already decided to give up my position as leader to be with Katherine. I was willing to give up everything for my love for her was strong. On June 25, 1891 we had gotten married finally even when the church had denied us. I was happily in love. Eventually I returned to continue fighting for what I believed in even if my health had begun to fall and deteriorate. I was determined. 

Charles Stewart Parnell timeline

from http://www.thefullwiki.org/Charles_Stewart_Parnell

Birth	27 June 1846
1875	Elected Home Rule League MP for Meath.
1877	August: Elected President, Home Rule Confederation of Great Britain; obstructionist try to wreck South Africa Bill in Commons.
1878	links with Clan na Gael
1879	President, Irish Land League; 'The ‘New Departure' campaign.
1880	May: Replaces William Shaw as chairman (leader) of the Home Rule League;19 September: Parnell outlines "boycotting" strategy in Ennis speech.
1881	Land Act enacted by Gladstone. Criticised by Irish leaders for exceptions denied aid; 13 October: Arrested for 'treasonable practices' and sent toKilmainham Gaol; issued 'No Rent Manifesto'.
1882	25 April: Kilmainham Treaty between Parnell & govt. Parnell released. 'No Rent Manifesto' withdrawn. Land Act amended.8 May 1882: Chief Secretary (Lord Frederick Cavendish) and Under-Secretary Thomas H. Burke murdered byInvincibles in Viceregal Lodge (Known as the "Phoenix Park Murders") Public outcry. Parnell condemns murders;October: Irish National League replaces Land League. Parnell controls it. Home Rule Party name changed to Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP).
1883	December: Parnell receives £37,000 personal gift following national fundraising to alleviate his "financial distress".
1884	October: Catholic Hierarchy ally themselves with IIP and ditch their own party.
1885	June: Lord Salisbury forms minority Tory ministry. 1 August: Confidential meeting with new Lord Lieutenant, Lord Carnavon. 14 August: Ashbourne Land Act enacted. 7 November: Parnell urges Irish voters in Great Britain to vote Tory on eve of general election. IPP wins 85 seats. Hawarden Kite reveals Gladstone is now pro-Irish home rule.
1886	1 February: Gladstone forms government with IPP support. 26 March: Cabinet discusses draft Home Rule Bill.Joseph Chamberlain resigns. 8 June: Bill defeated in Commons. September: Commons rejects Parnell's Tenants' Relief Bill. October: Plan of Campaign launched in "United Ireland" newspaper. Elections put Tories back in power.
1887	Arthur Balfour becomes Chief Secretary. New Land Act and new coercion laws.March: The Times publishes a series "Parnellism and Crime". 18 April: article in series links Parnell to the Phoenix Park murders, quoting a letter he supposedly wrote. 17 July: Salisbury (PM) sets up commission to investigate links between Parnell and crime.
1888	May: Parnell distances himself from thePlan of Campaign in a speech to the Liberal Eighty Club in London, in the interest of Home Rule.
1889	22 February: Richard Piggott revealed as forger of Parnell letter. Later Gladstone leads Commons in a standing ovation when Parnell returns. December: Captain O'Shea files for divorce, naming Parnell as co-respondent.
1890	February: Commission's 35 volume report clears Parnell of murder link but not of Home Rule links with crime.November: story of divorce breaks. Initial support for Parnell as presumption that it is a new smear. 24 November: Gladstone tactfully warns Parnell's deputy, Justin McCarthy of "problems" with scandal for Liberals. 25 November: IPP re-elects Parnell chairman, unaware of Liberal problems. 26 November: Gladstone letter on problems published.1 December: After 5 days debate, 44 IPP MPs desert Parnell. Party and country splits. Parnell supporters forcibly seize hisUnited Ireland party paper HQ. Anti-Parnellites launch own newspapers. 22 December: Anti-Parnellites win Kilkenny North by-election.
1891	January: Parnell rejects with unbending authority offer to retire temporarily from politics and then return later to leadership. Parnellites lose two by-elections (2 April Sligo; 8 July Carlow) Closer battle in Sligo but defeat also. Parnell appeals for Fenian support. 25 June: Parnell marries Katharine O'Shea. Catholic hierarchy (minus one) issue condemnation. 27 September: Health badly deteriorated, Parnell delivers last public speech in Co. Roscommon. Catches pneumonia from the deluge at the meeting and never recovers.
Death	6 October 1891 at the age of 45 in Brighton.