Charles Stewart Parnell

Irish Political Leader Fought for Rights of the Irish in Britain's Parliament

Engraved portrait of Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell. Getty Images

Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish nationalist who campaigned for land reform and, after being elected to office, led the political fight for Irish Home Rule. Parnell had a devoted following in Ireland, and after his fast rise to power he became known as "Ireland's Uncrowned King."

Though greatly revered by the Irish people, Parnell suffered a scandalous downfall before dying at the age of 45.

Parnell was a Protestant landowner, and was therefor a very unlikely person to become a hero to those who stood for Irish nationalism. He was essentially from the class generally considered the enemy of the interests of the Catholic majority. And the Parnell family was considered part of the Anglo-Irish gentry, people who had profited from the oppressive landlord system imposed upon Ireland by British rule.

Yet with the exception of Daniel O'Connell, he was the most significant Irish political leader of the 19th century. Parnell's downfall essentially made him a political martyr.

Early Life

Charles Stewart Parnell was born in County Wicklow, Ireland, on June 27, 1846. His mother was American, and held very strong anti-British views, despite having married into an Anglo-Irish family. Parnell's parents separated, and his father died while Parnell was in his early teens.

Parnell was first sent to a school in England at the age of six. He returned to the family's estate in Ireland and was privately tutored, but was again sent to English schools.

Studies at Cambridge were frequently interrupted, partly due to problems managing the Irish estate Parnell had inherited from his father.

photo of statue of Charles Stewart Parnell in Dublin
Statue of Parnell in Dublin, Ireland. Fox Photos/Getty Images

Parnell's Political Rise

In the 1800s, Members of Parliament, meaning the British Parliament, were elected throughout Ireland. In the early part of the century, Daniel O’Connell, the legendary agitator for Irish rights as the leader of the Repeal Movement, was elected to Parliament. O'Connell used that position to secure some measure of civil rights for Irish Catholics, and set an example of being rebellious while existing within the political system.

Later in the century, the movement for “Home Rule” began to run candidates for seats in Parliament. Parnell ran, and was elected to the House of Commons in 1875. With his background as a member of the Protestant gentry, it was believed he gave some respectability to the Home Rule movement.

Parnell's Politics of Obstruction

In the House of Commons, Parnell perfected the tactic of obstructionism to agitate for reforms in Ireland. Feeling that the British public and the government were indifferent to Irish complaints, Parnell and his allies sought to shut down the legislative process.

This tactic was effective but controversial. Some who were sympathetic to Ireland felt that it alienated the British public and therefore only damaged the cause of Home Rule.

Parnell was aware of that, but felt he had to persist. In 1877 he was quoted as saying, “We will never gain anything from England unless we tread on her toes.”

Parnell and the Land League

In 1879 Michael Davitt founded the Land League, an organization pledged to reform the landlord system that plagued Ireland. Parnell was appointed the head of the Land League, and he was able to pressure the British government to enact the 1881 Land Act, which granted some concessions.

In October 1881 Parnell was arrested and imprisoned at Kilmainham Jail in Dublin on “reasonable suspicion” of encouraging violence. The British Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, held negotiations with Parnell, who agreed to denounce violence. Parnell was released from prison in early May 1882 following what became known as the “Kilmainham treaty.”

Parnell Branded a Terrorist

Ireland was rocked in 1882 by notorious political assassinations, the Phoenix Park Murders, in which British officials were murdered in a Dublin park. Parnell was horrified by the crime, but his political enemies repeatedly tried to insinuate that he supported such activity.

Parnell was not steeped in the revolutionary history of Ireland, unlike members of rebel groups such as the Fenian Brotherhood. And while he might have met members of revolutionary groups, he was not associated with them in any significant way.

During a stormy period in the 1880s, Parnell was constantly under attack, but he continued his activities in the House of Commons, working on behalf of the Irish Party.

Scandal, Downfall, and Death

Parnell had been living with a married woman, Katherine "Kitty" O'Shea, and that fact became public knowledge when her husband filed for divorce and made the affair public record in 1889.

O'Shea's husband was granted the divorce on grounds of adultery, and Kitty O'Shea and Parnell were married. But his political career was effectively ruined. He was attacked by political enemies as well as by the Roman Catholic establishment in Ireland.

Parnell made an effort for a political comeback, and embarked on a grueling election campaign. His health suffered, and he died, presumably of a heart attack, at the age of 45, on October 6, 1891.

Always a controversial figure, Parnell's legacy has often been disputed. Later Irish revolutionaries drew inspiration from some of his militancy. The writer James Joyce portrayed Dubliners remembering Parnell in his classic short story, "Ivy Day in the Committee Room."

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McNamara, Robert. "Charles Stewart Parnell." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/charles-stewart-parnell-1773852. McNamara, Robert. (2023, April 5). Charles Stewart Parnell. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/charles-stewart-parnell-1773852 McNamara, Robert. "Charles Stewart Parnell." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/charles-stewart-parnell-1773852 (accessed March 29, 2024).