William Ewart Gladstone’s Commitment to the Irish Question 1868-1894

Abstract

This work aims at studying the origins of the Irish question and the role of Gladstone in his first and second ministries . It aims at providing the necessary information to understand Gladstone’s policy and his failure to achieve his goals in Ireland. It comprises three chapters .The first chapter , traces the origins of the Irish problem back to the Normans and the Tudor and Stuart plantations and to the Act of Union which united England and Ireland under the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland .The chapter also examines the Irish Question during the nineteenth century , from the tenants and landlords relationship to the established church of Ireland , and the disorder due to famine and the emergence of the Fenians , in addition to the coming of W. E . Gladstone to office in 1868. The second chapter tries to explain Gladstone's policy to solve the Irish question during his first and second ministries. from Irish religion to Irish eduction and Irish politics . This is besides Gladstone's conversion to Home Rule policy in his third ministry. The third chapter examines the real failure of Gladstone's policy in Ireland.