The History of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. An Osher Lifelong Learning at UNM Continuing Education class.

1. Devolution in Ireland
Photo of Irish forces outside Liberty Hall, 1916
• The Home Rule party
• Sinn Fein, 1905
– Meaning: “we ourselves” or
“ourselves alone”
• Home Rule bill voted on again in
1912, 1913, and 1914
– Signed into law by George V, r.
1910-1936
• The Irish Volunteers and the
Citizen Army
• The Easter Rising, 1916
– Padraig Pearse, 1879-1916
– Declaration of a Provisional
Government, with Pearse as
President.

2. Proclamation of the Irish Republic,
1916
• “We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the
ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of
Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible. The
long usurpation of that right by a foreign people and
government has not extinguished the right, nor can it
ever be extinguished except by the destruction of the
Irish people. In every generation the Irish people have
asserted their right to national freedom and
sovereignty… Standing on that fundamental right and
again asserting it in arms in the face of the world, we
hereby proclaim the Irish Republic as a sovereign
independent state, and we pledge our lives and the lives
of our comrades-in-arms to the cause of its freedom, of
its welfare, and of its exaltation among the nations…”

3. Statue of Dying Cuchulain, by Oliver Shepherd, 1911. Installed at
Dublin Post Office in 1935.

4. Devolution in Ireland
Photo of Eamon de Valera in British custody, 1916.
• The Irish Convention, June 1917-March 1918
• Eamon de Valera, 1882-1975
• Formation of the Irish Republican Army, 1917
– Michael Collins (d. 1922) as Director of
Intelligence
• Dáil Éireann, 1919
• War between Dáil, IRA and British forces
1919-1922
– Black and Tans
• The Anglo-Irish Treaty signed December 1921
• The Irish Free State, 1922-1937
– Civil war, 1922-1923
– De Valera formed Fianna Fail (Warriors of Fal), 1926
• Eire, 1937-1949
• The Republic of Ireland, 1949-present
• President (Uachtarán) and Prime minister
(Taoiseach)
• Queen Elizabeth II visited in May 2011

5. Devolution in Northern Ireland
Photo of Belfast graffiti, 1990s
• “Solemn League and Covenant,”
1912
– The Orangemen
• Establishment of the Ulster
Volunteers and a Provisional
Government of Ulster, 1913
• Home Rule in Northern Ireland,
1920-1972
– The Anglo-Irish Treaty, December
1921
• Bloody Sunday, January 20, 1972
– 13 unarmed civilians shot dead by British
troops in Derry
– Northern Irish parliament suspended
• Northern Ireland Assembly
Government, 1998-present
• IRA agreed to cease fire in 2005
• Sinn Fein and Democratic Unionist
Party formed a coalition government,
2007

6. Devolution in Scotland
• No call for Home Rule until 1910
– Supported by the Scottish Liberal Party
• Representation of the People Act, 1918
– From 779,012 voters (1910) to 2,205,383, including women over 30
• Scottish Labour Party
– 1918 platform: 1) the complete restoration of the land of Scotland to the
Scottish people and 2) the self-determination of the Scottish people
• Government of Scotland Bill proposed in 1924, but failed
• National Party of Scotland (founded 1928) joined forces with other
nationalist parties to form the Scottish National Party, 1934
• London parliament sought to placate Scottish calls for Home Rule
– Secretary of State for Scotland became a real office in 1926
– Offices dealing with Scottish issues moved to Edinburgh in 1934-1936
• Secretary of State Tom Johnston (1941-1945)
– Scottish Council on Industry
– North of Scotland Hydro-electric Board
– Emergency medical system for war workers (predecessor for the National Health
System)

7. Devolution in Scotland
• Scottish National Party petitioned for an independent parliament,
1949
– 2 million signatures on the petition, but no interest shown by other Scottish
political parties
• Theft of the Stone of Destiny, Christmas Day 1950
• Scottish Labour Party did not embrace Home Rule again, but did
push for economic development
– National Plan for Scotland, 1965
• By the late 1960s, SNP began to push again for devolution
• Parliament proposed a (powerless) Scottish Assembly, 1975
• Development of North Sea oil fields, 1975 onward
• Scotland Act 1978
– 32.9% yes-30.8% no (40% approval required)
• Claim of Right for Scotland, 1988
– Scottish Constitutional Convention
• Scotland Act 1998
– 75% approved; Scotland’s parliament restored in 1999

8. Scottish referendum of 1997, by council (maps
from Wikipedia; green = yes, pink = no)
• Question 1: should Sctland
have its own parliament?
• Question 2: should the Scottish
parliament have tax-varying powers?

9. Devolution in Wales
• Welsh Home Rule Bill, 1914
• Representation of the People Act, 1918
– From ~900,000 voters (1884) to 1,172,000, including women over 30
• David Lloyd George (1863-1945)
– Originally a member of Cymru Fydd
– Prime Minister 1916-1922
– Debates over nationalization of the coal industry
• By the 1920s, neither Labour nor Liberal Parties called for Home
Rule
• Plaid Genedlaethol Gymru (the National Party of Wales), 1925
– Not a major political party until the 1960s
• Council of Wales formed, 1948
– A council that would advise parliament on Welsh issues, but no other powers
• Cymdeithas ar Iaith Gymraeg, founded 1885 reconstituted in 1960s
• Secretaryship of Wales established in 1964
• Wales Act, 1978
– 58% of electorate voted, with 75% voting against the Act
• Wales Act, 1998
– 50.3% for, 49.7% against

10. Welsh Act, 1997
Left—map of Wales c. 1500
Right—map of Welsh Act voting, 1997 (from Wikipedia)
• Question: do you agree there
should be a Welsh assembly?
green = yes; blue = no

11. “Cornwall has a unique and special culture heritage. An increasing
number of people describe themselves as Cornish and it is important in
all our equality and diversity work that we actively recognise Cornish as
a minority group and continue to support the Cornish Language and
the Cornish indigenous culture.” Cornish Republican, 6/27/10
http://thecornishrepublican.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html

12. Cartoon by Michael Cummings,
for the Daily Express, 1974.

13. Recent news
• http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/05/world/europe/• http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/05/world/europe/