Parnell - The Cause of Ireland (Land League Poster)

Parnell - The Cause of Ireland (Land League Poster) - A lovely reproduction of a fine 1880's Land League poster containing several Irish Parliamentary Party MP's and members of the land league with their leader Charles Stuart Parnell centre. Parnell and Biggar devised and led the IPP's obstructionist policy at Westminister and along with several others, including Michael Davitt, was imprisoned for their Land League agitation, including "Pay No Rent" and their efforts for land reform as the Irish tenantry faced famine again in the early 1880's.
Parnell also did much in his trip to America in 1881 to raise the political profile of Ireland's quest for self-government and to secure funds from Irish Americans to support the Land League efforts which the British establishment, and a supposedly pro-Ireland Liberal Prime Minister, Gladstone, unashamedly and ruthlessly suppressed under their Coercion and Criminal Acts legislation.
It was this total failure to compromise and meet Irish political demands through their peaceful agitation which led to the rise and rejuvenation of more radical nationalist groups such as the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB ) and their offshoot , The Invincibles (now widely believed to be known to senior members for the Land League ), who carried out The Phoenix Park Murders on May 6th 1882 of the new Chief Secretary (Prime Minister) of Ireland Lord Cavendish on his first day in office, and his Permanent Under-Secretary (Britain's long-time top civil servant in Ireland) Thomas Burke. This event rocked the establishment in Britain and Ireland, and with the ruthless response of the authorities, ultimately scuppered any chance of Parnell's more constitutional efforts to shame the British into a peaceful settlement of Irish demands for self-government. There can be little doubt that with Parnell's failure and political demise the seeds of violent revolution were sown among ardent nationalists who perceived that physical force would be the only effective method of determining Irish self-government.