TheIrish Parliamentary Party was anationalistpolitical party inIreland. The Party wantedIreland to be able to govern itself, instead of being governed by theUnited Kingdom. The Party was created in the nineteenth century byIsaac Butt. Its most famous leader wasCharles Stewart Parnell.
In 1886, the Party helped convinceBritish Prime Minister, William Gladstone, to announce a Home Rule bill. The bill would make Ireland leave the United Kingdom. Ireland would become a British colony which could govern itself. Ireland would have its ownparliament, instead of having representatives in theBritish Parliament.[1] The bill did not get passed.
Other Home rule bills were presented later on. They were different from the original because they would have kept Ireland's representation in the British Parliament (instead of giving Ireland its own parliament). None of these bills succeeded. One was passed in 1914, but it was canceled because ofthe First World War. Another was enacted in 1920, but it failed because of Irishrebellion. It was replaced by an independent Irish Free State, which included most of the island. A Home RuledNorthern Ireland was also created in six counties ofUlster that stayed in the United Kingdom.