1.
Edward Carson
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Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson, PC, PC, KC, from 1900 to 1921 known as Sir Edward Carson, was an Irish unionist politician, barrister and judge. He was leader of the Irish Unionist Alliance and Ulster Unionist Party between 1910 and 1921, held positions in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom and served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. He was one of the few people not a monarch to receive a British state funeral, Edward Carson was born at 4 Harcourt Street, in Dublin, into a wealthy Anglican family, His father was an architect. The Carsons were of Scottish origin, Edwards grandfather having originally moved to Dublin from Dumfries in 1815, Carsons mother was Isabella Lambert, the daughter of Captain Peter Lambert, part of an old Anglo-Irish family, the Lamberts of Castle Ellen, County Galway. Carson spent holidays at Castle Ellen, which was owned by his uncle and he was one of six children. Edward was educated at Portarlington School, Wesley College, Dublin and Trinity College, Dublin and he also played with the college hurling team. He later received a doctorate from the University of Dublin in June 1901. In 1877 Carson was called to the Irish Bar at Kings Inns and he gained a reputation for fearsome advocacy and supreme legal ability and became regarded as a brilliant barrister, one of the leading ones in Ireland at the time. He was also a master of the appeal to the jury by his legal wit. He was appointed Queens Counsel in 1889, in 1895, he was engaged by the Marquess of Queensberry to lead his defence against Oscar Wildes action for criminal libel. Wilde retaliated with an action, as homosexuality was, at the time. Kevin Myers states that Carsons initial response was to refuse to take the case, later, he discovered that Queensberry had been telling the truth about Wildes activity and was therefore not guilty of the libel of which Wilde accused him. He impugned Wildes works as morally repugnant and designed to corrupt the upbringing of the youth, Queensberry spent a considerable amount of money on private detectives who investigated Wildes activity in the London underworld of homosexual clubs and procurers. Wilde was bankrupted when he was ordered to pay the considerable legal. Based on the evidence of Queensberrys detectives and Carsons cross-examinations of Wilde at the trial and he was eventually found guilty and sentenced to two years hard labour, after which he moved to France, where he died penniless. In 1908 Carson appeared for the London Evening Standard in an action brought by George Cadbury. The Standard was controlled by Unionist interests which supported Joseph Chamberlains Imperial Preference views, the Cadbury family were Liberal supporters of free trade and had, in 1901, purchased The Daily News. The Standard articles alleged that Cadbury Bros Ltd, the Standard alleged that the Cadbury family knew that the reason cocoa from São Tomé was cheaper was because it was grown by slave labour
2.
Third Home Rule Bill
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It was the third such bill introduced by a Liberal government in a 28-year period in response to the Irish Home Rule movement. The Act was the first law passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sought to establish a devolved government in any part of the UK. However, the implementation of both it and the equally controversial Welsh Church Act 1914 was formally postponed for a minimum of twelve months with the outbreak of the First World War, in 1909, a constitutional crisis arose when the House of Lords rejected David Lloyd Georges Finance Bill. The Irish Party, which had campaigned for home rule for Ireland since the 1870s, the Parliament Act 1911 replaced the unlimited veto of the Lords with one lasting only two years, ensuring that a bill passed by the Commons could not be blocked for more than two years. The Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, introduced the Bill on 11 April 1912, the abolition of Dublin Castle administration, though with the retention of the Lord Lieutenant. The financial situation was a concern, Irish taxes had yielded a surplus of £2 million in 1893, that had turned into a current spending net deficit of £1. 5m by 1910 that had to be raised by London. An annual Transferred Sum mechanism was proposed to maintain spending in Ireland as it was, the Bill was passed by the Commons by a majority of 10 votes in 1912 but the House of Lords rejected it 326 votes to 69 in January 1913. In 1913 it was reintroduced and again passed by the Commons but was rejected by the Lords by 302 votes to 64. In 1914 after the reading, the Bill was passed by the Commons on 25 May 1914 by a majority of 77. Having been defeated a third time in the Lords, the Government used the provisions of the Parliament Act to override the Lords, Unionists in Ulster were opposed to a home-rule Ireland governed from Dublin. Early in 1912, they began forming local militias. By April 1912, the Irish Unionist leader, Sir Edward Carson, on 28 September 1912, over 500,000 Unionists signed the Ulster Covenant pledging to defy Home Rule by all means possible. The Covenant was drawn up by Carson and organised by Sir James Craig, at the Bills third reading in the Commons on 21 May 1914 several members asked about a proposal to exclude the whole of Ulster for six years. Asquith was seeking any solution that would avoid a civil war and you have never tried to understand her position. You have never alleged, and you cannot allege, that this Bill gives her one atom of advantage, a government amending bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 23 June 1914 and passed there with amendments on 8 July. Carson and the Irish Unionist Party backed the bill, which envisaged temporary exclusion of Ulster from the workings of the future Act. The Lords amendments to the bill were unacceptable to the government. What was still to be negotiated were the number of counties excluded, the compromise proposed by Asquith was straightforward
3.
Government of the United Kingdom
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Her Majestys Government, commonly referred to as the UK government or British government, is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The government is led by the Prime Minister, who all the remaining ministers. The prime minister and the other most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision-making committee, the government ministers all sit in Parliament, and are accountable to it. After an election, the monarch selects as prime minister the leader of the party most likely to command a majority of MPs in the House of Commons. Under the uncodified British constitution, executive authority lies with the monarch, although this authority is exercised only by, or on the advice of, the prime minister, the Cabinet members advise the monarch as members of the Privy Council. They also exercise power directly as leaders of the Government Departments, the current prime minister is Theresa May, who took office on 13 July 2016. She is the leader of the Conservative Party, which won a majority of seats in the House of Commons in the election on 7 May 2015. Prior to this, Cameron and the Conservatives led a government from 2010 to 2015 with the Liberal Democrats. A key principle of the British Constitution is that the government is responsible to Parliament, Britain is a constitutional monarchy in which the reigning monarch does not make any open political decisions. All political decisions are taken by the government and Parliament and this constitutional state of affairs is the result of a long history of constraining and reducing the political power of the monarch, beginning with the Magna Carta in 1215. Parliament is split into two houses, the House of Lords and the House of Commons, the House of Commons is the lower house and is the more powerful. The House of Lords is the house and although it can vote to amend proposed laws. Parliamentary time is essential for bills to be passed into law, Ministers of the Crown are responsible to the House in which they sit, they make statements in that House and take questions from members of that House. For most senior ministers this is usually the elected House of Commons rather than the House of Lords, since the start of Edward VIIs reign, in 1901, the prime minister has always been an elected member of Parliament and therefore directly accountable to the House of Commons. Under the British system the government is required by convention and for reasons to maintain the confidence of the House of Commons. It requires the support of the House of Commons for the maintenance of supply, by convention if a government loses the confidence of the House of Commons it must either resign or a General Election is held. The support of the Lords, while useful to the government in getting its legislation passed without delay, is not vital, a government is not required to resign even if it loses the confidence of the Lords and is defeated in key votes in that House. The House of Commons is thus the Responsible house, the prime minister is held to account during Prime Ministers Question Time which provides an opportunity for MPs from all parties to question the PM on any subject
4.
Belfast City Hall
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Belfast City Hall is the civic building of Belfast City Council. Located in Donegall Square, Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, it faces north and effectively divides the commercial, the site now occupied by Belfast City Hall was once the home of the White Linen Hall, an important international Linen Exchange. The Street that runs from the door of Belfast City Hall through the middle of Linen Quarter is Linen Hall Street. Plans for the City Hall began in 1888 when Belfast was awarded city status by Queen Victoria and this was in recognition of Belfasts rapid expansion and thriving linen, rope-making, shipbuilding and engineering industries. During this period Belfast briefly overtook Dublin as the most populous city in Ireland, construction began in 1898 under the supervision of architect Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas and was completed in 1906 at a cost of £369,000. Belfast Corporation used their profits from the gas industry to pay for the construction of Belfast City Hall, local firms H&J Martin and WH Stephens were among the companies involved in construction. James G. Gamble, architect, was the clerk of works, the city hall in Durban, South Africa is almost an exact replica of Belfasts City Hall. It was built in 1910 and designed by Stanley G. Hudson, the Port of Liverpool Building, designed by Arnold Thornley and completed in 1913, is another very close relative. On 1 August 2006 the City Hall celebrated its centenary with a Century of Memories exhibition, on 3 December 2012, the City Council voted to limit the days that the Union Flag flies from City Hall to no more than 18 designated days. Since 1906, the flag had flown every day of the year. The move was backed by the Councils Irish nationalist Councillors and by its Alliance Party Councillors and it was opposed by the unionist Councillors, who had enjoyed a majority on the council until the Northern Ireland local elections,2011. On the night of the vote, unionist and loyalist protesters tried to storm City Hall and they held protests throughout Northern Ireland, some of which became violent. The exterior is mainly from Portland stone and is in the Baroque Revival style. It covers an area of one and a half acres and has an enclosed courtyard, featuring towers at each of the four corners, with a lantern-crowned 173 ft copper dome in the centre, the City Hall dominates the city centre skyline. As with other Victorian buildings in the city centre, the City Halls copper-coated domes are a distinctive green, the Titanic Memorial in Belfast is located on the grounds of Belfast City Hall. The design of the building is reminiscent of the Old Bailey in London, floodlights have been added to City Hall to light up the building in a variety of colours and combinations. Using the same technology as the Empire State Building in New York, a white illumination will be applied to the building, after dusk, and it will also be colour-washed on special dates. The interior has a number of features including The Porte-Cochère and Grand Entrance, The Grand Staircase, The Reception Room
5.
James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon
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James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, PC, PC, was a prominent Irish unionist politician, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. He was created a baronet in 1918 and raised to the Peerage in 1927, James Craig Snr. owned a large house called Craigavon, overlooking Belfast Lough. His mother, Eleanor Gilmore Browne, was the daughter of Robert Browne, a man who owned property in Belfast. Craig was the child and sixth son in the family, there were eight sons. He was educated at Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, Scotland, after school he began work as a stockbroker, eventually opening his own firm in Belfast. He enlisted in the 3rd regiment of the Royal Irish Rifles on 11 January 1900 to serve in the Second Boer War, Military life suited him well, but he became impatient with the lack of professionalism and efficiency in the British Army. On his recovery he became deputy assistant director of the Imperial Military Railways, in June 1901 he was sent home suffering from dysentery, and by the time he was fit for service again the war was over. On his return to Ireland, having received a £100,000 legacy from his fathers will, he turned to politics, serving as Member of the British Parliament for East Down from 1906 to 1918. From 1918 to 1921 he represented Mid Down, and served in the British government as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Pensions and Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty. Craig rallied Ulster loyalist opposition to Irish Home Rule in Ulster before the First World War, organising the paramilitary Ulster Volunteers, the UVF became the nucleus of the 36th Division during the First World War. He succeeded Edward Carson as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party in February 1921, in the 1921 Northern Ireland general election, the first ever, he was elected to the newly created Northern Ireland House of Commons as one of the members for County Down. On 7 June 1921, Craig was appointed the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. A dedicated member of the Orange Order and staunchly Protestant, he stated, in April 1934, in response to George Leekes question regarding Craigs Protestant Parliament. Member must remember that in the South they boasted of a Catholic State and they still boast of Southern Ireland being a Catholic State. All I boast of is that we are a Protestant Parliament and it is most interesting for me at the moment to watch how they are progressing. I am doing my best always to top the bill and to be ahead of the South and this speech is often misquoted as, A Protestant Parliament for a Protestant People. It is undoubtedly our duty and our privilege, and always will be, to see that those appointed by us possess the most unimpeachable loyalty to the King and that is my whole object in carrying on a Protestant Government for a Protestant people. I repeat it in this House and he was made a baronet in 1918, and in 1927 was created Viscount Craigavon, of Stormont in the County of Down
6.
Dublin
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Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, the city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people, founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Irelands principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800, following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland. Dublin is administered by a City Council, the city is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-, which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world. It is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration, economy, the name Dublin comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, early Classical Irish Dubhlind/Duibhlind, dubh /d̪uβ/, alt. /d̪uw/, alt /d̪u, / meaning black, dark, and lind /lʲiɲ pool and this tidal pool was located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey, on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle. In Modern Irish the name is Duibhlinn, and Irish rhymes from Dublin County show that in Dublin Leinster Irish it was pronounced Duílinn /d̪ˠi, other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicized as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Historically, scribes using the Gaelic script wrote bh with a dot over the b and those without knowledge of Irish omitted the dot, spelling the name as Dublin. Variations on the name are found in traditionally Irish-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. Baile Átha Cliath, meaning town of the ford, is the common name for the city in modern Irish. Áth Cliath is a name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, there are other towns of the same name, such as Àth Cliath in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which is Anglicised as Hurlford. Although the area of Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times and he called the settlement Eblana polis. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay, the Dubhlinn was a small lake used to moor ships, the Poddle connected the lake with the Liffey. This lake was covered during the early 18th century as the city grew, the Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle
7.
Rudyard Kipling
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Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist. Kiplings works of fiction include The Jungle Book, Kim, and many short stories and his poems include Mandalay, Gunga Din, The Gods of the Copybook Headings, The White Mans Burden, and If—. Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom, Henry James said, Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius, as distinct from fine intelligence, that I have ever known. In 1907, at the age of 42, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize and its youngest recipient to date. He was also sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on occasions for a knighthood. Kiplings subsequent reputation has changed according to the political and social climate of the age, George Orwell called him a prophet of British imperialism. Literary critic Douglas Kerr wrote, is still an author who can inspire passionate disagreement and his place in literary, but as the age of the European empires recedes, he is recognised as an incomparable, if controversial, interpreter of how empire was experienced. That, and a recognition of his extraordinary narrative gifts. Rudyard Kipling was born on 30 December 1865, in Bombay, in the Bombay Presidency of British India, to Alice Kipling, Alice was a vivacious woman about whom Lord Dufferin would say, Dullness and Mrs. Kipling cannot exist in the same room. Lockwood Kipling, a sculptor and pottery designer, was the Principal, John Lockwood and Alice had met in 1863 and courted at Rudyard Lake in Rudyard, Staffordshire, England. They married and moved to India in 1865 and they had been so moved by the beauty of the Rudyard Lake area that when their first child was born they referenced it when naming him. Alices sister Georgiana was married to painter Edward Burne-Jones, and her sister Agnes was married to painter Edward Poynter, Kiplings most famous relative was his first cousin, Stanley Baldwin, who was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times in the 1920s and 1930s. Kiplings birth home on the campus of the J J School of Art in Bombay for many years was used as the Deans residence. Although the cottage bears a plaque stating that this is the site where Kipling was born, the original cottage may have torn down decades ago. Some historians and conservationists are also of the view that the bungalow merely marks a site close to the home of his birth, as the bungalow was built in 1882, Kipling seems to have also said so to the dean when he visited J J School in the 1930s. Kipling was to write of Bombay, According to Bernice M. Murphy, Kipling’s parents considered themselves Anglo-Indians and so too would their son, complex issues of identity and national allegiance would become prominent features in his fiction. So one spoke English, haltingly translated out of the idiom that one thought. Kiplings days of light and darkness in Bombay ended when he was five years old
