Irish Parliamentary Party

Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish harp, along with the coat of arms of the provinces of Ireland, played a prominent role in IPP literature.
Founded	1874
Dissolved	1922
Preceded by	Home Rule League
Succeeded by	Nationalist Party NI
Ideology	Irish nationalism Home Rule
Colours	Green
Politics of Ireland Political parties Elections

The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nationalist Members of Parliament (MPs) elected to the House of Commons at Westminster within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland up until 1918. Its central objectives were legislative independence for Ireland and land reform. Its constitutional movement was instrumental in laying the groundwork for Irish self-government through three Irish Home Rule bills.

The IPP evolved out of the Home Rule League which Isaac Butt founded after he defected from the Irish Conservative Party in 1873. The League sought to gain a limited form of freedom from Britain in order to manage Irish domestic affairs in the interest of the Protestant landlord class. It was inspired by the 1868 election of William Ewart Gladstone and his Liberal Party under the slogan Justice for Ireland, and by Irish Liberals' gain of 65 of the 105 Irish seats at Westminster. Gladstone said his mission was to pacify Ireland and with the Irish Church Act 1869 began with the disestablishment of the Anglican Church of Ireland whose members were a minority who made all political decisions in Ireland and would have largely voted Conservative. He also introduced his first land bill which led to the First Irish Land Act 1870, implementing limited tenant rights, thereby impinging on the powers of the Irish landlords to indiscriminately evict tenant farmers. At first the Catholic hierarchy supported Gladstone supervising Irish affairs, hoping to gain financial aid for a Catholic University. But his educational programme of 1873 did not provide for a denominational university.