Parnell Commission
Encyclopedia
The Parnell Commission was a judicial inquiry
in the late 1880s into allegations of crimes by Irish parliamentarian Charles Stewart Parnell
which resulted in his vindication.
and the Permanent Under-Secretary for Ireland T.H. Burke were stabbed to death in Phoenix Park
, Dublin by the Irish National Invincibles
(see Phoenix Park Murders
).
In March 1887, The Times
published a series of articles, "Parnellism and Crime", in which Home Rule League
leaders were accused of being involved in murder and outrage during the land war. The Times produced a number of facsimile letters, allegedly bearing Parnell’s signature and in one of the letters Parnell had excused and condoned the murder of T.H. Burke in the Phoenix Park.
In particular the newspaper had paid £1,780 for a letter supposedly written by Parnell to Patrick Egan
, a Fenian
activist, that included: "Though I regret the accident of Lord F Cavendish's death I cannot refuse to admit that Burke got no more than his deserts" and was signed "Yours very truly, Charles S. Parnell". On the day it was published (18 April 1887), Parnell described the letter in the House of Commons as "a villainous and barefaced forgery."
Also on 18 April the Perpetual Crimes Act
had its second reading and debate in the Commons. It appeared to nationalists that it was more than coincidental that the Times article on the letter was published on the same day, and was obviously intended to sway the debate.
, admitted to having forged the letters; he then fled to Madrid
, where he shot himself. Parnell’s name was fully cleared and the Times paid a large sum of money by way of compensation after Parnell brought a libel action. His principal lawyer was Charles Russell
, who was later created Lord Killowen. Russell also wrote an influential book about the case.
In an out-of-court settlement Parnell accepted £5,000 in damages. While this was less than the £100,000 he sought, the legal costs for the Times brought its overall costs to £200,000. When Parnell re-entered parliament after he was vindicated, he received a standing ovation from his fellow MPs.
The Commission did not limit itself to the forgeries, but also examined at length the surrounding circumstances, and in particular the violent aspects of the Land War
and the Plan of Campaign
. In July 1889 the Irish Nationalist MPs and their lawyers withdrew, satisfied with the main result. When it eventually published its 35 volumes of evidence it satisfied for the most part the pro- and anti-nationalist camps in Ireland:
(1968), who was able to take advantage of the important modern contributions of Henry Harrison
in the 1940s and 1950s and of Leon Ó Broin in the 1960s. Andrew Robert's biography of Salisbury (1999) mainly lists the government's concerns; chapter 27 covers the period from March 1887 to July 1891. The Commission has a chapter in Myles Dungan
's Conspiracy: Irish Political Trials (2009).
Inquiry
An inquiry is any process that has the aim of augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a problem. A theory of inquiry is an account of the various types of inquiry and a treatment of the ways that each type of inquiry achieves its aim.-Deduction:...
in the late 1880s into allegations of crimes by Irish parliamentarian Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
which resulted in his vindication.
Background
On 6 May 1882 two leading members of the British Government in Ireland, Chief Secretary for Ireland Lord Frederick CavendishLord Frederick Cavendish
Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish was an English Liberal politician and protégé of the Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone...
and the Permanent Under-Secretary for Ireland T.H. Burke were stabbed to death in Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park is an urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 16 km perimeter wall encloses , one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the seventeenth...
, Dublin by the Irish National Invincibles
Irish National Invincibles
The Irish National Invincibles, usually known as "The Invincibles" were a radical splinter group of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and leading representatives of the Land League movement, both of Ireland and Britain...
(see Phoenix Park Murders
Phoenix Park Murders
The Phoenix Park Murders were the fatal stabbings on 6 May 1882 in the Phoenix Park in Dublin of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke. Cavendish was the newly appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, and Burke was the Permanent Undersecretary, the most senior Irish civil servant...
).
In March 1887, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
published a series of articles, "Parnellism and Crime", in which Home Rule League
Home Rule League
The Home Rule League, sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was a political party which campaigned for home rule for the country of Ireland from 1873 to 1882, when it was replaced by the Irish Parliamentary Party.-Origins:...
leaders were accused of being involved in murder and outrage during the land war. The Times produced a number of facsimile letters, allegedly bearing Parnell’s signature and in one of the letters Parnell had excused and condoned the murder of T.H. Burke in the Phoenix Park.
In particular the newspaper had paid £1,780 for a letter supposedly written by Parnell to Patrick Egan
Patrick Egan (land reformer and diplomat)
Patrick Egan was an Irish and American political leader.Egan was born in Ballymahon, Co. Longford, Ireland. His family later moved to Dublin and at the age of fourteen he entered the office of an extensive grain and milling firm, the North City Milling Company, in Dublin, and before he was twenty...
, a Fenian
Fenian
The Fenians , both the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood , were fraternal organisations dedicated to the establishment of an independent Irish Republic in the 19th and early 20th century. The name "Fenians" was first applied by John O'Mahony to the members of the Irish republican...
activist, that included: "Though I regret the accident of Lord F Cavendish's death I cannot refuse to admit that Burke got no more than his deserts" and was signed "Yours very truly, Charles S. Parnell". On the day it was published (18 April 1887), Parnell described the letter in the House of Commons as "a villainous and barefaced forgery."
Also on 18 April the Perpetual Crimes Act
Coercion Act
The Coercion Acts, formally Protection of Person and Property Acts were Acts of Parliament to respond with force to popular discontent and disorder.-London:...
had its second reading and debate in the Commons. It appeared to nationalists that it was more than coincidental that the Times article on the letter was published on the same day, and was obviously intended to sway the debate.
The Commission
After considerable argument, the government eventually set up a Special Commission to investigate the charges made against Parnell and the Home Rule party. The commission sat for 128 days between September 1888 and November 1889. In February 1889, one of the witnesses, Richard PiggottRichard Piggott
Richard Pigott was an Irish journalist, best known for selling the Pigott forgeries.-Journalist:Pigott was born in Ratoath, County Meath. As a young man he supported Irish nationalism and worked on the Nation and the Tablet before acting as manager of The Irishman, a newspaper founded by Denis...
, admitted to having forged the letters; he then fled to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, where he shot himself. Parnell’s name was fully cleared and the Times paid a large sum of money by way of compensation after Parnell brought a libel action. His principal lawyer was Charles Russell
Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen
Charles Arthur Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, GCMG, PC, was an Irish statesman of the 19th century, and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.-Early life:...
, who was later created Lord Killowen. Russell also wrote an influential book about the case.
In an out-of-court settlement Parnell accepted £5,000 in damages. While this was less than the £100,000 he sought, the legal costs for the Times brought its overall costs to £200,000. When Parnell re-entered parliament after he was vindicated, he received a standing ovation from his fellow MPs.
The Commission did not limit itself to the forgeries, but also examined at length the surrounding circumstances, and in particular the violent aspects of the Land War
Land War
The Land War in Irish history was a period of agrarian agitation in rural Ireland in the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s. The agitation was led by the Irish National Land League and was dedicated to bettering the position of tenant farmers and ultimately to a redistribution of land to tenants from...
and the Plan of Campaign
Plan of Campaign
The Plan of Campaign was a stratagem adopted in Ireland between 1886 and 1891, co-ordinated by Irish politicians for the benefit of tenant farmers, against mainly absentee and rack-rent landlords. It was launched to counter agricultural distress caused by the continual depression in prices of dairy...
. In July 1889 the Irish Nationalist MPs and their lawyers withdrew, satisfied with the main result. When it eventually published its 35 volumes of evidence it satisfied for the most part the pro- and anti-nationalist camps in Ireland:
- Nationalists were pleased that Parnell had been heroically vindicated, in particular against the Times which had become a supporter of the high Tory prime minister Lord Salisbury.
- Unionists conceded that Parnell was innocent, but pointed to a surrounding mass of sworn evidence that suggested that some of his MPs had condoned or advocated violence, in such a way that murders were inevitable. They also made much of the fact that Piggott had formerly been a Nationalist supporter and was clearly deranged.
Historiography
A balanced and up-to-date overview of the "Parnellism and Crime" affair is given by T. W. MoodyTheodore William Moody
Theodore William Moody was an Irish historian. He was educated at Royal Belfast Academical Institution and Queen's University Belfast. In 1930 he went to the Institute of Historical Research in London, and graduated with a PhD in 1934. He was Professor of Modern History at Trinity College, Dublin,...
(1968), who was able to take advantage of the important modern contributions of Henry Harrison
Henry Harrison (MP)
Captain Henry Harrison was an Irish politician and MP. in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and as member of the Irish Parliamentary Party represented Mid Tipperary from 1890 to 1892...
in the 1940s and 1950s and of Leon Ó Broin in the 1960s. Andrew Robert's biography of Salisbury (1999) mainly lists the government's concerns; chapter 27 covers the period from March 1887 to July 1891. The Commission has a chapter in Myles Dungan
Myles Dungan
Myles Dungan is an Irish broadcaster and author. He has presented many arts programmes on RTÉ Radio.Dungan began broadcasting in RTÉ in 1977 as a continuity announcer. He has worked as a reporter for RTÉ Television and RTÉ Radio. He has presented programmes such as Five Seven Live, The Arts Show...
's Conspiracy: Irish Political Trials (2009).