Ireland and the Union, c1774-1923 | Edexcel A-Level History (9HI0)

Ireland and the Union, c1774-1923

185 questions
19 subtopics
Paper 3: themes in breadth with aspects in depth, one option of sixteen
Paper 3

A Paper 3 option combining aspects in breadth on Irish agitation and changing British policy with aspects in depth on Catholic emancipation, the industrialisation of Ulster, the Famine and the land question, and the labour conflict that culminated in the Dublin Lockout..

It covers agitation and rebellion, c1774–c1870, the campaign for Home Rule, c1870–1910, evolving government policies c1774–1922, british politicians and Irish agitation, the Penal Laws and the Catholic Relief Acts, daniel O'Connell and Catholic emancipation, removing restrictions on Irish trade, 1778-82, the textile industry in Ulster, the development of shipbuilding, hickson, Mulholland and the industrialisation of Ulster, landlords, monoculture and blight, government response to the Famine, social and economic impacts of depopulation, the Dublin Land Conference and the Land Act 1870, the long depression and Irish agriculture, davitt, Forster and Parnell in the Land Wars, working and living conditions for unskilled urban workers, events and significance of the Dublin general strike 1913–14 and british trade unions and the Dublin strike.

Sample questions from Ireland and the Union, c1774-1923

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Agitation and rebellion, c1774–c1870

What was the Tithe War?

Show the answer
Widespread resistance in the 1830s to paying tithes to the Protestant Church of Ireland, eased by the Tithe Commutation Act 1838.
Evolving government policies c1774–1922

What happened to Home Rule bills before 1914?

Show the answer
Gladstone's 1886 bill was defeated in the Commons and his 1893 bill rejected by the Lords; Asquith's 1912–14 bill passed but was suspended for the war.
The Penal Laws and the Catholic Relief Acts

How did the Penal Laws affect Catholic landholding?

Show the answer
Catholic ownership fell from around 14 per cent in 1703 to about 5 per cent by 1778, since estates had to be divided among all sons unless one conformed.
Removing restrictions on Irish trade, 1778-82

How did the American war create the opportunity?

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With troops withdrawn to America, the Volunteers were raised for defence, and their armed presence gave Grattan's parliamentary campaign real force.
The development of shipbuilding

What technical innovations did Harland introduce?

Show the answer
Flat-bottomed hulls with square bilges and iron upper decks, which gave greater capacity and strength and became standard practice.
Landlords, monoculture and blight

What was conacre?

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The letting of a patch of prepared ground for a single potato crop, paid for in labour, the arrangement on which the poorest families depended for food.
Social and economic impacts of depopulation

Where did the emigrants go?

Show the answer
Mainly to the United States, with substantial numbers to Britain, Canada and Australia, on ships whose conditions earned them the name coffin ships.
The long depression and Irish agriculture

What happened to rents during the depression?

Show the answer
Rents fixed in better years became unpayable, and landlords who refused abatement resorted to eviction, which produced the Land War.

The 19 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Agitation and rebellion, c1774–c1870	Recall questions on the Irish Volunteers and the United Irishmen, the 1798 Rebellion and why it failed, Emmet's rising, the Repeal Association, Young Ireland, and the Fenians.	10
The campaign for Home Rule, c1870–1910	Recall questions on Isaac Butt and the Home Rule League, Parnell's methods and the new departure, his fall, Redmond, and the Ulster Covenant.	10
Evolving government policies c1774–1922	Recall questions on the Act of Union, disestablishment, Gladstone's mission to pacify Ireland, why the Home Rule bills failed, and the Government of Ireland Act 1920.	10
British politicians and Irish agitation	Recall questions on Pitt's resignation over emancipation, Gladstone's change of approach, the Liberal split of 1886, Asquith's postponements, and Lloyd George's methods.	10
The Penal Laws and the Catholic Relief Acts	Recall questions on what the Penal Laws prohibited, their effect on landholding, how far they were enforced, why they were relaxed, and the Acts of 1778 and 1793.	10
Daniel O'Connell and Catholic emancipation	Recall questions on why the Catholic Board failed, what made the Catholic Association different, the County Clare election, why the government conceded, and what 1829 took away.	10
Removing restrictions on Irish trade, 1778-82	Recall questions on the restrictions in place, how the American war created the opportunity, the Volunteers' demands, Poynings' Law, and the limits of Grattan's Parliament.	10
The textile industry in Ulster	Recall questions on why linen dominated, the decline of woollen and cotton, mechanisation and the power loom, the cotton famine boom, and the growth of Belfast.	10
The development of shipbuilding	Recall questions on the Queen's Island yard, Harland and Wolff, the technical innovations, Workman Clark, and why the industry succeeded without local coal or iron.	10
Hickson, Mulholland and the industrialisation of Ulster	Recall questions on Robert Hickson, Andrew Mulholland's wet spinning mill, mill working conditions, the 1848 cholera epidemic, and sectarian employment patterns.	8
Landlords, monoculture and blight	Recall questions on the structure of landholding, the cottiers and conacre, absentee landlords and middlemen, dependence on the potato, and the arrival of blight.	10
Government response to the Famine	Recall questions on Peel's maize and Russell's public works, the Gregory Clause, the soup kitchens, the Poor Law Extension Act, Trevelyan and Mitchel, and the export controversy.	10
Social and economic impacts of depopulation	Recall questions on the death and emigration figures, the coffin ships, the consolidation of holdings, the change in marriage customs, and the political legacy.	10
The Dublin Land Conference and the Land Act 1870	Recall questions on tenant right and Ulster custom, the Tenant Right League, the 1870 Conference, what the Act provided, and why it proved ineffective.	9
The long depression and Irish agriculture	Recall questions on falling prices and bad harvests, unpayable rents and evictions, rent strikes, the Land War, and the shift from tillage to livestock.	10
Davitt, Forster and Parnell in the Land Wars	Recall questions on Michael Davitt and the Land League, boycotting, Forster's coercion, the Land Act of 1881 and the three Fs, and the Kilmainham Treaty.	9
Working and living conditions for unskilled urban workers	Recall questions on the Dublin tenements and mortality rates, the National Union of Dock Labourers, Larkin and Connolly, the ITGWU, and the Irish Citizen Army.	9
Events and significance of the Dublin general strike 1913–14	Recall questions on what caused the Lockout, its scale, Bloody Sunday 1913, William Martin Murphy, the kiddies scheme, and how it ended.	10
British trade unions and the Dublin strike	Recall questions on the aid sent by the TUC, why the sympathetic strike was refused, the fiery cross campaign, and the effect on relations between Irish and British labour.	10

Ireland and the Union, c1774-1923 is 185 of the 6,832 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £9

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.