Date of Award

Summer 1956

Degree Type

Master's Essay - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

Abstract

The legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland by the Act of Union of 1800 proved to be, in almost every respect, a failure. It was meant to solve the problem of Anglo-Irish relations by merging the two countries in one; but in fact this never happened. The legislature was, indeed, removed to Westminster; but the lord lieutenant, the council, and the law courts remained in Dublin, and so, too, did the real center of Irish government. The Union was meant to prepare the way for a peaceful government; instead, the country had to be ruled under a succession of coercion acts. It was meant to safeguard the Protestant ascendancy; instead it created a Catholic solidarity strongly inclined to seek independence.

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