The Resurrection of Hungary

Last updated

The Resurrection of Hungary: A Parallel for Ireland was a book published by Arthur Griffith in 1904 in which he outlined his ideas for an Anglo-Irish dual monarchy. He proposed that the former kingdoms which had created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801, namely, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland, return to the pre-1801 arrangement whereby they had two governments but a shared king. The policy, which was modelled on Hungary's achievement of equal status with Austria under the Habsburg emperor/king, became the basis for the policy of Griffith's new Sinn Féin party. He proposed a dual monarchy, similar to the equivalent of the Austria-Hungary, formed under the Compromise of 1867.

Griffith summed up his ideas in the book by comparing the relative status of Hungary vis-à-vis Austria and Ireland vis-à-vis Great Britain:

The Hungarians resorted to a manly policy of passive resistance and non-recognition of Austria’s right to rule – the Irish resorted to parliamentarianism, implying recognition of an English right to rule this country. And one nation today is rich, powerful and able to defy her conqueror, while the other is poor, weak and more tightly held in the conqueror’s grasp. [1]

He advocated a policy of abstentionism from the institutions of the United Kingdom and a return to the Constitution of 1782 agreed between the British government and the Parliament of Ireland in 1782.

Griffith called his new party, Sinn Féin, a "King, Lords and Commons Party". The Anglo-Irish Empire idea, though strongly associated with Griffith, was not uniquely his creation. As early as the mid-1880s Lord Salisbury, leader of the Conservative Party had contemplated using the 1867 Austro-Hungarian example as a model for a reformed relationship between Britain and Ireland. [2]

From 1917 the party while maintaining its commitment to abstentionism, abandoned Griffith's proposal for having the British monarch on the Irish throne as King of Ireland. Instead it was split between republicans (those associated with the Easter Rising in 1916 and who had subsequently joined Sinn Féin) who advocated the creation of a new republic with an elected head of state, and those who advocated the creation of an Irish monarchy, albeit now with a monarch chosen from any royal house but the House of Windsor.

The concept was ridiculed by the nationalist commentator D. P. Moran, who called its supporters the "Green Hungarian Band". [3]

In October 1917, the party's Ard Fheis adopted a motion committing the party to establishing a republic before holding a referendum on whether to install a monarchy or not, once the monarch chosen was not from the House of Windsor. The party later committed itself unambiguously to supporting a republic.

Given its introduction of the concept of abstentionism, and its formative role in the appearance of Sinn Féin, The Resurrection of Hungary was one of the most influential texts in 20th-century Irish history.

Related Research Articles

Sinn Féin Irish political party

Sinn Féin is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Irish Republic Revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom; 1919-1922

The Irish Republic was an unrecognised revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland, but by 1920 its functional control was limited to only 21 of Ireland's 32 counties, and British state forces maintained a presence across much of the north-east, as well as Cork, Dublin and other major towns. The republic was strongest in rural areas, and through its military forces was able to influence the population in urban areas that it did not directly control.

Monarchy of Ireland Historical method of government in Ireland

Monarchical systems of government have existed in Ireland from ancient times. In the south this continued until the early twentieth century, when it transitioned to the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland, as part of the United Kingdom, remains under a monarchical system of government.

The Second Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919 to 1922, Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elected at the 1921 elections, but with only members of Sinn Féin taking their seats. On 7 January 1922, it ratified the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64 votes to 57 which ended the War of Independence and led to the establishment of the Irish Free State on 6 December 1922.

Arthur Griffith Irish politician and writer, founder of Sinn Féin

Arthur Joseph Griffith was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that produced the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, and served as the president of Dáil Éireann from January 1922 until his death later in August.

1918 Irish general election

The Irish general election of 1918 was the part of the 1918 United Kingdom general election which took place in Ireland. It is now seen as a key moment in modern Irish history because it saw the overwhelming defeat of the moderate nationalist Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), which had dominated the Irish political landscape since the 1880s, and a landslide victory for the radical Sinn Féin party. Sinn Féin had never stood in a general election, but had won six seats in by-elections in 1917–18. The party had vowed in its manifesto to establish an independent Irish Republic. In Ulster, however, the Unionist Party was the most successful party.

Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 Establishment of Austria-Hungary

The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary, being separate from, but no longer subject to, the Austrian Empire. The compromise put an end to the 18-year-long military dictatorship and absolutist rule over Hungary which Franz Joseph had instituted after the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. The territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Hungary was restored. The agreement also restored the old historic constitution of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Republican Sinn Féin Irish republican political party split from Sinn Féin in 1986

Republican Sinn Féin or RSF is an Irish republican political party in Ireland. RSF claims to be heirs of the Sinn Féin party founded in 1905 and took its present form in 1986 following a split in Sinn Féin. RSF members take seats when elected to local government in the Republic of Ireland, but do not recognise the validity of the Partition of Ireland. It subsequently does not recognise the legitimacy of the parliaments of Northern Ireland (Stormont) or the Republic of Ireland, so the party does not register itself with them.

In Classical Greece, the city state of Sparta had a dual monarchy with two co-equal kings, two royal dynasties continuing to hold power side by side for many generations. The system was unique to Sparta, its equal not found anywhere else, and was a source of great curiosity for other Greeks. For Sparta, however, it worked well over several centuries.

Irish republicanism Political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland

Irish republicanism is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate.

History of Ireland (1801–1923) Irish history between the Acts of Union of 1800 and the formation of the Irish Free State in 1921

Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1922. For almost all of this period, the island was governed by the UK Parliament in London through its Dublin Castle administration in Ireland. Ireland underwent considerable difficulties in the 19th century, especially the Great Famine of the 1840s which started a population decline that continued for almost a century. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw a vigorous campaign for Irish Home Rule. While legislation enabling Irish Home Rule was eventually passed, militant and armed opposition from Irish unionists, particularly in Ulster, opposed it. Proclamation was shelved for the duration following the outbreak of World War I. By 1918, however, moderate Irish nationalism had been eclipsed by militant republican separatism. In 1919, war broke out between republican separatists and British Government forces. Subsequent negotiations between Sinn Féin, the major Irish party, and the UK government led to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which resulted in five-sixths of Ireland seceding from the United Kingdom.

Members of the 1st Dáil TDs from 1918 to 1921

The members of the First Dáil, known as Teachtaí Dála (TDs), were the 101 Members of Parliament (MPs) returned from constituencies in Ireland at the 1918 United Kingdom general election. In its first general election, Sinn Féin won 73 seats and viewed the result as a mandate for independence; in accordance with its declared policy of abstentionism, its 69 MPs refused to attend the British House of Commons in Westminster, and established a revolutionary parliament known as Dáil Éireann. The other Irish MPs — 26 unionists and six from the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) — sat at Westminster and for the most part ignored the invitation to attend the Dáil. Thomas Harbison, IPP MP for North East Tyrone, did acknowledge the invitation, but "stated he should decline for obvious reasons". The Dáil met for the first time on 21 January 1919 in Mansion House in Dublin. Only 27 members attended; most of the other Sinn Féin TDs were imprisoned by the British authorities, or in hiding under threat of arrest. All 101 MPs were considered TDs, and their names were called out on the roll of membership, though there was some laughter when Irish Unionist Alliance leader Edward Carson was described as as láthair ("absent"). The database of members of the Oireachtas includes for the First Dáil only those elected for Sinn Féin.

Abstentionism is standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abstentionists participate in the election itself. Abstentionism has been used by Irish republican political movements in the United Kingdom and Ireland since the early 19th century. It was also used by Hungarian and Czech nationalists in the Austrian Imperial Council in the 1860s.

Irish Republican Army Irish republican revolutionary military organisation

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic free from British rule.

Sinn Féin is the name of an Irish political party founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith. It subsequently became a focus for various forms of Irish nationalism, especially Irish republicanism. After the Easter Rising in 1916, it grew in membership, with a reorganisation at its Ard Fheis in 1917. Its split in 1922 in response to the Anglo-Irish Treaty which led to the Irish Civil War and saw the origins of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the two parties which have since dominated Irish politics. Another split in the remaining Sinn Féin organisation in the early years of the Troubles in 1970 led to the Sinn Féin of today, which is a republican, left-wing nationalist and secular party.

Éire Nua, or "New Ireland", was a proposal supported by the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin during the 1970s and early 1980s for a federal United Ireland. The proposal was particularly associated with the Dublin-based leadership group centred on Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Dáithí Ó Conaill, who were the authors of the policy.

Sinn Féin (slogan)

Sinn Féin and Sinn Féin Amháin are Irish-language phrases used as a political slogan by Irish nationalists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. While advocating Irish national self-reliance, its precise political meaning was undefined, variously interpreted as the aim of a separate Irish republic or that of a dual monarchy. Its earliest use was to describe individual political radicals unconnected with any party and espousing a more "advanced nationalism" than the Irish Home Rule movement represented by the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP). In the 1890s "Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin amháin" was the slogan of the Gaelic League, which advocated the revival of the Irish language.

The Sinn Féin Printing & Publishing Company, Ltd. (1906–1914) was a Dublin-based enterprise founded by Arthur Griffith, chief propagandist of the nationalist Sinn Féin movement. It published, and for several years also printed, the influential weekly newspaper Sinn Féin. It also very briefly printed and published a daily paper. The company was close to bankruptcy in 1914 when it was closed down for sedition by the British authorities under the provisions of the Defence of the Realm Act.

December 1910 United Kingdom general election in Ireland

The Irish component of the December 1910 United Kingdom general election took place between 3 and 19 December, concurrently with the polls in Great Britain. Though the national result was a deadlock between the Conservatives and the Liberals, the result in Ireland was, as was the trend by now, a large victory for the Irish Parliamentary Party. The IPP supported the Liberals to form a government after the election. This was to be the party's last victory, however. Due to the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the next general election would not be held until 1918, by which time events both in Ireland and Britain and outside would conspire to see the rise of a new nationalist party, Sinn Féin, and the subsequent demise of the IPP.

Cumann na nGaedheal, was a political organisation founded in 1900 by Arthur Griffith and William Rooney. Griffith had written an article in the United Irishman newspaper in March 1900, calling for the creation of an association to bring together the disparate nationalist groups of the time, and the result was the formation of Cumann na nGaedheal in September of that year.

References

  1. ↑ Griffith's book quoted by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2005.[ dead link ]
  2. ↑ "Peter Berresford Ellis in The Irish Democrat in 2003". Archived from the original on 27 December 2005. Retrieved 16 August 2006.
  3. ↑ Kelly, Joseph (1998). Our Joyce: From Outcast to Icon. University of Texas Press. p. 45. ISBN   9780292743311 . Retrieved 8 May 2015.

Sources


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.