Following on from Brian Feeney’s assertion that Unionism is a non-Liberal political movement, a useful read in this context might be Frank Thompson’s The End of Liberal Ulster. The book plots a brief period (1868-1886) when issues relating to the rural economy mattered more than the National question.
It was a time when the Liberal party effectively challenged the hegemony of Tory landlords by galvanising Catholic and Protestant rural voters in support of local land reform. Ironically, he argues, the 1881 land reform Act ended both common grievance and the attraction of the Liberal platform for protestant farmers. Along with the disestablisment of the Church of Ireland, this completed the end of divisions between radical Presbyterians and consevative Anglicans.
The final nail in the coffin for the liberal party came when Ulster’s Catholic population in turn deserted its ranks to join in with the nationalist campaign from 1883 onwards. With Unionists reciprocating by setting up their own independent Unionist Associations throughout the province to defend the Union.
There was no longer any place for Liberalism. All those developments which over the previous two decades had promised to make Ulster an increasingly Liberal province now came to an end. The Ulster LIberal was not quite an extinct species, but Ulster Liberalism as a political force was dead and gone.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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