Abstract

For the Irish Roman Catholic hierarchy the possibility of Irish self-government in 1912-14 presented both potential benefits and lurking dangers. Their responses to the third home rule bill and the deepening crisis of 1913 and 1914 were conditioned by two overarching factors. The first was their level of confidence in the leadership of the Irish Party. The second applied chiefly to the Ulster bishops: the prospect of exclusion from an Irish parliament imperilled their religious and educational interests. By the onset of the First World War, the spectre of partition had stretched their trust in the Irish Party and support for a Home Rule settlement to breaking point.