Charles Parnell forced to resign due to involvement in a divorce case

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.4: Irish Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Paul Delaney (Trinity College Dublin), Anne Markey (Dublin City University), Ian Campbell Ross (Trinity College Dublin), Sinéad Sturgeon (Queen's University Belfast)

Domains

Politics

Dates

Date of occurrence 1890-12-12

Places

Ireland, Republic of (Eire) (Location)
United Kingdom (Location)

Charles Parnell, the iconic and charismatic leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party as an MP at Westminster, was at the pinnacle of his power in the late 1880s. Prime Minister William Ewert Gladstone was even in negotiations with him to draft an Irish Home Rule Bill, which would have been the greatest breakthrough of any Irish politician of the century. In 1889, however, a scandal emerged which, although it had been an open secret among politicians, shocked the population at large. He had had a longstanding relationship with Katharine O'Shea, the wife of Captain William O'Shea, who had not divorced her in part because he expected her to receive a large inheritance. When the money went elsewhere, Captain O'Shea filed for divorce, and in 1…

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292 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Charles Parnell forced to resign due to involvement in a divorce case". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5355, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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Charles Parnell forced to resign due to involvement in a divorce case

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