Land War
From 1880 to 1892, the "Land War" in pursuance of the "Three Fs" (Fair Rent, Fixity of Tenure and Free Sale) first demanded by the Tenant Right League in 1850, was fought in earnest. The League organized resistance to evictions, reductions in rents and aided the work of relief agencies. Landlords' attempts to evict tenants led to violence, but the Land League denounced excessive violence and destruction.
Withholding of rent led on to evictions until "Ashbourne's Act" in 1885 made it unprofitable for most landlords to evict. By then agricultural prices had made a recovery, and rents had been fixed and could be reviewed downwards, but tenants found that holding out communally was the best option. Critics noted that the poorer sub-tenants were still expected to pay their rents to tenant farmers.
The widespread upheavals and extensive evictions were accompanied by several years of bad weather and poor harvests, when the tenant farmers who were unable to pay the full arrears of rents resorted to a rent strike. A renewed Land War was waged under the Plan of Campaign from 1886 up until 1892 during which the League decided on a fair rent and then encourage its members to offer this rent to the landlords. If this were refused, then the rent would be paid by tenants to the League and the landlord would not receive any money until he accepted a discount.
The first target was a member of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, Canon Ulick Burke of Knock, who eventually reduced his rents by 25%. Many landlords resisted these tactics violently and there were deaths on either side of the dispute. The Royal Irish Constabulary, though largely made up of Irishmen, had to uphold the law which was on the landlord's side. Originally, the movement cut across sectarian boundaries, with many meetings being held in Orange halls in Ulster, but this ended as the landed gentry extended their influence within the Orange Order.
Following the Land War, Parnell disbanded the organization after having founded the Irish National League to campaign on broader issues including Home Rule. Many of the Scottish members formed the Scottish Land Restoration League.
Read more about this topic: Irish National Land League
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