71-528: Royal Avenue is a street in the heart of Belfast city centre , Northern Ireland. It runs for about 500 metres from the junction with Castle Place and Donegall Place to the junction with Donegall Street. It lies between the Cathedral Quarter and the Smithfield and Union Quarter of the city. It has been the city's principal shopping thoroughfare since its establishment in 1881. Today Royal Avenue
142-807: A third Home Rule Bill come into law. On Sunday 28 September 1912, "Ulster Day", he was the first signatory on the Ulster Covenant , which bound 447,197 signatories to resist Home Rule with the threat that they would use "all means necessary" after Carson had established the Ulster Volunteers , the first loyalist paramilitary group. From it the Ulster Volunteer Force was formed in January 1913 to undergo military training and purchase arms. In Parliament Carson rejected any olive branch for compromise demanding Ulster "be given
213-500: A 200-pound remote-controlled IRA bomb, hidden behind hoardings on a construction site, detonated at a Royal Avenue security gate manned by the UDR. The blast caused considerable damage to the area surrounding the bomb site. Royal Avenue was yet again attacked by the IRA on 1 January 1993 when an explosive device containing one pound of Semtex was left inside a hairdresser's salon but the device
284-766: A barrister and was admitted to the English Bar by The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in 1893 and from then on mainly practised in London. In 1896 he was sworn of the Irish Privy Council . He was appointed Solicitor-General for England on 7 May 1900, receiving the customary knighthood . He served in this position until the Conservative government resigned in December 1905, when he
355-540: A brilliant barrister, among the most prominent in Ireland at the time. He was also an acknowledged master of the appeal to the jury by his legal wit and oratory. He was appointed Queen's Counsel (Ireland) in 1889 and was Called to the English Bar at Middle Temple on 26 April 1893. He was twice admitted to the Inn, once on 1 November 1875 and then again on 21 April 1893, and was made a Bencher on 15 June 1900. In 1895, he
426-509: A glamorous artistic lifestyle. He impugned Wilde's works as morally repugnant and designed to corrupt the upbringing of the youth . Queensberry spent a large amount of money on private detectives who investigated Wilde's activity in the London underworld of homosexual clubs and procurers. Wilde abandoned the case when Carson announced in his opening speech for the defence that he planned to call several male prostitutes who would testify that they had had sex with Wilde, which would have rendered
497-653: A massive Provisional IRA carbomb in March 1972, in which seven people died and 148 were injured. The city centre is now centred on Donegall Square (location of the City Hall ), Donegall Place, Royal Avenue , Castle Junction, High Street and surrounding streets and alleys. Over the past decade the city Centre has seen expansive redevelopment. The Laganside Development includes the landmark Waterfront Hall , BT Tower, Hilton Hotel , Odyssey Complex and various riverside apartment complexes. The Gasworks Business Park
568-569: A merger of the Ulster and Reform clubs, but, tracing its roots through the latter organisation back to 1880. The Art Deco building at the junction of North Street and Royal Avenue, which was formerly the headquarters of the Bank of Ireland before being left derelict, was taken over by the Occupy movement in early 2012. They since took to referring to the building as the "People's Bank". The group left
639-519: A mutual agreement that would end the Anglo-Irish war , but without result. After the partition of Ireland , Carson repeatedly warned Ulster Unionist leaders not to alienate northern Catholics, as he foresaw this would make Northern Ireland unstable (see The Troubles in Ulster (1920–1922) ). In 1921, he stated: "We used to say that we could not trust an Irish parliament in Dublin to do justice to
710-592: A radical Liberal, Carson's political career began on 20 June 1892, when he was appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland , although he was not then a member of the House of Commons . He was elected as Member of Parliament for the Dublin University constituency in the 1892 general election as a Liberal Unionist , although overall the Liberal Party won the election. Carson maintained his career as
781-483: A resolution rather than a stay of execution". The UVF received a large arms cache from Germany on the night of 24 April 1914. Historian Felician Prill says Germany was not trying to start a civil war, for the Ulster cause was not popular in Berlin. Later that year, a further shipment of arms from Germany was delivered to the pro-Home Rule and IRB-influenced Irish Volunteers at Howth near Dublin. The Home Rule Bill
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#1732790367334852-562: Is also remembered for his open ended cross examination of Oscar Wilde in a legal action that led to plaintiff Wilde being prosecuted, gaoled and ruined. Carson unsuccessfully attempted to intercede for Wilde after the case. Edward Carson, the second son of Edward Henry Carson, architect , was born at 4 Harcourt Street , in Dublin , into a wealthy Anglican family. The Carsons were of Scottish origin, Edward's grandfather having originally moved to Dublin from Dumfries in 1815. Carson's mother
923-474: Is estimated that 1,000 people will help build the development and 2,000 will be employed there. Northern Ireland Railways provide access on the Belfast Suburban Rail network with stations in proximity to the city centre. Edward Carson Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson , PC , PC (Ire) , KC (9 February 1854 – 22 October 1935), from 1900 to 1921 known as Sir Edward Carson ,
994-425: Is located here. The Roman Catholic cathedral St. Peter's is located a little to the west of the city centre. Two of Belfast's three main newspapers - The Belfast Telegraph and The Irish News are also located nearby. The News Letter , which claims to be the oldest continually published English language daily newspaper still in existence, was originally located in the area at 55 Donegall Street, site of
1065-732: Is now almost complete and the City Council are currently preparing a master plan in preparation for the commencement of Phase II development. Victoria Square is a commercial, residential and leisure development in Belfast developed and constructed by Multi Development UK in over 6 years. At approximately 800,000 ft (75,000m ) and costing £400m it is the biggest and one of the most expensive property developments ever undertaken in Northern Ireland. It opened on 6 March 2008. Its anchor tenant at nearly 200,000 ft (18,581m )
1136-548: Is one of Belfast's main commercial centres and is home to the £40 million shopping complex Westfield CastleCourt . Beginning from the Donegall Place junction with Castle Place and Castle Street, which is the hub of Belfast city centre, the road runs north to the North Street crossing where the former Bank of Ireland once stood. A fire in summer of 2018 caused the front part of the building to burn leaving only
1207-666: Is owned by Belfast City Council and managed by the Councils Estates Management Unit. The site contains commercial offices, call centres , small business units, housing, cafés & restaurants, the Radisson Hotel and an award-winning public landscaped park. The Gasworks has been internationally recognised as a key example of brownfield regeneration in Europe and has won numerous awards in relation to all aspects of its development. The initial phase
1278-448: Is the largest House of Fraser that the retailer has opened in the UK (as opposed to taken over). In March 2006, the government gave the go-ahead for a £300m regeneration of a run-down part of Belfast city centre, in the Cathedral Quarter , which could create up to 2,000 jobs. Plans include a new shopping centre, anchored by a department store. The project will not be completed until 2011. It
1349-420: Is this apparent willingness to carry resistance to virtually any length, even to risk civil war, that makes Carson so controversial. In 1914, suffragettes Flora Drummond and Norah Dacre Fox (later known as Norah Elam ) besieged Carson's home, arguing that his form of Ulster "incitement to militancy" passed without notice whilst suffragettes were charged and imprisoned for same action. In a 1921 speech opposing
1420-694: The Belfast Central Library and the Haymarket Building, along with newer, modern structures and shopping complexes. At the northern end was the headquarters for the Belfast Telegraph newspaper. Like the rest of the city centre, Royal Avenue has seen much redevelopment since the Troubles officially ended in 1998, and the city embarked on a major urban renewal project. The upper part was formerly named John Street, and
1491-541: The British Army that were based in Belfast city centre. The former hotel's Bridal Suite became the Army's operational centre for over ten years. Royal Avenue was filmed from a horse-drawn tramcar on 27 May 1901. The film is extant and shows the street bustling with shoppers, workers, trams, carts, bicycles, and wagons. During the 1907 Belfast Dock strike , Royal Avenue was used as one of the principal thoroughfares for
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#17327903673341562-726: The College Historical Society . It was said that he also played hurling with the college team. Carson graduated BA and MA . He spoke Irish and was a regular player of Gaelic games as a child. He later received an honorary doctorate ( LL.D. ) from the University of Dublin in June 1901. In 1877 Carson was called to the Irish Bar after graduating from King's Inns . He gained a reputation for fearsome advocacy and supreme legal ability and became regarded as
1633-536: The Rolling Stones . The latter's presence inside the hotel in the mid-1960s nearly provoked a riot as hundreds of fans gathered in Royal Avenue to catch a glimpse of the bandmembers, who watched the chaotic scene taking place below from the hotel's upper windows. A year after the hotel closed down in 1971, it was converted into a fortified military barracks serving as battalion headquarters for regiments in
1704-504: The Royal Irish Constabulary . They were married on 19 December 1879. He had two sons and two daughters by his first wife (he described them as a "rum lot"), namely: The first Lady Carson died in 1913. His second wife was Ruby Frewen (1881–1966), a Yorkshirewoman , the daughter of Lt.-Col. Stephen Frewen, later Frewen-Laton MP (1857–1933) and Emily Augusta (Peacocke) Frewen. They were married on 17 September 1914; she
1775-679: The Shankill Road . Crossin became the first victim of the lethal gang led by Lenny Murphy . Crossin, who lived in the Suffolk district of south-west Belfast, had been walking home after spending the evening in the Holy Cross Bowling Club in the Ardoyne area of North Belfast from where his family originated. On 24 February 1988 two Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldiers, James Cummings and Fred Starrett, were killed when
1846-479: The funeral of Winston Churchill in 1965. Even before his death, there was an organized effort to portray Carson as the heroic embodiment of the militant unionist spirit. In November 1932, the new Stormont Parliament became the greatest Carson monument, giving his admirers the symbolic endorsement of their state. His statue was unveiled as the speakers excited the audience with triumphalist images of Protestant deliverance from Catholic tyranny. Carson's funeral in 1935
1917-768: The Balkans. During Asquith's coalition government of 1915–1916, there was no formal opposition in either the Commons or the Lords. The only party not in Asquith's Liberal, Conservative, Labour Coalition was the Irish Nationalist Party led by John Redmond . However, this party supported the government and did not function as an Opposition. After Carson, the leading figure among the Irish Unionist allies of
1988-803: The British people. Although considering himself proudly British, Carson also considered himself a proud Irishman stating "I am very proud as an Irishman to be a member of the British Empire." On 25 May 1915, Asquith appointed Carson Attorney-General when the Coalition Government was formed after the Liberal government was brought down by the Shell Crisis and the resignation of Admiral Fisher . He resigned on 19 October, however, citing his opposition to Government policy on war in
2059-587: The Conservative Party, resigned from the coalition ministry on 19 October 1915, he then became the de facto leader of those Unionists who were not members of the government, effectively Leader of the Opposition in the Commons. He played a major role in forcing the resignation of Asquith as Prime Minister, returning to office on 10 December 1916 as First Lord of the Admiralty , and elevated to
2130-592: The Protestant minority. Let us take care that that reproach can no longer be made against your parliament, and from the outset let them see that the Catholic minority have nothing to fear from a Protestant majority." In old age, while at London's Carlton Club , he confided to the Anglo-Irish (and Catholic) historian Sir Charles Petrie his disillusionment with Belfast politics: "I fought to keep Ulster part of
2201-602: The Unionists maintained that it showed the fundamental immorality of free trade. George Cadbury recovered contemptuous damages of one farthing in a case described as one of Carson's triumphs. Carson was also the victorious counsel in the 1910 Archer-Shee Case , exonerating a Royal Naval College, Osborne cadet of the charge of theft of a postal order . The cadet was from a quite prominent Roman Catholic banking family, and educated at Stonyhurst . On this case, Terence Rattigan based his play The Winslow Boy . Initially
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2272-564: The Unionists, but when the Government of Ireland Act 1920 was introduced, advised his party to work for the exemption of six Ulster counties from Home Rule as the best compromise (a compromise he had previously rejected). This proposal passed and as a result the Parliament of Northern Ireland was established. In January 1921, he met in London over three days with Father O'Flanagan and Lord Justice Sir James O'Connor to try to find
2343-598: The United Kingdom, but Stormont is turning her into a second-class Dominion ." Carson did not see himself as an Ulsterman and, unlike many northern unionists it is thought he had an emotional connection with Ireland as a single entity. Carson was asked to lead the Unionists during the election to become the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland . He declined due to his lack of connections with any Northern Ireland constituency (an opponent once taunted him saying: "He has no country, he has no caste"), and resigned
2414-485: The back of the building standing. Royal Avenue then angles northeast to the Donegall Street intersection continuing in a northeasterly direction as York Street . Looking south on Royal Avenue, there is an imposing vista of Belfast City Hall and Donegall Square . The Anglican St. Anne's Cathedral in Donegall Street is adjacent to its northern end. It has many Victorian and Edwardian buildings, including
2485-478: The building ten months later. Around 2008 calls came from certain quarters, including former Lord Mayor of Belfast Jim Rodgers , for the pedestrianisation of Royal Avenue following a number of road traffic accidents on the street including a Dunmurry teenager, Ciara Park, being knocked down and killed. The street has since been partly pedestrianised. Many scenes in the 2011 comedy film Killing Bono were shot in Royal Avenue to recreate Dublin as it appeared in
2556-421: The choir sang his own favourite hymn, " I Vow to Thee, My Country ". A warship had brought his body to Belfast and the funeral took place on Saturday 26 October 1935. Thousands of shipworkers stopped work and bowed their heads as HMS Broke steamed slowly up Belfast Lough , with Carson's flag-draped coffin sat on the quarterdeck. This would be the last state funeral for a non-member of the royal family until
2627-586: The cocoa grown there because it was cheaper than that grown in the British colony of the Gold Coast , where labour conditions were much better, being regulated by the Colonial Office . The Standard alleged that the Cadbury family knew that the reason cocoa from São Tomé was cheaper was because it was grown by slave labour. This case was regarded at the time as an important political case as Carson and
2698-499: The culture of Orangeism (although he had become an Orangeman at nineteen he left the institution shortly afterwards). He stated that their speeches reminded him of "the unrolling of a mummy. All old bones and rotten rags." Carson campaigned against Home Rule . He spoke against the Bill in the House of Commons and organised rallies in Ireland promoting a provisional government for "the Protestant province of Ulster" to be ready, should
2769-475: The election, allowing the electorate to decide between home rule or a republic by having a clear choice between the two nationalist parties. Irish Republicans regarded these elections as the mandate to establish the First Dáil . As such, all persons in Ireland elected to Westminster were considered to have been elected to Dáil Éireann. Had he chosen to do so, Carson could have exercised the option of attending
2840-626: The former site of the Grand Central Hotel. The ornate building at 2 Royal Avenue was the former home of the Provincial Bank of Ireland which was erected in 1869. After its closure in 1989, the building was occupied until 2021 by a Tesco store. It was then refurbished as a social facility by Belfast City Council . Next door at 4 Royal Avenue is located the Ulster Reform Club . It was established in 1982 through
2911-415: The late 1970s/early 1980s. Belfast city centre Belfast City Centre is the central business district of Belfast , Northern Ireland . The city centre was originally centred on the Donegall Street area. Donegall Street is now mainly a business area, but with expanding residential and entertainment development as part of the Cathedral Quarter scheme - St. Anne's, Belfast's Anglican cathedral
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2982-779: The leadership of the party in February 1921. Carson was appointed one of seven Lords of Appeal in Ordinary on 24 May 1921 and was created a life peer under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 on 1 June 1921 as Baron Carson , of Duncairn in the County of Antrim . Carson retired in October 1929. In July 1932, during his last visit to Northern Ireland, he witnessed the unveiling of a large statue of himself in front of Parliament Buildings at Stormont . The statue
3053-403: The libel charge unsupportable as the accusation would have been proven true . Wilde was bankrupted when he was then ordered to pay the considerable legal and detective bills Queensberry had incurred in his defence. Based on the evidence of Queensberry's detectives and Carson's cross-examinations of Wilde at the trial, Wilde was subsequently prosecuted for gross indecency in a second trial. He
3124-488: The lower part was named Hercules Street after Sir Hercules Langford . Royal Avenue was established in 1881. Since that time, it has served as Belfast's principal shopping thoroughfare, and today it is lined with many leading department stores and top name shops. The city's most prestigious and elegant hotel, the Grand Central Hotel , was on the street before it was demolished in the late 1980s to make room for
3195-589: The meeting of the First Dáil in the Mansion House on 21 January 1919. Like all of those elected to Irish seats in December 1918 he received an invitation, written as gaeilge , to attend. He kept the invitation as a souvenir. When his name was called out in the first roll call of the new Dáil, it was met by silence, and then laughter, from the Sinn Féin delegates and the audience in the Mansion House. He
3266-616: The night of 4/5 May. Royal Avenue was spared from the excessive damage visited upon adjacent streets which were gutted by fire. It is one of the traditional routes used by the Orange Order on their annual 12 July parade. Throughout the Troubles, Royal Avenue was targeted by the Provisional IRA due to its economic importance as a commercial zone and the presence of the British Army military barracks. The barracks itself
3337-491: The notorious Shankill Butchers gang. He was taken from Library Street, which leads immediately off Royal Avenue at the Central Library. Crossin was walking down the upper part of Library Street towards Royal Avenue when he was hit over the head with a wheel brace , then dragged into a waiting black taxi where he sustained a vicious beating. He was found, with his throat deeply slashed, in an entry near Bisley Street on
3408-401: The passage of traction engines driven by blackleg carters to deliver goods from the docks into the city centre. The blacklegs had to be escorted by the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) to prevent them from being attacked by flying pickets . On 29 October 1935, Royal Avenue was packed with thousands of mourners as the funeral cortege of Edward Carson made its way along the street. The road
3479-404: The pending Anglo-Irish Treaty , Carson attacked the "Tory intrigues" that had led him on the course that would partition Ireland, an outcome he opposed almost as strongly as Home Rule itself. In the course of the speech Carson said: What a fool I was! I was only a puppet, and so was Ulster, and so was Ireland, in the political game that was to get the Conservative Party into Power. Later in
3550-558: The powerful British War Cabinet as a Minister without Portfolio on 17 July 1917. Carson was hostile to the foundation of the League of Nations as he believed that this institution would be ineffectual against war. In a speech on 7 December 1917 he said: Talk to me of treaties! Talk to me of the League of Nations! Every Great Power in Europe was pledged by treaty to preserve Belgium. That
3621-523: The speech, Carson said: But I say to my Ulster friends, and I say it with all sincerity and solemnity: Do not be led into any such false line. Stick to your old ideals of closer and closer connection with this country. The Coalition Government, after all, is not the British nation, and the British nation will certainly see you righted. Your interests lie with Great Britain. You have helped her, and you have helped her Empire, and her Empire belongs just as much to you as it does to England. Stick to it, and trust
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#17327903673343692-419: The time, illegal. Kevin Myers states that Carson's initial response was to refuse to take the case. Later, he discovered that Queensberry had been telling the truth about Wilde's activity and was therefore not guilty of the libel of which Wilde accused him. Carson portrayed the playwright as a morally depraved hedonist who seduced naïve young men into a life of homosexuality with lavish gifts and promises of
3763-412: The village of Bournville outside Birmingham , knew of the slave labour conditions on São Tomé , the Portuguese island colony from which Cadbury purchased most of the cocoa used in the production of their chocolate . The articles alleged that George's son William had gone to São Tomé in 1901 and observed for himself the slave conditions, and that the Cadbury family had decided to continue purchasing
3834-409: The war cabinet of H. H. Asquith as Attorney-General . Carson was defeated in his ambition to maintain Ireland as a whole in union with Great Britain . His leadership, however, was celebrated by some for securing a continued place in the United Kingdom for the six north-eastern counties, albeit under a devolved Parliament of Northern Ireland that neither he nor his fellow unionists had sought. He
3905-536: The £40 million shopping complex, Westfield CastleCourt . The site on which it was built by John Robb was originally intended to be a central railway terminus; however, due to hesitation on the part of town councillors, Robb constructed a 200-room luxury hotel instead. The hotel, which first opened its doors on 1 June 1893, became the "social hub of Belfast" and provided a temporary home for many illustrious guests, including King Leopold III of Belgium , Sir Winston Churchill , Gene Autry , Bob Hope , The Beatles , and
3976-419: Was Isabella Lambert, the daughter of Captain Peter Lambert, part of an old Anglo-Irish family, the Lamberts of Castle Ellen , County Galway . Carson spent holidays at Castle Ellen, which was owned by his uncle. He was one of six children (four boys and two girls). Edward was educated at Portarlington School, Wesley College, Dublin and Trinity College Dublin , where he read law and was an active member of
4047-415: Was a League of Nations, but it failed. Early in 1918, the government decided to extend conscription to Ireland, and that Ireland would have to be given home rule in order to make it acceptable. Carson disagreed in principle and again resigned on 21 January. He gave up his seat at the University of Dublin in the 1918 general election and was instead elected for Belfast Duncairn . He continued to lead
4118-401: Was an Irish unionist politician, barrister and judge, who was the Attorney General and Solicitor General for England , Wales and Ireland as well as the First Lord of the Admiralty for the British Royal Navy . From 1905 Carson was both the Irish Unionist Alliance MP for the Dublin University constituency and leader of the Ulster Unionist Council in Belfast . In 1915, he entered
4189-421: Was attended with pomp and unionist symbolism, as happened again with the dedication of a plaque in his memory in 1938. Calling for unity with Britain, numerous ceremonial rituals, memorials, and anniversaries affirmed the legitimacy of the state, and the Protestant ascendancy. Carson married twice. His first wife was Annette Kirwan from County Galway , daughter of Henry Persse Kirwan, a retired County Inspector of
4260-404: Was bombed many times in the mid-1970s, despite the anti-rocket metal mesh put up to fortify the edifice. Security gates placed at the junction of Royal Avenue and Donegall Place were closed every evening at 6:00 p.m., sealing off the area by what was known locally as a "ring of steel". Shortly after midnight on 25 November 1975, Francis Crossin, a 34-year-old Catholic civilian, was abducted by
4331-413: Was engaged by the Marquess of Queensberry to lead his defence against Oscar Wilde 's action for criminal libel . The Marquess, angry at Wilde's ongoing homosexual relationship with his son, Lord Alfred Douglas , had left his calling card at Wilde's club with an inscription accusing Wilde of being a "posing somdomite " [ sic ]. Wilde retaliated with a libel action, as homosexuality was, at
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#17327903673344402-573: Was eventually found guilty and sentenced to two years' hard labour , after which he moved to France, where he died penniless. In 1908 Carson appeared for the London Evening Standard in a libel action brought by George Cadbury . The Standard was controlled by Unionist interests which supported Joseph Chamberlain 's Imperial Preference views. The Cadbury family were Liberal supporters of free trade and had, in 1901, purchased The Daily News . The Standard articles alleged that Cadbury Bros Ltd., which claimed to be model employers having created
4473-431: Was here that Carson died peacefully on 22 October 1935. Britain gave him a state funeral, which took place in Belfast at St Anne's Cathedral ; he is still the only person to have been buried there. From a silver bowl, soil from each of the six counties of Northern Ireland was scattered on to his coffin, which had earlier been covered by the Union Flag , which however was removed during the service. At his funeral service
4544-426: Was hit by bombs in the Belfast Blitz when the German Luftwaffe bombarded the city on the night of 15/16 April 1941 in an aerial attack that involved up to 200 bombers and lasted for six and a half hours; many of the buildings sustained considerable damage, although the destruction was much less severe than what was wrought in nearby Donegall and York streets. The Germans returned to bombard the city in another raid on
4615-455: Was listed as "as láthair", or absent. In September 1911, a huge crowd of over 50,000 people gathered at a rally near Belfast where Carson made a speech in which he urged his party to take on the governance of Ulster. With the passage of the Parliament Act 1911 , the Unionists faced the loss of the House of Lords ' ability to thwart the passage of the new Home Rule Bill . Carson disliked many of Ulster's local characteristics and, in particular,
4686-419: Was on the brink of civil war when the outbreak of the First World War led to the suspension of the Home Rule Act's operation until the end of the war. By this time Carson had announced in Belfast that an Ulster Division would be formed from the U.V.F., and the 36th (Ulster) Division was swiftly organised. Brown examines why Carson's role in 1914 made him a highly controversial figure: But his commitment
4757-425: Was passed by the Commons on 25 May 1914 by a majority of 77 and due to the Parliament Act 1911 , it did not need the Lords' consent, so the bill was awaiting royal assent. To enforce the legislation, given the activities of the Unionists, H. H. Asquith 's Liberal government had prepared to send troops to Ulster. This sparked the Curragh Incident on 20 March. Together with the arming of the Irish Volunteers, Ireland
4828-498: Was rewarded with membership of the Privy Council . In the 1918 general election , Sinn Féin won 73 out of the 105 Irish seats in the House of Commons. In 25 constituencies, Sinn Féin won the seats unopposed. Unionists (including Ulster Unionist Labour Association ) won 26 seats, all but three of which were in the six counties that today form Northern Ireland , and the Irish Parliamentary Party won only six (down from 84), all but one in Ulster . The Labour Party did not stand in
4899-410: Was sculpted by L. S. Merrifield . cast in bronze, and placed upon a plinth. The inscription on the base read "By the loyalists of Ulster as an expression of their love and admiration for its subject". It was unveiled by Lord Craigavon in the presence of more than 40,000 people. Lord Carson lived at Cleve Court, a Queen Anne house near Minster in the Isle of Thanet , Kent , bought in 1921. It
4970-529: Was successfully defused. Royal Avenue is one of the main commercial centres in Belfast. Shops currently on the street include branches of Primark , H&M , and Schuh , as well as major banks including Santander UK , HSBC , and the Nationwide Building Society . Westfield CastleCourt, a major shopping centre owned by the Westfield Group , is also on Royal Avenue, and as of 2023, it hosts over 100 stores, including New Look , Superdrug , Burton , Argos , Games Workshop , and Virgin Media . The centre occupies
5041-452: Was unqualified, both to Ulster unionism and to its increasing extremism. Under Carson's leadership, with Craig as his lieutenant, discipline and organization were imposed on their supporters; proposed compromises were rejected; and plans were drawn up for a provisional government in the north, if the bill was passed, with its implementation to be resisted by the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force, which had been armed by illegal gun-running. It
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