In this episode we examine the development of the British politics with the passing of the Parliament Act in 1911, which effectively neutered the influence of the House of Lords by limiting its veto to only two uses. This meant that Home Rule was suddenly more possible than ever before, but standing in the way of this eventuality were the Unionists, emboldened by Sir Edward Carson and determined to voice their dissaproval in a Solemn League and Covenant, and resist HR by force, if necessary. Thus began the North's militarisation of Irish life before 1914, and thus began the critical step towards imminent civil war... As prominent Irish scholar and nationalist Eoin MacNeill wrote, 'The North Began'.
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