Gendering the Union: Imperial feminism and the Ladies' Land League

The Act of Union of 1800, establishing Westminster control over Irish affai rs, had important repercussions for the development of feminism within nine teenth-century Ireland, as well as contributing towards a differentiation o f Irish from British feminism. Feminism within Ireland was shaped by class, religion and racial identification: one strand followed the British model of Protestant philanthropy, while the other was concerned with asserting wo men's right to take part in nationalist political struggle. 'Imperial' femi nists in Britain and Ireland, concerned with establishing their right to ta ke part in the affairs of the 'nation', perceived those Irish who rejected British imperial rule as uncivilised, reserving sympathy for those whose ec onomic position was threatened by the activities of those who campaigned ag ainst the landlord system. The period of the Land War of 1879-82 illustrate d these conflicting discourses. The subsequent decline of imperial power in Ireland can be traced through a gradual change within Irish feminism from an initial support for the Union to a later embrace of nationalism, as youn g middle-class women, many from Catholic backgrounds, became involved in th e movement.