Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell, (1846-91). Irish nationalist leader. As leader of the Irish Home Rule party from 1880, he organized obstructive tactics that caused chaos in Parliament. In 1881 he was imprisoned for inciting violence in Kilmainham, Ireland, while opposing the new land act. After a long inquiry he was cleared of complicity in the Phoenix Park Murders (1882). The Times later (1887) charged Parnell with involvement in crimes committed by the Land League but a long inquiry showed that the documents on which the charges had been based were forgeries. His involvement as corespondent in the divorce of Katharine O’Shea, a colleague’s wife, caused a scandal and ruined his career. He married Katharine in 1891.
