Edward Carson

Gill's Irish Lives

by A.T.Q. Stewart

Born in Dublin in 1854, Edward Carson was one of the leading barristers of his day. He practised at both the Irish and English bars, and was the relentless prosecuting counsel in the celebrated trial of Oscar Wilde. However, maintaining the Union was the guiding star of his life. A Unionist MP since 1892; he first took office in 1900 as solicitor-general under Salisbury. When Asquith's 1912 Home Rule Bill was introduced he mobilised Protestant Ulster against it, playing a leading role in the formation of the Ulster Volunteer Force. He hoped to save all Ireland for the Union but events in the south both before and after the 1916 Easter Rising made this impossible. Regarding the partition of Ireland as a defeat, he retired from politics, disillusioned and embittered. His name, however, lives on and is still inspirational for the groupings - constitutional and paramilitary - who continue to cherish the union with Britain.

Genres: Ireland

150 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Anthony Terence Quincey Stewart, known professionally as A.T.Q. Stewart or Tony Stewart, was a Northern Irish historian, teacher and academic, and a best-selling author on the subject of the politics of Ulster and Northern Ireland.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a dated biography of Edward Carson, but, being written by the late-great Tony Stewart, it is still excellent.

[Michael Carchrie Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having not known much about the leader of the Ulster Unionists at the time of the formation of Northern Ireland, I found ATQ Stewart's book extremely interesting. There were particular stories stories of Edward Carson which I found amusing.

...Carson had on one occasion great difficulty in getting past the police and into the building. 'I'm the Solicitor-General,' he told the policeman at the door. 'That's what they all say,' was the reply.

It seems that Carson was involved not only with the partition of Ireland, but in the arbitration between the United States of America and Canada regarding the border of Alaska.
All in all, I've a bit more of an understanding of Edward Carson than when I began.