1877 - Home Rule Leadership

Isaac Butt chaired a crucial meeting of the Home Rule League in Dublin, attempting to maintain unity within the movement despite growing tensions between moderate and radical factions. The gathering highlighted the emerging challenges to Butt's leadership style and the rising influence of more aggressive parliamentary tactics, particularly those advocated by Charles Stewart Parnell. The meeting's heated debates revealed fundamental divisions over strategy that would eventually transform Irish parliamentary nationalism.

1922 - Treaty Division

Anti-Treaty forces occupied the Four Courts in Dublin, marking a significant escalation in the Treaty split and directly challenging the authority of the Provisional Government. The occupation involved several hundred IRA members under Rory O'Connor's command, who fortified the building and established it as their headquarters. This provocative action would eventually lead to the outbreak of civil war when the government, under British pressure, moved to dislodge the anti-Treaty forces.

1970 - Northern Housing Reform

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive was established as part of a comprehensive reform package addressing discrimination in public housing allocation. This new body took control of housing from local authorities, where sectarian discrimination had been widespread, and implemented objective criteria for housing allocation. The reform represented one of the most significant responses to civil rights campaign demands, though its establishment came amid escalating violence and political crisis.