Central Board

After the Act of Union 1800, Ireland was under direct rule from England. The Act of Emancipation had slightly improved the position of the Catholics. However the campaign for Repeal of the Union led by Daniel O'Connell had failed.

The struggle for reform of land ownership had taken center stage. Land reform was important as it directly affected the lives of ordinary people. However, there was still a need to create meaningful political structures which would have introduced a measure of self-government to Ireland. The form of these structures was a matter of division and debate.

The Central Board scheme was developed by Joseph Chamberlain in 1884-1885. This would have offered a form of local government which it is argued would have fallen considerably short of legislative independence. The exact structure of the Board was subject to negotiation, however it was proposed to be indirectly elected with membership drawn from the existing county councils and powers mainly over local government issues. Chamberlain had received some support from the Catholic bishops. His contact with Charles Parnell was ironically Captain O'Shea who led him to believe that this would be acceptable as a final settlement.