The Potato Famine
This favoured the nationalists as it gained them crucial support from America when many Irish people fled there to escape starvation bring with them feelings of anger and bitterness towards the British government> this new found support from America helped to fuel 2 secret organisations which were planning a revolution in Ireland; the FenianBROTHERHOOD AND THE Irish Republican Brotherhood. This obviously gave new found hope to the nationalists in Ireland
Home Rule for Ireland Bill
In Autums 1914 Ireland was set to have their own parliament in Dublin and it seemend that after 100 years the Parliamentary Nationalists had triumphed. This would have been fantastic news for the nationalists and they would have seen it as a chance and a doorway to complete Irish independence and forcing Britain and protestance out of Ireland.
The Orange order
It was a semi-secret society set up in 1795 which aimed to keep to keep power in protestant hands, it remains a powerful in Northern Ireland today. Many Protestant unionists joined this. Evidently this did not favour the unionists and their cause for a united catholic Ireland.
Ulster Unionist part set up in 1912 it worked together with the British conservative party to keep Britain and Ireland united.
Ulster volunteers set up in 1912
Home rule had been thrown out with the backing of British conservatives and some liberalists, but however, in 1912, nationalists looked certain to win Led by a lawyer called Edward Crason, Ulster protestants organised themselves to fight. 400000 Protestants signed a Solemn Covenant promising to resist a Home Rule parliament in Ireland.