Editing Government of Ireland Act 1920 (section)

== Background ==
{{main|Irish Home Rule movement}}
[[Image:David Lloyd George.jpg|thumb|200px|David Lloyd George, MP. The [[British Prime Minister]] was the author of the new Act.]]
Various attempts had been made to give Ireland limited regional [[Devolution in the United Kingdom|self-government]], known as [[Home rule]], in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The [[Government of Ireland Bill 1886|First Home Rule Bill]] of 1886 was defeated in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] because of [[Liberal Party (UK)#Gladstone era|a split in the Liberal Party]] over the principle of Home Rule, while the [[Government of Ireland Bill 1893|Second Home Rule Bill]] of 1893, having been passed by the Commons was vetoed by the [[House of Lords]]. The [[Government of Ireland Act 1914|Third Home Rule Bill]] introduced in 1912 by the [[Irish Parliamentary Party]] could no longer be vetoed after the passing of the [[Parliament Act 1911]] which removed the power of the Lords to veto bills. They could merely be delayed for two years.

Because of the continuing threat of civil war in Ireland, King [[George V]] called the [[Buckingham Palace Conference]] in July 1914 where Irish Nationalist and Unionist leaders failed to reach agreement.<ref>McCluskey, Fergal (2014), ''The Irish Revolution, 1912-1923 Tyrone'', Four Courts Press, Dublin, pg 1, ISBN 978-1-84682-299-5</ref> Controversy continued over the rival demands of Irish Nationalists, backed by the Liberals (for all-Ireland home rule), and Irish Unionists, backed by the Conservatives, for the exclusion of most or all of the province of [[Ulster]]. In an attempt at compromise, the British government put forward an amending bill, which would have allowed for Ulster to be temporarily excluded from the working of the Act; this failed to satisfy either side and the stalemate continued until overtaken by the outbreak of [[World War I]]. A few weeks after the British entry into the war, the Act received [[Royal Assent]], while the amending bill was abandoned. However, the [[Suspensory Act 1914]] (which received Royal Assent on the same day) meant that implementation would be suspended for the duration of what was expected to be only a short European war.