Friends in High Places

On the eve of the centenary of perhaps the most significant event in Ulster during these two years – the signing of Ulster’s Solemn League and Covenant – Friends in High Places: Ulster's resistance to Irish Home Rule, 1912-14 tells the story of Ulster’s organised resistance to the Third Home Rule Bill, and in particular assesses the nature and degree of success of unionists’ political and propaganda campaigns.


The island of Ireland was on the cusp of Home Rule towards the end of the Edwardian period. Only the determined opposition of Ulster unionists and their allies in Great Britain prevented this from occurring. Loyalists exhibited genuine feelings of besiegement and isolation between1912 and 1914 and many observers believed Ireland was, by the summer of 1914, on the verge of civil war.


The central focus of Friends in High Places is the vital interdependence of Ulster unionists and the British establishment during the late Edwardian period. It analyses the true nature of this relationship and also examines the significance of key events during these crucial years of Ulster’s resistance to Irish Home Rule. With its timely publication in 2012, this book is a must-read for those with an interest in this pivotal period of early twentieth-century Irish political history.`