This collection of original essays sheds new light on the political history of Ireland during the Victorian period. These include major reassessments of the attitudes of Queen Victoria and her prime ministers towards Ireland and the Irish Question; the ideological influences on Irish radical and nationalist movements during the period; the nature and development of Irish unionism, and the ways in which political power was influenced, mobilized, exercised and mediated. As such, this volume offers new perspectives on the inter-relationships between class, gender and nationalism, demonstrating how Irish politics both energized and shaped political discourse throughout the whole of the United Kingdom during the Victorian period.