The National League of the North (NLN) was an

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

organisation active in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The group was founded in May 1928 on the basis of a radical programme for the "National Unification of Ireland". It was in part an attempt to bring together the supporters of Joe Devlin and

Cahir Healy Cahir Healy (2 December 1877 – 8 February 1970) was an Irish politician. Background Born in Mountcharles in County Donegal, he became a journalist working on various local papers. He joined Sinn Féin on its foundation in 1905. He later camp ...

, who were the leading figures in the Nationalist Party.Brendan Lynn, ''Holding the Ground: The Nationalist Party in Northern Ireland, 1945 - 72'' (1997), At the

1933 Northern Ireland general election The 1933 Northern Ireland general election was held on 30 November 1933. Like all previous elections to the Parliament of Northern Ireland, it produced a large majority for the Ulster Unionist Party. 33 of the 52 seats were uncontested, the la ...

, in addition to supporting most Nationalist Party candidates, the group stood

Gerry Lennon James Gerrard Lennon (1907–February 1976), known as Gerry Lennon, was a solicitor and Irish nationalist politician. Lennon stood unsuccessfully for the National League of the North in South Armagh at the 1933 Northern Ireland general election ...

South Armagh South Armagh may refer to: *The southern part of County Armagh * South Armagh (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency) *South Armagh (UK Parliament constituency) *Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade The South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional ...

. He was unsuccessful, but did beat the official Nationalist. The League had become inactive by the mid-1930s. In 1936, Paddy Maxwell founded the Irish Union Association (IUA), aiming to revive the NLN platform. Although it gained the support of most Nationalist Party

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, T. J. Campbell and Richard Byrne did not join. The group failed to make an impact, and by early 1937, Healy was suggesting that the group should be allowed to fade away. In October, Maxwell proposed reinvigorating the League by holding an

Ard Fheis or ''ardfheis'' ( , ; "high assembly"; plural ''ardfheiseanna'') is the name used by many Irish political parties for their annual party conference. The term was first used by Conradh na Gaeilge, the Irish language cultural organisation, for i ...

, but Healy opposed this, and the group was instead allowed to become moribund. In 1938, the IUA was superseded when

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...

founded an Anti-Partition League. The group organised a speaker tour of Britain with speakers from

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

and the Nationalist Party, including Healy and

Anthony Mulvey Anthony Mulvey (188211 January 1957) was an Irish nationalist politician. Born in County Leitrim, Mulvey edited the '' Ulster Herald'' newspaper before his election to represent Fermanagh and Tyrone for the Nationalist Party in the British Hous ...

. However, the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...

started their Sabotage Campaign, which hardened British attitudes against the cause of Irish unification, and the project was dropped with the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the disbanding of the IUA, there was no rank-and-file nationalist group in Northern Ireland until the launch of the

Irish Anti-Partition League The Irish Anti-Partition League (APL) was a political organisation based in Northern Ireland which campaigned for a united Ireland from 1945 to 1958. Foundation Prior to the establishment of the League, there had been no rank-and-file organis ...

in 1945.

References

{{Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland Political parties established in 1928 Political parties established in 1936