John Redmond 1856-1918. He was leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party and campaigned tirelessly for Home Rule.
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An Ulster Unionist cartoon issued during the anti-Home Rule campaign. It reads "Stand Back Redmond Your Bill May Pass Parliament, But It Will Not Pass Ulster"
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Sir Edward Carson 1854-1935
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Sir James Craig 1871-1940
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Members of the Ulster Unionist Provisional Government. The Ulster Unionist's had made plans to govern themselves in defiance of Home Rule.
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Andrew Bonar-Law 1858-1923. He was leader of the Conservative party and a firm supporter of the Ulster Unionists. His family had strong Ulster-Scotch connections. He told a rally at Blenheim Palace, England 1912
"I can imagine no length of resistance to which Ulster can go in which I should not be prepared to support them."
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Province wide rallies take place on Ulster Day 28th September 1912, Ulster's Solemn League And Covenant is signed across the province. The photograph shows a rally in Eniskillen Co. Fermanagh.
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Ulster Day 28th September 1912. Ulster's Solemn League And Covenant is signed at a rally in Raphoe.
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Marshalls for Ulster Day assemble in the grounds of Belfast City Hall. They had been drawn from the Orange Order and Unionist clubs.
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Carson and a number of other leading Unionists arrive at Belfast City Hall, under guard on Ulster Day.
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Ulster's Solemn League And Covenant Signed By 471,414 men and women of Ulster birth.
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Edward Carson puts his signature to Ulster's Solemn League And Covenant as James Craig and other leading Unionists look on. Craig preferred to be withdrawn from the limelight being a man who was more concerned with how things went rather than being part of them.
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Women sign Ulster's Solemn League and Covenant. The Ulster Unionists recognised the important role to be played by women and so a revised version of the covenant was issued for them to sign on Ulster Day.
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Pews inside Belfast City Hall to cater for the large crowd eager to sign Ulster's Solemn League And Covenant. Around 600 people could sign at once.
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The scene in Belfast, Ulster Day 28th September 1912. Estimates have put the multitude at around 100,000 but it was probably much greater with large numbers of different people arriving and leaving throughout the day.
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A meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council in Belfast's Ulster Hall at the height of the crisis. The council had been established in 1905 to link the Orange Order with Unionist organisations around the Globe. The Council still exists today. The Union flag was one of the largest ever woven measuring 48 by 25ft
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The Ulster Unionist Council decided to form the Ulster Volunteer Force in January 1913. The UVF's badge can be seen below it features their motto "For God And Ulster".
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The South Belfast Ulster Volunteers complete with standards.
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A Nationalist poster announcing the formation of the IVF in November 1913
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The sketch shows how the UVF took control of the harbour at Bangor Co. Down. This was to ensure the weapons could be offloaded and distributed as planned.
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The sketch shows the UVF's motor corps assembling at Larne harbour. They would then distribute the weapons form the Clydevalley in what was know as 'Discharging the Fanny'.
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Lord Carson and Colonel Wallace a prominant member of the Orange Order discuss arrangements prior to the presentation of colours to West Belfast Volunteers at Glencairn. May 1914
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