Pigott, Armagh and Oisín
The dominant political drama of the year was the Special Commission established to examine allegations published by The Times under the heading “Parnellism and Crime”. The accusations had sought to connect Parnell and other Irish parliamentary nationalists with agrarian violence and, most notoriously, with approval of the Phoenix Park murders of 1882. A letter purportedly written by Parnell appeared to excuse the killing of Lord Frederick Cavendish, chief secretary for Ireland, and Thomas Henry Burke, the permanent under-secretary. Parnell had denounced it from the beginning as a forgery.
