Later in the year, the British Trades Union Congress held its annual conference in Belfast, and an ILP fringe meeting was addressed by speakers including Keir Hardie, greatly increasing local party membership.
The local group opposed Irish Home Rule, but were widely attacked by hardline unionists, and as a result largely ceased activities in 1896.
[3][4] The branches united with the SPI and the Belfast branch of the British Socialist Party to form the "Independent Labour Party of Ireland", although this collapsed soon after the outbreak of World War I, after Connolly was banned from giving speeches alleged to be pro-German in Belfast by the local leadership of the group.
The national leadership wished the Belfast branches to similarly disaffiliate from the NILP, but members rejected the idea, and instead split from the ILP to form the Socialist Party of Northern Ireland.
It received a large sum in compensation, and used part of this to open a new Labour Hall at 48 York Street, which also housed a social club for members.