Few people had any real enthusiasm for the Government of Ireland Act 1920 when it was enacted 100 years ago. It was sometimes known as the 'Fourth Home Rule Bill', a reference to three previous attempts at achieving Irish autonomy within the United Kingdom that occurred in 1886, 1893 and 1914. However, the 1920 legislation was more popularly known as the 'Partition Act', as this was its most important impact on Irish politics and society. No political constituency in early 20th-century Ireland regarded partition as their ideal choice for the future of the island. Nevertheless, leading Ulster unionists gradually moved towards the possibility of detaching their province from the rest of the island based on fears that Home Rule would mean 'Rome rule'.