This form of the Irish Parliamentary Party was established after the split in 1890 between party leader Charles Stewart Parnell and much of the rest of the party. Prime Minister William Gladstone had warned that the alliance between his Liberal Party and the Irish Home Rule party would be ruined if Parnell continued to hold the leadership role. When Parnell refused to step aside, 44 out of the 73 party members present at the meeting to determine leadership left. These 44 men were led by Justin McCarthy and included John Dillon, William O'Brien, and Timothy Healy, amongst others.

The chairman for this Party Committee of the mid-1890s was Justin McCarthy, the secretary was James F.X. O'Brien, and members who were generally present were E. Blake, John Dillon, Thomas Sexton, T.M. Healy, Arthur O'Connor, William O'Brien, T.P. O'Brien, T.D. Sullivan, W. Abraham, and T.J. Condon.

The functions of the committee were to disburse funds to Members of Parliament (MPs), election candidates, and worthy oranizations, including the Irish National Federation; to select candidates to stand for Irish seats and to set dates for election conventions; find money for MPs about to become bankrupt; correspond with America; and negotiate with the Government over points that needed to be covered by Parliament, including the Home Rule Bill, Evicted Tenants Bill, Irish Land Bill, and the Education Bill.