Rare Irish Unionists Alliance Badge. I found the following information online - The Irish Unionist Alliance (IUA), also known as the Irish Unionist Party, Irish Unionists or simply the Unionists, was a Unionist political party founded in Ireland in 1891 from a merger of the Irish Conservative Party  and the Irish Loyal And Patriotic Union to oppose plans for home rule for Ireland within the United Kingdom Of Great Britain and Ireland. The party was led for much of its existence by Colonel Edward James Saunderson and later by  William St John Brodrick, Earl of Middleton. In total, eighty-six members of the House Of Lords affiliated themselves with the Irish Unionist Alliance, although its broader membership among Irish voters was relatively small.