Eventually, as G. M. Trevelyan put it, "the disestablishment and partial disendowment of the Irish Protestant Church was carried out in a masterly and sympathetic manner by Gladstone, whose known position as an enthusiastic Churchman stood him in good stead during the negotiations"; and in 1869 an Act of the British Parliament enabling the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland was passed, coming into effect on 1 January 1871.