Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell is unarguably one of the greatest political opponents of the Act of Union, as well a a great proponent of Irish Home Rule. What separates O'Connell from the other leaders of the the Home Rule Movement is the fact that O'Connell was a Catholic . Although O'Connell lived and died before several of the great Home Rule leaders ever came on the scene, it would be impossible to give an adequate explanation of the Irish Home Rule Movement without first discussing O'Connell's role.
In 1823, O'Connell formed the Catholic Association in an effort to put an end to the penal laws, and emancipate Catholic political rights [1]. O'Connell's Catholic Association was certainly not the first of its kind to push for political freedoms for the Catholic in Ireland, but it was fundamentally different from the ones before it in that any Catholic Irishmen could be admitted to his association. In a nation in which no Catholic, rich or poor, had political rights, O'Connell realized that the power of the Catholic Irish was in the masses. The Catholic Association soon became the largest association of its kind in Ireland, and in 1826 Catholics in Ireland gained the right to vote in general elections for members of Parliament, albeit Protestant members of Parliament [2]. By 1829, the Catholic Association was pursuing a policy of only voting for members of Parliament who were not opposed to Catholic emancipation [3]. When the Anti-Catholic emancipation MP Vesy Fitzgerald ran for reelection in Clare County unopposed, the Catholic Association began to look for a Protestant candidate in Clare to run against Fitzgerald [4]. Once it was evident that no Protestant was willing to contest the strong foothold Fitzgerald has in the area, the Catholic Association decided O'Connell himself should run [5]. Although there was a law that said a Catholic could not sit in on Parliament, there was no law that said he could not be elected [6]. O'Connell ran away with the election, receiving twice as many votes as Fitzgerald [7]. With O'Connell's win in the general election the British Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, was faced with a tough decision. He could oppose O'Connell becoming an active member of Parliament and risk Catholic uprising in Ireland, or support a bill for the complete emancipation of Catholic political rights, which he himself did not believe in. Ultimately he decided it was in the best interest of the United Kingdom to support the Catholic emancipation bill, and remain at peace with the Catholic masses. On April 23, 1829 the bill became law, but O'Connell's work was just beginning [8].
As a member of Parliament, O'Connell supported the liberal party, and when the Conservative party returned to power in 1841, O'Connell decided it was time rouse the Irish population again, this time in support of a repeal of the Act of Union [9]. O'Connell founded the Repeal Association under much of the same terms as the Catholic Association, only the Repeal Association grew even larger. In 1843 the Repeal Association held many mass meetings in a effort to stir public interest. These mass meetings did exactly what the were designed to do, several times drawing in crowds estimated in the hundreds of thousands [10]. While O'Connell had massive numbers of support for the repeal of the Act of Union within the general population of Ireland, support for repeal within parliament was few and far between, to put things mildly. O'Connell died in 1847 without any success in Parliament of getting the Act of Union repealed, but O'Connell must be acknowledged for first popularizing the Home Rule movement among the public in Ireland.
In 1823, O'Connell formed the Catholic Association in an effort to put an end to the penal laws, and emancipate Catholic political rights [1]. O'Connell's Catholic Association was certainly not the first of its kind to push for political freedoms for the Catholic in Ireland, but it was fundamentally different from the ones before it in that any Catholic Irishmen could be admitted to his association. In a nation in which no Catholic, rich or poor, had political rights, O'Connell realized that the power of the Catholic Irish was in the masses. The Catholic Association soon became the largest association of its kind in Ireland, and in 1826 Catholics in Ireland gained the right to vote in general elections for members of Parliament, albeit Protestant members of Parliament [2]. By 1829, the Catholic Association was pursuing a policy of only voting for members of Parliament who were not opposed to Catholic emancipation [3]. When the Anti-Catholic emancipation MP Vesy Fitzgerald ran for reelection in Clare County unopposed, the Catholic Association began to look for a Protestant candidate in Clare to run against Fitzgerald [4]. Once it was evident that no Protestant was willing to contest the strong foothold Fitzgerald has in the area, the Catholic Association decided O'Connell himself should run [5]. Although there was a law that said a Catholic could not sit in on Parliament, there was no law that said he could not be elected [6]. O'Connell ran away with the election, receiving twice as many votes as Fitzgerald [7]. With O'Connell's win in the general election the British Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, was faced with a tough decision. He could oppose O'Connell becoming an active member of Parliament and risk Catholic uprising in Ireland, or support a bill for the complete emancipation of Catholic political rights, which he himself did not believe in. Ultimately he decided it was in the best interest of the United Kingdom to support the Catholic emancipation bill, and remain at peace with the Catholic masses. On April 23, 1829 the bill became law, but O'Connell's work was just beginning [8].
As a member of Parliament, O'Connell supported the liberal party, and when the Conservative party returned to power in 1841, O'Connell decided it was time rouse the Irish population again, this time in support of a repeal of the Act of Union [9]. O'Connell founded the Repeal Association under much of the same terms as the Catholic Association, only the Repeal Association grew even larger. In 1843 the Repeal Association held many mass meetings in a effort to stir public interest. These mass meetings did exactly what the were designed to do, several times drawing in crowds estimated in the hundreds of thousands [10]. While O'Connell had massive numbers of support for the repeal of the Act of Union within the general population of Ireland, support for repeal within parliament was few and far between, to put things mildly. O'Connell died in 1847 without any success in Parliament of getting the Act of Union repealed, but O'Connell must be acknowledged for first popularizing the Home Rule movement among the public in Ireland.
[1] Oliver MacDonagh (1975). The Politicization of the Irish Catholic Bishops, 1800–1850. The Historical Journal, 18, pp 37-53, 41.
[2] Ibid., 47.
[3]Moody, T. W., and F. X. Martin. "The Age of Daniel O'Connell: 1800-1847." In The course of Irish history, 216-229. 2011 rev. and enl. ed. Niwot, Colo.: Published in association with Radio Telefís Éireann by Roberts Rinehart Publishers ;, 2011, 219.
[4] Ibid., 219.
[5] Ibid., 220.
[6] Ibid., 220.
[7] Ibid., 221.
[8] Ibid., 222.
[9] Ibid., 223.
[10] Ibid., 223.
*Image from Wikimedia Commons from Great Britain and Her Queen, by Anne E. Keeling in Public Domain.
[2] Ibid., 47.
[3]Moody, T. W., and F. X. Martin. "The Age of Daniel O'Connell: 1800-1847." In The course of Irish history, 216-229. 2011 rev. and enl. ed. Niwot, Colo.: Published in association with Radio Telefís Éireann by Roberts Rinehart Publishers ;, 2011, 219.
[4] Ibid., 219.
[5] Ibid., 220.
[6] Ibid., 220.
[7] Ibid., 221.
[8] Ibid., 222.
[9] Ibid., 223.
[10] Ibid., 223.
*Image from Wikimedia Commons from Great Britain and Her Queen, by Anne E. Keeling in Public Domain.