Event of Irish Nationalism:
The Irish Volunteers, 1778
American Rev. (1775-83) encouraged the growth of a forceful nationalist perspective. It also
led to the Irish Volunteers, Protestants in Belfast who wanted to defend Ireland from French
and Spanish whilst Britain was away fighting in the American Rev. They formed volunteer
units of militia, which became popular and by 1782 there were over 60,000 trained militia
ready to fight. However, this began to transform into an opportunity to challenge British
authority. The Volunteers met regularly and in the absence of attack they became debating
societies wherein they discussed politics, particularly the Act of 1720, which declared the
right of Britain to legislate for Ireland and the limitations imposed on the Irish P. This was
now a problem for Britain as it had been weakened by the American War and Ireland now
had a well-armed militia to support its demands. A leader in this movement was Grattan, an
Irish Protestant lawyer who believed that Ireland should become an independent nation
under the same crown as Britain, though this was always blocked in P. In Feb 1782, some
Volunteers in Ulster met and passed resolutions demanding legislative independence for the
Irish P. Britain conceded under a Whig P and repealed the 1720 Act, and reduced Britain’s
control over legislation in Ireland to a veto. Ireland was now technically an independent
nation with a shared monarch. In Nov 1783, the Volunteers held a second convention to
discuss the fact that Britain still held influence over Ireland through the lord lieutenant. P
refused their reform plan and so the Volunteers, unwilling to use force, simply went home.
United Irishmen + The 1798 Uprising, 1791-98
The French Rev. shocked the Irish nation with its violent promotion of republican values.
More radical, younger individuals saw this and grew disillusioned to the continued
dominance of British influence. They marked a growing radicalism in Ireland. They felt that
for greater political autonomy to be won Catholic and Prot. radicals needed to unite. The
second figurehead was Wolfe Tone, a Prot. barrister, who argued in favour of a substantially
reformed Irish P that was elected by the Irish people without interference from the British
Crown. This idea was published in An Argument on behalf of the Catholics of Ireland in 1791.
This led to a series of clubs being established with this political agenda, among these was
the first Society of United Irishmen, founded in Belfast in October 1791. The United Irishmen
wanted:
- Ireland to be divided into 300 parliamentary constituencies equal in pop.
- Universal male suffrage
This was set out in their manifesto in 1794. They also believed further Catholic
emancipation would be necessary since Catholics couldn’t sit in P, and they wanted better
representation for Ireland. The British were resistant to them, forcing the United Irishmen to
use more aggressive tactics e.g. Wolfe Tone and the failed 1796 Bantry Bay invasion of
14,000 men from France which had hoped to eject the British from Ireland. This failed due to
poor weather. By 1797 there were over 200,000 United Irishmen, which encouraged Tone to
start the 1798 Uprising in May. However, the rising was very disorganised and largely
confined to the countryside, and though they had 15,000 men British forces had over
20,000 soldiers and secured a decisive victory in June. This was partly due to the failure of
immediate French support from the French alliance, since France was distracted with Egypt.
Tone committed suicide in custody.
The Tithe Wars, 1830
Tithes were a tax to support the Church, and Irish Catholics had to pay them to the Catholic
Church, but also the Church of Ireland (Protestant) which they had nothing to do with. This
made many Catholics hate the tithe for religious and economic reasons as they had to pay
two amounts of tax. The Tithe Composition Act in 1823 extended the tithe to pastureland as
well as tillage land, which increased resentment towards it, especially with the growing
political agitation over Catholic emancipation. The campaign against it was more accurately
a boycott, as in 1830 farmers refused to pay the tax, especially due to the recent
agricultural depression and reduced prices. By 1833, 22 counties weren’t paying the tithe
, and the debt was over £1 million. It was supported by the Catholic Church, and because it
was a passive protest it employed a great number of participants. There was some violence
as police were used to seize property in the absence of payment. This property was then
sold at auction to raise money, but participants bid absurdly high prices, making the
auctions fail. After June 1833 this was abandoned by the government as it alienated the
rural Irish pop. The Church of Ireland also suffered as ministers didn’t have enough money
to maintain themselves and Britain was actually spending more money giving them relief
than what they would have gotten from the tithe. Tithes were replaced with the Tithe
Rentcharge Act in 1838, which meant only landlords had to pay.
Daniel O’Connell + the Repeal Association, 1840
The Union put an end to legislative independence for Ireland, however Irish nationalists
sought to address the issue of repeal of the union. The driving leader was Daniel O’Connell,
the Clare MP who founded the Repeal Association in 1840 with the intention of using it to
raise funds via subscriptions and mobilise public opinion to pressurise Westminster into
granting repeal. He aimed to create this pressure through his monster meetings- huge
gatherings which drew tens of thousands of people, drawing attention from the British.
However, within P. there was great reluctance to even discuss the issue, since British policy
makers believed strongly in the union. On 8 th Oct 1843, they banned a meeting that was to
be held in Clontarf hours before it was due to be held, giving O’Connell a choice: submit or
hold the meeting and risk conflict with military forces. O’Connell cancelled the meeting. This
led to the end of the repeal movement since it’s main principle had been that peaceful
organisation could force the govt. to change its opinion.
Young Ireland + The 1848 Rebellion
The Young Ireland movement was initially created to support the Repeal Movement,
however, they were willing to use force whilst the Repeal movement and O’Connell were not
and they split. The Young Ireland group mainly revolved around the idea of Irish nationality,
regardless of religious faith, and demanded a complete separation from Britain. It embraced
a more romantic view of nationalism i.e. people were willing to die for the cause. However,
the Young Ireland clubs were seen as a symptom of general dissatisfaction than a real
commitment to a more aggressive Irish Nationalism, and they didn’t have much support
outside Dublin. They also had a lack of support from the Catholic clergy, meaning the
movement didn’t build a strong support base. There were also deep divisions in leadership,
with some moderate leaders advocating parliamentary pressure while others encouraged a
peasant-led rebellion to remove British authorities.
The 1848 Rebellion was attempted following the outbreak of revolution in France, with the
intention of copying the coup. However, it was a poorly organised affair that lacked
resources and direction. The British had also established a network of spies in the
movement and exposed the conspiracy. 10,000 troops were sent into Ireland and habeus
corpus was suspended. In response, the movement moved to the countryside in the hope of
raising troops in the countryside. There were several minor encounters, such as when rebels
had cornered some police in a barn, but reinforcements arrived and the rebels scattered. In
the aftermath of the uprising, several leaders were arrested and deported to Tasmania.
The Irish Republican Brotherhood + The Fenian Uprising, 1858-1867
James Stephens, who had been a member of the Young Ireland movement, fled to Paris
where he learnt about secret societies. In 1858, he established the Irish Republican
Brotherhood in Dublin. This group sought to create an Irish Republic rather than just repeal
the union and was primarily made of working men. It was favour of more aggressive.
revolutionary methods, then Young Ireland. It employed oath-swearing to secure its secrecy
and had exclusive circles of members to prevent infiltration of spies. It signalled a
determined shift in Irish nationalism. They were also known as Fenians. Their strategy was
to take advantage of any foreign war that the British were involved in where they would
redeploy troops in Ireland, leaving it ‘unguarded’. In the 1860s, they were able to recruit
effectively, with an estimate of 54,000 members. This was helped by the death of Terrence
McManus in 1861, who had been involved in the 1848 uprising. Having been in America, his
The Irish Volunteers, 1778
American Rev. (1775-83) encouraged the growth of a forceful nationalist perspective. It also
led to the Irish Volunteers, Protestants in Belfast who wanted to defend Ireland from French
and Spanish whilst Britain was away fighting in the American Rev. They formed volunteer
units of militia, which became popular and by 1782 there were over 60,000 trained militia
ready to fight. However, this began to transform into an opportunity to challenge British
authority. The Volunteers met regularly and in the absence of attack they became debating
societies wherein they discussed politics, particularly the Act of 1720, which declared the
right of Britain to legislate for Ireland and the limitations imposed on the Irish P. This was
now a problem for Britain as it had been weakened by the American War and Ireland now
had a well-armed militia to support its demands. A leader in this movement was Grattan, an
Irish Protestant lawyer who believed that Ireland should become an independent nation
under the same crown as Britain, though this was always blocked in P. In Feb 1782, some
Volunteers in Ulster met and passed resolutions demanding legislative independence for the
Irish P. Britain conceded under a Whig P and repealed the 1720 Act, and reduced Britain’s
control over legislation in Ireland to a veto. Ireland was now technically an independent
nation with a shared monarch. In Nov 1783, the Volunteers held a second convention to
discuss the fact that Britain still held influence over Ireland through the lord lieutenant. P
refused their reform plan and so the Volunteers, unwilling to use force, simply went home.
United Irishmen + The 1798 Uprising, 1791-98
The French Rev. shocked the Irish nation with its violent promotion of republican values.
More radical, younger individuals saw this and grew disillusioned to the continued
dominance of British influence. They marked a growing radicalism in Ireland. They felt that
for greater political autonomy to be won Catholic and Prot. radicals needed to unite. The
second figurehead was Wolfe Tone, a Prot. barrister, who argued in favour of a substantially
reformed Irish P that was elected by the Irish people without interference from the British
Crown. This idea was published in An Argument on behalf of the Catholics of Ireland in 1791.
This led to a series of clubs being established with this political agenda, among these was
the first Society of United Irishmen, founded in Belfast in October 1791. The United Irishmen
wanted:
- Ireland to be divided into 300 parliamentary constituencies equal in pop.
- Universal male suffrage
This was set out in their manifesto in 1794. They also believed further Catholic
emancipation would be necessary since Catholics couldn’t sit in P, and they wanted better
representation for Ireland. The British were resistant to them, forcing the United Irishmen to
use more aggressive tactics e.g. Wolfe Tone and the failed 1796 Bantry Bay invasion of
14,000 men from France which had hoped to eject the British from Ireland. This failed due to
poor weather. By 1797 there were over 200,000 United Irishmen, which encouraged Tone to
start the 1798 Uprising in May. However, the rising was very disorganised and largely
confined to the countryside, and though they had 15,000 men British forces had over
20,000 soldiers and secured a decisive victory in June. This was partly due to the failure of
immediate French support from the French alliance, since France was distracted with Egypt.
Tone committed suicide in custody.
The Tithe Wars, 1830
Tithes were a tax to support the Church, and Irish Catholics had to pay them to the Catholic
Church, but also the Church of Ireland (Protestant) which they had nothing to do with. This
made many Catholics hate the tithe for religious and economic reasons as they had to pay
two amounts of tax. The Tithe Composition Act in 1823 extended the tithe to pastureland as
well as tillage land, which increased resentment towards it, especially with the growing
political agitation over Catholic emancipation. The campaign against it was more accurately
a boycott, as in 1830 farmers refused to pay the tax, especially due to the recent
agricultural depression and reduced prices. By 1833, 22 counties weren’t paying the tithe
, and the debt was over £1 million. It was supported by the Catholic Church, and because it
was a passive protest it employed a great number of participants. There was some violence
as police were used to seize property in the absence of payment. This property was then
sold at auction to raise money, but participants bid absurdly high prices, making the
auctions fail. After June 1833 this was abandoned by the government as it alienated the
rural Irish pop. The Church of Ireland also suffered as ministers didn’t have enough money
to maintain themselves and Britain was actually spending more money giving them relief
than what they would have gotten from the tithe. Tithes were replaced with the Tithe
Rentcharge Act in 1838, which meant only landlords had to pay.
Daniel O’Connell + the Repeal Association, 1840
The Union put an end to legislative independence for Ireland, however Irish nationalists
sought to address the issue of repeal of the union. The driving leader was Daniel O’Connell,
the Clare MP who founded the Repeal Association in 1840 with the intention of using it to
raise funds via subscriptions and mobilise public opinion to pressurise Westminster into
granting repeal. He aimed to create this pressure through his monster meetings- huge
gatherings which drew tens of thousands of people, drawing attention from the British.
However, within P. there was great reluctance to even discuss the issue, since British policy
makers believed strongly in the union. On 8 th Oct 1843, they banned a meeting that was to
be held in Clontarf hours before it was due to be held, giving O’Connell a choice: submit or
hold the meeting and risk conflict with military forces. O’Connell cancelled the meeting. This
led to the end of the repeal movement since it’s main principle had been that peaceful
organisation could force the govt. to change its opinion.
Young Ireland + The 1848 Rebellion
The Young Ireland movement was initially created to support the Repeal Movement,
however, they were willing to use force whilst the Repeal movement and O’Connell were not
and they split. The Young Ireland group mainly revolved around the idea of Irish nationality,
regardless of religious faith, and demanded a complete separation from Britain. It embraced
a more romantic view of nationalism i.e. people were willing to die for the cause. However,
the Young Ireland clubs were seen as a symptom of general dissatisfaction than a real
commitment to a more aggressive Irish Nationalism, and they didn’t have much support
outside Dublin. They also had a lack of support from the Catholic clergy, meaning the
movement didn’t build a strong support base. There were also deep divisions in leadership,
with some moderate leaders advocating parliamentary pressure while others encouraged a
peasant-led rebellion to remove British authorities.
The 1848 Rebellion was attempted following the outbreak of revolution in France, with the
intention of copying the coup. However, it was a poorly organised affair that lacked
resources and direction. The British had also established a network of spies in the
movement and exposed the conspiracy. 10,000 troops were sent into Ireland and habeus
corpus was suspended. In response, the movement moved to the countryside in the hope of
raising troops in the countryside. There were several minor encounters, such as when rebels
had cornered some police in a barn, but reinforcements arrived and the rebels scattered. In
the aftermath of the uprising, several leaders were arrested and deported to Tasmania.
The Irish Republican Brotherhood + The Fenian Uprising, 1858-1867
James Stephens, who had been a member of the Young Ireland movement, fled to Paris
where he learnt about secret societies. In 1858, he established the Irish Republican
Brotherhood in Dublin. This group sought to create an Irish Republic rather than just repeal
the union and was primarily made of working men. It was favour of more aggressive.
revolutionary methods, then Young Ireland. It employed oath-swearing to secure its secrecy
and had exclusive circles of members to prevent infiltration of spies. It signalled a
determined shift in Irish nationalism. They were also known as Fenians. Their strategy was
to take advantage of any foreign war that the British were involved in where they would
redeploy troops in Ireland, leaving it ‘unguarded’. In the 1860s, they were able to recruit
effectively, with an estimate of 54,000 members. This was helped by the death of Terrence
McManus in 1861, who had been involved in the 1848 uprising. Having been in America, his
