Young Ireland

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Young Ireland was a political, cultural and social movement, which was to revolutionise the use of Irish nationalism, as a political force in Irish society. From its beginnings in the late 1830s, its influence was to extend over generations of Irish Nationalists, and impact on all future Anglo-Irish relations.[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Repeal Association 3 The Nation 4 The Secession 5 The Irish Confederation 6 1848 Uprising 7 Books By Young Irelanders (Irish Confederation) 8 Additional Reading 9 See also 10 External links 11 Notes and references

[edit] History

The name Young Ireland was originally used in a disparaging way to describe the group of Repeal Association members associated with The Nation newspaper who were campaigning for the repeal of the Act of Union 1800 between the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland.^[1] The term was first coined by the English press,^[2] and later used by Daniel O'Connell in a vindictive attack at Conciliation Hall, home of the Repeal Association, for which he later apologized.^[3]

Young Ireland traced its origins to the new College Historical Society, founded on the 29th of March, 1839, at a meeting at Francis Kearney’s chambers, 27 College. ^[4] Among the Members of this new society were John Blake Dillon, Thomas MacNeven, William Eliot Hudson and Thomas Davis, ^[5] who was elected President in 1840. ^{[6] [7]} Though Davis, while still at Trinity had addressed the Dublin Historical Society which met at the Dorset Institute in Upper Sackville Street from 1836 to 1838. Davis became president and gave two lectures at it, which survived to this day and are available from the National Library of Ireland and show clearly that Davis had become a convinced Irish nationalist at this period in his life. ^[8]

[edit] Repeal Association

On April 15th, 1840, Daniel O’Connell held the first meeting of his new Repeal Association, in the Corn Exchange, Dublin. Its birth was received with sneers, and O’Connell’s sincerity was questioned. ^[9] In the General Election in 1832, O’Connell had made the same appeal, and though half the representatives chosen for Ireland were pledged Repealers, O’Connell dropped the demand, and several of them accepted appointments under the system they had pledged to overthrow. ^[10] Since that time, O’Connell had become a close ally of the Whigs, and as they were predicted to fall from power in 1840, renewing the agitation for Repeal, was suspected as a devise to embarrass the new administration. ^[11] As a consequence of this, not one man of status, outside of the members of the defunct Association joined the ranks of this new one.^[12] With the new Associations mounting debts, the contributions from its members not sufficient to pay half its ordinary expenses, ^[13] both Thomas Davis and John Blake Dillon, joined its ranks in April 1841, having in the process, to overcome their dislike to the extravagant and abusive tone of O’Connell’s agitation. ^[14] O’Connell welcomed them both with eagerness, and at once made them members of the General Committee, which controlled the organisation of the Association. ^[15] The two men than began there work in earnest; Davis first became Chairman of a sub-committee in charge of the registers of the Association, which contained the names of all the Members.

This allowed him the opportunity to enter into communication with all the leading politicians of the Party, and whenever he came across any with depth or ability; he at once developed into friendly associations. ^[16] In the autumn of 1841, Dillon and Davis took over the roles of Editor and sub-Editor of the Morning Register, a Dublin daily paper, belonging to Alderman Staunton, which had been the organ of the Catholic Association, ^[17] and “was generally regarded among the mercenaries” of the Dublin Castle according to Michael Doheny who was to become one of Young Irelands leading figures. ^[18] The positions having become vacant, with the emigration of its editor Mr Hugh Lynar to the Cape of Good Hope, and the Sub-Editor Charles Gavan Duffy having gone to conduct a journal in Belfast. As editors they were to plunge its readers into “ecstasies of astonishment,” according to Duffy, with articles on such things as Protestant nationality, historical parallels from classic and mediaeval history, to essays on the agencies and conditions of guerrilla warfare. ^[19] Michael Doheny suggests in his Felon’s Track that “all Dublin was startled by the originality, vigour and brilliancy of its articles.” ^[20] It was also at this time that they first came into contact with Charles Gavan Duffy. On Duffy’s next visit to Dublin some six months later, he discovered that Davis and Dillon had abandoned their experiment with the Register, ^[21] and this had left Davis with no hope to reach a wider public, even with his contributions to the Dublin Monthly Magazine. ^[22]

[edit] The Nation

After a long conversation while on a walk in the Phoenix Park, where the three of them discussed the prospects of the country, they decided on a project to establish a new national newspaper, which they were to title The Nation . ^{[23] [24]} Into this new venture, Dillon brought two young friends, the barrister John O’Hagan, and John Edward Pigot a law student. Both of whom were to be parodied in M. W. Savage’s The Falcon Family or Young Ireland. Davis brought some of his circle of young friends in the Historical Society, and Duffy who brought in the poet James Clarence Mangan, William O’Neill Daunt a county Cork Landowner, and T. M. Hughes, who had been editor of the London Charivari , which was later absorbed into Punch. ^[25] On the 15th October, 1842, the first number of The Nation was launched. “The appearance of The Nation and its immediate and phenomenal success was a reinforcement for which O’Connell had scarcely dared to hope.” ^[26]

So commenced The Nation newspaper; and for the next three years it was, next to O’Connell, the strongest power in Ireland on the national side. ^[27] O’Connell knew and that he was receiving for the present, a powerful support from these young men, but he knew also that they professed to be free from the “gratitude of the past” and therefore outside of his influence. ^[28] Davis was an extremely skilful propagandist who deliberately chose to work behind the scenes, and was to exerte a singular influence. Davis had been working on these lines since before The Nation made its first appearance, and the success of the newspaper soon produced significant results. ^[29] One of the most distinctive new developments was the organization of Repeal reading rooms all over the country which The Nation was soon addressing itself to, in particularly, and found this an especially effective method of spreading their propaganda. By the spring of 1843, when The Nation had been in existence for some six months, the Repeal agitation was becoming really formidable, and the Government was beginning to consider the old problem of how to suppress it. ^[30]

[edit] The Secession

The Young Irelanders, when members of the association, never advocated the use of physical force to advance the cause of repeal and opposed any such policy.,^[31] Though the opposite was the belief created by O’Connell when in the Repeal Association, he introduced what came to be known as the “Peace Resolutions”,^[32] which was that physical force could never be justified under any circumstances, at any time and this was to be applied retrospectively.

This would have had the effect that the Repeal Association rejected the American war of Independence, the rebellions of both 1798 and 1803, and also the efforts of the French in deposing their government and monarchy. The use of physical force only became an issue with the Young Irelanders, after they had left the association, and had formed the Irish Confederation.”,^[33] O'Connell himself had not been indisposed to use the threat of force,^[34] as was seen in his campaign for Catholic Emancipation, but never had the intention or the will.^[35] This was demonstrated by the cancelled 'monster meeting' planned for Clontarf in 1843. The monster Meetings were long a design of Thomas Davis, John Blake Dillon and Michael Doheny^[36] .The object of which was to train the people to military movements,^[37] since this object would obviously be unsafe to announce, it was to be effected by other means. Daniel O’Connell was fully aware of their intent at the time, though he later denied it and repudiated those involved.^[38] This meeting was prohibited by the British government, backed up with the threat of military force. O'Connell took a political decision to not press ahead with the summoning of the planned meeting for Clontarf, as the government had plans ready to supress it.^[39]This diminished his credibility with the British - they were only prepared to concede when they believed that there was a serious risk of an uprising.^[40] The Young Irelanders had always agreed with Daniel O'Connell and the Repeal Association in its demand for repeal, but split when it did come was, over O'Connell's attempts to form an alliance with the Whig Party in England, which would have led to the dropping of repeal, as had happened in 1835.While the pretence used by O’Connell’s supporters, was the adoption of the Peace Resolutions.

[edit] The Irish Confederation

Late in the autumn of 1846, some prominent men undertook the task of remonstrating with the Repeal Association. Among them were a, Mr. Keeley, Mr. Holywood, Mr. Crean and Mr. Halpin all prominent Dublin citizens . A few weeks later, a remonstrance at the course pursued by the Association was produced and was signed by fifteen hundred leading citizens of Dublin. ^[41] It was delivered to the Chairman of the Repeal Association on the 2nd of October. This remonstrance was ordered by John O’Connell (Daniel O’Connell’s son), to be flung into the gutter. The Remonstrants and the public resented this humiliation, and determined to hold a meeting in the Rotunda, Dublin, where they proposed to defend themselves against this indignity. ^[42] The meeting was held on the 3rd of November. Mr. Thomas D'Arcy McGee, who had never been a Member of the Association attended, and his speech described by Michael Doheny to be “calm, forcible and conclusive on the points at issue; and the excitement it created was, in no small degree, enhanced by the fact that the speaker was a young man theretofore unknown.” ^[43]

. The success of the meeting suggested the possibility of an experiment upon a large scale, as a preliminary to the formation of the Confederation. The meeting was set for the 2nd of December. The main object was to reply to the calumnies which, for nearly six months, had been urged against the leading seceders. ^[44] The remonstrant committee offered to defend them against any allegations put by the Repeal Association. The meeting was one of the most important ever held in the city. The entire ability of the seceders was put into its preparation. Michael Doheny states that “such was the sensation created by the proceedings that two publishers, one in Dublin and one in Belfast, brought out reports, in pamphlet form, which were read all over the country with the greatest avidity.” ^[45] It was suggested, casually at the meeting, that the seceders would meet in January to announce the course of political action they would recommend. On the 13th of January, the seceders met again, and their deliberations were supported again by the same men, to secure to the seceders freedom of speech and of action. ^[46] It was at this meeting the Irish Confederation was fully established. The foundations of which were to be freedom, tolerance and truth. There were no declarations or calls for rebellion, and no pledges of peace were given. The objectives were they outlined the independence of the Irish nation and no means to attain that end were abjured, save such as were inconsistent with honour, morality and reason. ^[47]

[edit] 1848 Uprising

Main article: Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848

The adoption of physical force was propelled by death and destruction resulting from the 1845 Irish potato blight, government inaction, and the evictions of tenants from the land by some landlords.^{[citation needed]} The final impulse came with the crash of the French Revolution, in the year 1848, followed by popular uprisings across Europe which saw both governments and monarchies toppled. William Smith O'Brien, the leader of the Young Ireland Party, having to choose between armed resistance or an ignominious flight launched an attempted rebellion in July 1848, in immediate response to British repression and the introduction of martial law.^[48] Opposed by some of the Catholic clergy, who had been consistently hostile to Young Ireland and the Irish Confederation, O'Brien's failure to capture a party of police barricaded in widow McCormack's house, who were holding her children as hostages, marked the effective end of the revolt.”,^[49] Though intermittent resistance continued till late 1849, O'Brien and his colleagues were quickly arrested. Originally sentenced to death, this sentence was later commuted to transportation to Van Diemen's Land, where they joined John Mitchel

[edit] Books By Young Irelanders (Irish Confederation)

• The Felon's Track By Micheal Doheny M.H. Gill &Sons, LTD 1951 (Text at Project Gutenberg)
• The Volunteers of 1782 By Thomas Mac Nevin James Duffy & Sons. Centenary Edition
• An Apology for the British Government in Ireland. By John Mitchel.O Donoghue & Company. 1905
• Jail Journal: By John Mitchel M.H. Gill &Sons, LTD 1914
• Jail Journal: with continuation in New York & Paris. By John Mitchel M.H. Gill & Son, Ltd
• The Crusade of the Period. By John Mitchel Lynch, Cole & Meehan 1873
• Last Conquest Of Ireland (Perhaps). By John Mitchel Lynch, Cole & Meehan 1873
• History of Ireland, from the Treaty of Limerick to the present time. By John Mitchel.Cameron & Ferguson
• History of Ireland, from the Treaty of Limerick to the present time (2 Vol). By John Mitchel James Duffy 1869
• Life of Hugh O'Neil John Mitchel P.M. Haverty 1868
• Thomas Davis Sir Charles Gavan Duffy Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd 1890
• My Life In Two Hemispheres (2Vol) Sir Charles Gavan Duffy T.Fisher Unwin. 1898
• Young Ireland Sir Charles Gavan Duffy Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. 1880
• Four Years of Irish History 1845-1849 Sir Charles Gavan Duffy Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. 1888
• A Popular History of Ireland: from the Earliest Period to the Emancipation of the Catholics,Thomas D'Arcy McGee,Cameron & Ferguson (Text at Project Gutenberg)
• The Patriot Parliment of 1689, Thomas Davis, (Third Edition), T. Fisher Unwin, MDCCCXCIII

[edit] Additional Reading

• The Politics of Irish Literature: from Thomas Davis to W.B. Yeats, Malcolm Brown, Allen & Unwin, 1973.
• John Mitchel, A Cause Too Many, Aidan Hegarty, Camlane Press.
• Thomas Davis, The Thinker and Teacher, Arthur Griffith, M.H. Gill & Son 1922.
• Brigadier-General Thomas Francis Meagher His Political and Military Career,Capt. W. F. Lyons, Burns Oates & Washbourne Limited 1869
• Young Ireland and 1848, Dennis Gwynn, Cork University Press 1949.
• Daniel O'Connell The Irish Liberator, Dennis Gwynn, Hutchinson & Co, Ltd.
• O'Connell Davis and the Collages Bill, Dennis Gwynn, Cork University Press 1948.
• Smith O’Brien And The “Secession”, Dennis Gwynn,Cork University Press
• Meagher of The Sword, Edited By Arthur Griffith, M. H. Gill & Son, Ltd. 1916.
• Young Irelander Abroad The Diary of Charles Hart, Edited by Brendan O'Cathaoir, University Press.
• John Mitchel First Felon for Ireland, Edited By Brian O'Higgins, Brian O'Higgins 1947.
• Rossa's Recollections 1838 to 1898, Intro by Sean O'Luing, The Lyons Press 2004.
• Labour in Ireland, James Connolly, Fleet Street 1910.
• The Re-Conquest of Ireland, James Connolly, Fleet Street 1915.
• John Mitchel Noted Irish Lives, Louis J. Walsh, The Talbot Press Ltd 1934.
• Thomas Davis: Essays and Poems, Centenary Memoir, M. H Gill, M.H. Gill & Son, Ltd MCMXLV.
• Life of John Martin, P. A. Sillard, James Duffy & Co., Ltd 1901.
• Life of John Mitchel, P. A. Sillard, James Duffy and Co., Ltd 1908.
• John Mitchel, P. S. O'Hegarty, Maunsel & Company, Ltd 1917.
• The Fenians in Context Irish Politics & Society 1848-82, R. V. Comerford, Wolfhound Press 1998
• William Smith O'Brien and the Young Ireland Rebellion of 1848, Robert Sloan, Four Courts Press 2000
• Irish Mitchel, Seamus MacCall, Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd 1938.
• Ireland Her Own, T. A. Jackson, Lawrence & Wishart Ltd 1976.
• Life and Times of Daniel O'Connell, T. C. Luby, Cameron & Ferguson.
• Young Ireland, T. F. O'Sullivan, The Kerryman Ltd. 1945.
• Irish Rebel John Devoy and America's Fight for Irish Freedom, Terry Golway, St. Martin's Griffin 1998.
• Paddy's Lament Ireland 1846-1847 Prelude to Hatred, Thomas Gallagher, Poolbeg 1994.
• The Great Shame, Thomas Keneally, Anchor Books 1999.
• James Fintan Lalor, Thomas, P. O'Neill, Golden Publications 2003.
• Charles Gavan Duffy: Conversations With Carlyle (1892), with Introduction, Stray Thoughts On Young Ireland, by Brendan Clifford, Athol Books, Belfast, ISBN 0 85034 1140. (Pg. 32 Titled, Foster’s account Of Young Ireland.)
• Envoi, Taking Leave Of Roy Foster, by Brendan Clifford and Julianne Herlihy, Aubane Historical Society, Cork.
• The Falcon Family, or, Young Ireland, by M. W. Savage, London, 1845. (An Gorta Mor)Quinnipiac University

[edit] See also

• Famine Rebellion of 1848
• History of Ireland (1801-1922)
• Irish Potato Famine (1845-1849)
• Kevin Izod O'Doherty
• Patrick O'Donoghue
• James Fintan Lalor
• Terence MacManus
• John Martin
• Thomas Francis Meagher
• Thomas Devin Reilly

[edit] External links

• Young Ireland from the Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions
• (An Gorta Mor) - Quinnipiac University

[edit] Notes and references

1. ^ Young Ireland, T. F. O'Sullivan, The Kerryman Ltd. 1945, Pg 1-4
2. ^ Young Ireland, Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. 1880, Pg.291
3. ^ O'Connell Davis and the Collages Bill, Dennis Gwynn, Cork University Press 1948, Pg 68
4. ^ Charles Gavan Duffy, Thomas Davis, The Memoirs of an Irish Patriot, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd pg. 14
5. ^ Charles Gavan Duffy, Thomas Davis, The Memoirs of an Irish Patriot, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd pg. 14
6. ^ Charles Gavan Duffy, Thomas Davis, The Memoirs of an Irish Patriot, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd pg. 14
7. ^ Dennis Gwynn, Young Ireland and 1848, Cork University Press, 1949, pg 5
8. ^ Charles Gavan Duffy, Thomas Davis, The Memoirs of an Irish Patriot, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd pg. 13
9. ^ Michael Doheny, The Felon’s Track, M.H Gill & Son, LTD, 1951, pg 14
10. ^ Charles Gavan Duffy, Thomas Davis, The Memoirs of an Irish Patriot, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd pg. 2-3
11. ^ Charles Gavan Duffy, Thomas Davis, The Memoirs of an Irish Patriot, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd pg. 3-4
12. ^ Michael Doheny, The Felon’s Track, M.H Gill & Son, LTD, 1951, pg 14
13. ^ Michael Doheny, The Felon’s Track, M.H Gill & Son, LTD, 1951, pg 14
14. ^ Dennis Gwynn, Young Ireland and 1848, Cork University Press, 1949, pg 5
15. ^ Dennis Gwynn, Young Ireland and 1848, Cork University Press, 1949, pg 5
16. ^ Michael Doheny, The Felon’s Track, M.H Gill & Son, LTD, 1951, pg 17
17. ^ Charles Gavan Duffy, Thomas Davis, The Memoirs of an Irish Patriot, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd pg. 45
18. ^ Michael Doheny, The Felon’s Track, M.H Gill & Son, LTD, 1951, pg 17
19. ^ Charles Gavan Duffy, Thomas Davis, The Memoirs of an Irish Patriot, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd pg. 45
20. ^ Michael Doheny, The Felon’s Track, M.H Gill & Son, LTD, 1951, pg 17
21. ^ Charles Gavan Duffy, Thomas Davis, The Memoirs of an Irish Patriot, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd pg. 47
22. ^ Dennis Gwynn, Young Ireland and 1848, Cork University Press, 1949, pg 5
23. ^ Charles Gavan Duffy, Thomas Davis, The Memoirs of an Irish Patriot, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd pg. 47
24. ^ Charles Gavan Duffy, Young Ireland, Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co, 1880, pg 47
25. ^ Dennis Gwynn, Young Ireland and 1848, Cork University Press, 1949, pg 6
26. ^ Dennis Gwynn, Young Ireland and 1848, Cork University Press, 1949, pg 9
27. ^ P.A. Sillard, Life of John Mitchel, James Duffy & Co. LTD, 1908, pg 7
28. ^ P.A. Sillard, Life of John Mitchel, James Duffy & Co. LTD, 1908, pg 7
29. ^ Dennis Gwynn, Young Ireland and 1848, Cork University Press, 1949, pg 10
30. ^ Dennis Gwynn, Young Ireland and 1848, Cork University Press, 1949, pg 11
31. ^ The Felon's Track, By Micheal Doheny, M.H. Gill &Sons, LTD 1951, Pg 105
32. ^ The Felon's Track, By Micheal Doheny, M.H. Gill &Sons, LTD 1951, Pg 106
33. ^ The Felon's Track, By Micheal Doheny, M.H. Gill &Sons, LTD 1951, Pg 105
34. ^ Young Ireland, Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. 1880, Pg.274
35. ^ Young Ireland, Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. 1880, Pg.374
36. ^ The Felon's Track, By Micheal Doheny, M.H. Gill &Sons, LTD 1951, Pg 20
37. ^ The Felon's Track, By Micheal Doheny, M.H. Gill &Sons, LTD 1951, Pg 20
38. ^ The Felon's Track, By Micheal Doheny, M.H. Gill &Sons, LTD 1951, Pg 22
39. ^ Young Ireland, Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. 1880, Pg.361
40. ^ The Crusade of the Period, By John Mitchel, Lynch, Cole & Meehan 1873, pg 147
41. ^ Michael Doheny’s The Felon’s Track, M.H. Gill & Son, LTD, 1951 Edition pg 111-112
42. ^ Michael Doheny’s The Felon’s Track, M.H. Gill & Son, LTD, 1951 Edition pg 111-112
43. ^ Michael Doheny’s The Felon’s Track, M.H. Gill & Son, LTD, 1951 Edition pg 111-112
44. ^ Michael Doheny’s The Felon’s Track, M.H. Gill & Son, LTD, 1951 Edition pg 111-112
45. ^ Michael Doheny’s The Felon’s Track, M.H. Gill & Son, LTD, 1951 Edition pg 111-112
46. ^ Michael Doheny’s The Felon’s Track, M.H. Gill & Son, LTD, 1951 Edition pg 111-112
47. ^ Michael Doheny’s The Felon’s Track, M.H. Gill & Son, LTD, 1951 Edition pg 111-112
48. ^ Four Years of Irish History 1845-1849 Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. 1888, pg 389
49. ^ The Felon's Track, By Micheal Doheny, M.H. Gill &Sons, LTD 1951, Pg 182

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