Irish Volunteers

Group/Agitation

Protestant volunteer group with more peaceful tendencies. Defend Ireland’s borders from attack. Demand legislative independence.

Middle Class- disciplined and uniformed

Methods

Frequent drilling and parades- debating societies where members could discuss politics and other issues of concern

symbolic methods- uniform, promotes patriotic sentiment and gives them status

Significant events/consequences

In Feb 1782 they held a meeting at Dungannon’s parish church, where they passed resolutions demanding legislative independence for the Irish parliament.

Second convention in Dublin 1783

Effectiveness rating

5/10- Britain conceded greater autonomy to the Irish parliament

repealed the 1720 Declaratory Act and also reduced Britain’s control over legislation in Ireland to a right of veto- 1782 constitution, basically the same as before

new gov granted an Annual Mutiny Act and declared that Irish judges were irremovable, except by parliamentary action

technically independent nation → 1780-1800 ‘Gattan’s Parliament’

HOWEVER- still under the control of the viceroy, influence over Irish MPs because controlled the patronage

still had significant power over Irish affairs

Second convention → parliament refused reform plans and the Volunteers went home, third convention had very little public interest

United Irishmen

Group/Agitation

Multi-faith, radical, younger individuals who were disillusioned by the continued dominance of British influence over Irish affairs- growing radicalism within Ireland

Felt that the goal of greater political autonomy could only be won with a union between Catholic and Protestant radicals

Demands- 300 parliamentary constituencies, every man have a vote, further Catholic emancipation to provide better representation for the Irish population

Methods

Reformed parliamentary system- public opinion to persuade the authorities to institute change

Forced to adopt more aggressive tactics after the British resistance

By 1797 they had 200,000 members and a French alliance

Significant events/consequences

First Society of United Irishmen founded in Belfast in 1791, and Dublin equivalent a month later

1796- 14,000 men landed in Bantry Bay to eject the British occupation, only poor weather stopped them from landing

Tone organised an uprising in May 1798 to sever Ireland’s connection with Britain and achieve an independent state

Effectiveness rating

6/10- got close in 1796, legacy of people believing they could make Ireland better

uprising of 1798 not well executed

15,000 men but was poorly coordinated and did not take important towns like Belfast or Dublin, largely confined to countryside

British forces won at Vinegar Hill in June with 20,000 soldiers- failure of French support, not quick to arrive (French regime targeted Egypt so did not send troops immediately), arrived in August with only 1,100 men and it did not reignite

Bitter divisions- ended up looking like Catholics attacking Protestants

HOWEVER

It drew the country closer to Britain- made it clear to gov that the Irish parliament was not strong enough to be relied upon

‘back door’- needed the country to be properly administered

William Pitt passed an Act of Union in 1801 with the support of the Irish parliament, making Ireland a more integral part of the British state

Significance of the 1798 Uprising

Robert Emmett 1803 failed uprising

Repeal Association

Group/Agitation

• the Tithe Wars presented Ireland with further cause to challenge British authority

  • the issue of Ireland’s union remained at the forefront of many minds

• establishment of a more formal union put an end to legislative independence for Ireland as the country became part of the UK

  • nationalist agitation reduced

  • focused on a successful campaign for Catholic emancipation in 1829

    • greater freedom before the union

• victory of the Tory party in 1841 under the premiership of Robert Peel- Irish nationalists sought to address the issue of repeal to the union

  • driving force was MP for Clare, Daniel O’Connell- founded the Repeal Association in 1840 to raise funds via a ‘repeal rent’

Methods

• subscriptions to the association to raise funds- mobilise public opinion which could pressurise Westminster into granting repeal

• ‘monster meetings’- huge public gatherings that drew as many as 750,000 people (Tara)

  • in 1843 40 meetings took place, attended by between 100,000 and 500,000

Significant events/consequences

• Meeting at Tara in 1843- 750,000 in attendance

• 1843 British government banned the Repeal Association, O’Connell submits

Effectiveness rating

• reluctance in parliament to consider the issue, demands did not yield the results O’Connell expected

  • British policy makers believed in the union, empire provided a ready source for international trade

  • 1843 Repeal Association banned, forced O’Connell to either submit to the ruling or directly challenge the government and risk conflict with the military

    • chose to abide by the law

Tithe Wars

Group/Agitation

• union with Britain brought lingering resentment that their political autonomy had been removed by a ‘foreign power’

• Tithes- goods-based tax raised to support the church, present in Ireland since c12th

  • before Reformation they were paid to the Catholic Church- funding Churches and their clergy

  • after the establishment of the Church of Ireland it meant Catholics had to fund the Protestant Church and pay two amounts of tax

• 1823 Tithe Composition (Ireland) Act- made the tax a general land-based monetary charge that consequently became payable twice-yearly by larger numbers of Irish farmers

  • resentment was a reaction to the requirement to pay the tithe generally

  • also seen as an example of British oppression because it was extended to include pasture farmers

Methods

• 1830 wave of boycotting the tax- agricultural depression and new success with Catholic emancipation

  • 22 counties didn’t pay so took goods instead of money

Significant events/consequences

• After June 1833 the gov abandoned the use of force to extract tithe payments

  • damaging to British prestige so better politically and economically to replace the tithe system

    • the gov had to support CofI clergy who weren’t being paid by tithe, so they were spending out more than the tithe might have brought to the church

  • tried to auction off goods but Catholics put in joke bids

Effectiveness rating

• it was replaced with the Tithe Rentcharge Act in 1838, which reduced agitation

  • Protestant landowners had to pay

Young Ireland

Group/Agitation

• failure of Repeal Association 1848 → decreased hope for political change

  • low point?

  • inspired a younger generation of nationalists

• first supporters of the repeal movement- associated with it through the newspaper Nation (1842 to publicise the repeal)

  • Dublin Protestant barrister Thomas Davis, Catholic journalist Charles Gavin Duffy and Protestant (Presbyterian) solicitor John Mitchel

    • multi-faith

    • educated

  • grander ideas about Irish nationalism → offered a more complete platform for opposing British rule

    • ‘whatever means necessary’

• concept of Irish nationality- regardless of religious faith

• demanded complete separation from Britain- political persuasion and physical force if necessary

  • romantic view of nationalism- inspiration from UI 1798 uprising, personal sacrifice

  • too naive for older, reignited the traditional spirit of nationalism for younger

• initially created to support the Repeal Association- conservatism of O’Connell led to tension

  • OC demanded they agree to stop using force → YI unwilling

    • YI established its own nationalist platform called Irish Confederation

    • led to decline of RA?

• more spirited organisation attractive for those who wanted a dynamic nationalist force- Irish Confederation clubs spread across Irish cities and some British towns

  • symptom of general disaffection with the failed repeal movement

  • ideas of YI had little support outside Dublin, open-mindedness towards religion meant Catholic clergy did not support

    • movement could not build up a strong support base

Methods

Irish confederation clubs

1848 rebellion

Nation newspaper

Significant events/consequences

1848 rebellion

• revolution in France → attempted rebellion by YI

  • hasty and poorly organised

  • arrest of John Mitchel for sedition in May, uprising in early summer

• British spies uncover the rebellion- gov sent 10,000 troops into Ireland, habeas corpus

  • thought decisive action would stop the discontent

  • instead YI moved into the southern countryside to raise troops among farming communities- Tipperary and Kilkenny

    • change- standing up to Britain

• minor encounters with British troops- Killenaule and Ballingarry 28-29 July

  • Ballingarry was a stand off between YI and a detachment of police officers- two rebels killed after police refused to surrender, reinforcements arrived and the revels disappeared

  • order restored and several YI leaders including O’Brien were arrested- first sentenced to death then commuted to transportation to Australia in 1849

Effectiveness rating

• leadership of YI disagreed on how to achieve their goals- moderate Duffy and O’Brien (parliamentary pressure by building up support in liberal gentry), radical Mitchel and Lalor (peasant-led rebellion to remove Britain)

  • shared desire for greater control, undermined the viability of YI as an effective movement → divisions in leadership

• 1848 → demise of YI, failed to achieve any of its goals- succumbed to the determination of British rule (like RA)

• promoted the cause of independence, rekindled romantic sense of Irish nationalism

  • reconnected mid c19th Ireland with its nationalist past, pre-union Irish nation

Irish Republican Brotherhood

Group/Agitation

Causes and Actions

• Consequences of Young Ireland (failure of 1848 uprising → kills of YI as a group but incites nationalist fervour (punishments from GB make GB & Ireland more hostile to one another).

• Strategies mirroring the French Revolutions (cell structure) + learning from YI’s infiltration by British spies.

• American Civil War (North versus South surrounding slavery); the end of this war meant that Irish Americans returned to fight in Ireland.

• RA → YI → IRB – more radical in their aims over time as each movement fails.

Similarities

• Aim: completely independent Irish Republic (UI & YI), repealing the union

• Younger (YI)- many of the same people.

• United Ireland- religious (UI & YI)

• ‘whatever means necessary' (YI) but more radical (UI)

• Plan to attack Britain when distracted

• Not supported by Catholic Church (YI)

• Romantic nationalism of Wolfe Tone (UI)

• Method – attempted uprisings (UI, YI, not IV, TW, RA).

• External influences (GB distraction, American & French wars) guide the timing of the IRB’s actions.

• Action prompted by arrest of their leaders (Stephens – change in leadership, drive to action, Mitchell for sedition – YI).

Methods

Changes and Developments

• Beliefs/motives

  • Independent Irish Republic (first group solely dedicated to this)

• Organisation

  • Leader Stephens, unlike divided leadership of YI

  • Secret cells- new idea from France

• Support

  • Gained public support after McManus procession Oct 1861, Dublin (popular support, unlike IV & YI)

  • Lack of catholic support

  • Lack of MC conservative support, unlike more moderate movements of past

  • 54/80K members? (Stephen vs NY claims)

• Methods

  • Revolution

  • Attack from advantageous position, while Br forces away (Stephens), unlike UI

  • Learnt from 1848 failed uprising

  • Violence, unlike IV & RA

  • Slow progress- considered; tactical (secret cell structure); wait when not right resources; lying in wait for right circumstances, unlike UI’s patchwork uprising.

  • Take the war to England (civilians & police officers killed).

  • Angers GB; makes GB look as if it cannot control itself at home, thu

  • s forcing GB govt. to clamp down and subdue it with absolute force.

Significant events/consequences

• 1857- they wanted to attack Britain during the Indian Mutiny but recognised that their forces were not strong enough, thus showing they have learnt from the past.

• 1859- James Stephens has returned from Paris (he fought alongside O’Brien in 1848).

• 1861- McManus- another prominent figure in the 1848 uprising- died and 50,000 people watched the procession of his coffin through the streets of Dublin despite opposition from the British. This saw a dramatic increase in IRB membership, with more members joining in the following 3 months than had joined in the previous 2 years.

• 1864- Stephens and other leaders arrested, although Stevens escapes. Millen replaces him as leader but the leadership is now divided. IRB → power vacuum of chaos, making them rush in too fast.

• 1865- Stephens hired Irish Americans who fought in the American Civil War to train the Fenians. The planned uprising was postponed due to a lack of weapons; only 6,000 weapons for 50,000 soldiers.

  • offices of the Irish People in Dublin were shut down and raided

• 1867- series of uprisings in Chester, Country Kerry, Cork, Limerick and Dublin

  • Thomas Kelly and Timothy Deasy were arrested in Manchester but rescued by O’Sullivan Burke, which led to the death of 26 Fenian deaths.

• November 1867- O'Brien, Allen and Larkin executed by hanging in front of a crowd of 8,000.

  • reconciled many within the Catholic Church to Fenianism

• December 1867- the deaths of the leaders became known as the “Manchester martyrs.” A subsequent rescue mission to free O’Sullivan Burke led to the deaths of 120 civilians but showed the Fenians meant business. Barrett was executed for the bombing. Following this, the anti-Irish/British feelings increased in the respective countries but the British government was also openly seen as the oppressor.

Effectiveness rating

Strengths

Did not rush into revolution when they were unprepared. Carefully planned.

• Did not attack Britain during the India Mutiny 1857- not ready, forces would have been overwhelmed, did not rush into revolution like YI and UI

• 1865- despite British attempts at arrests and shutting down the newspaper the Irish Nation, Stephens recruited Irish-American veterans of CW, postponed rebellion because not enough weapons (6,000 for 50,000 Fenians), learning from the past

Had public support

• Public procession of Terrence McManus’ coffin 1861- 50,000 people followed it to be buried in Queenstown despite Cardinal Cullen’s opposition

• increased number of supporters- more joined in last 3 weeks than in last 8 years

• Stephens outmanoeuvred conservatives and gained public support

• 1864- membership of 80,000

• Strength in the workers (mostly Catholic).

• Stirred up anti-GB and anti-Irish sentiment. Martyrdom & govt. crackdown (treating Irish in harsh & brutal way) à moment of unity. Hardening of hearts; both sides united in their opposition to the other side. The more harshly GB cracks down, the more nationalism there is.

Weaknesses

Religious divide.

• Opposed by the Catholic Church and old guard (e.g. William Smith O’Brien of the 1848 uprising)- cannot endorse a revolutionary group/justify violence lest they anger GB.

• BUT gives IRB permission to go against the Catholic Church – Irish 1st, Catholic 2nd.

  • ‘Manchester Martyrs’ → growing bond between Church and nationalism

Leadership weaknesses

• Start to make bad decisions after Stephens is arrested (1867)

• Radical action- moments where they paused were the most strategic

• Initially effective but post 1867, chaotic.

  • even Marx was horrified after civilians were killed in an attempt to rescue Burke from prison