DANIEL O’CONNELL

CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION

CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION

Failure of 1821 bill, rejected by the lords, passed by commons

Convinced O’Connell of need to adopt a campaign which would depend so much more on enlisting the support of the people

“Twenty years have passed away and we are still slaves”

THE CATHOLIC ASSOCIATION

Formed in 1823 to promote Catholic civil and political rights

1824 masterstroke: the Catholic Rent Became “ the crusade of an irresistible mass

movement” As well as emancipation embraced wide

range of issues

MONSTER MEETINGS

Key activity was organising large open air meetings Used peaceful means, but at same time sent

message to government of possibility of massive disobedience

Key supporters were parish priests and urban and rural middle classes

1826 election showed strength of Catholic Association.

EMANCIPATION CRISIS

Prime minister Canning supported emancipation for pragmatic reasons

Peel and Wellington refused to join the Cabinet because of this

1828 Canning died and Wellington became prime minister. Tory party split

Granting of civil rights to protestant dissenters in Feb 1828 made it harder to deny emancipation

THE CLARE ELECTION

1828 O’ Connell stood for election in Clare by-election. Won.

This brought issue to a head Faced with possibility of war in Ireland,

Wellington agreed to push for Emancipation. Peel reluctantly sided with him.

Had to brow beat both Lords and king to agree

Wellington and Peel ridicule the fears of their opponents

Peel and Wellington dig the grave of the constitution.

1829 EMANCIPATION ACT

Catholics could now become MPs Irish electorate cut by five sixths, due to

increased property qualification for voters O’Connell believed that with its opportunities

for Catholic advancement the act would spell the end of the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland

VERDICTS

“One of the greatest triumphs recorded in history, a bloodless revolution”

“Proved a more important turning point than 1800”

Growth of sectarianism. Irish nationalism became more identified with Catholicism.