Irish Confederation
Encyclopedia
The Irish Confederation was an Irish nationalist independence movement, established on 13 January 1847 by members of the Young Ireland
movement who had seceded from Daniel O'Connell
's Repeal Association
. Historian T. W. Moody described it as "the official organisation of Young Ireland".
Tory
Ministry fell, and the Liberals
under Lord John Russell
came to power. Daniel O’Connell, founder of the Repeal Association
which campaigned for a repeal of the Act of Union
of 1800 between Great Britain and Ireland, simultaneously attempted to move the Association into supporting the Russell administration and English Liberalism.
The intention was that Repeal agitation would be damped down in return for a profuse distribution of patronage through Conciliation Hall, home of the Repeal Association. On the 15 June 1846 Thomas Francis Meagher
denounced English Liberalism in Ireland saying that there was a suspicion that the national cause of Repeal would be sacrificed to the Whig government and that the people who were striving for freedom would be “purchased back into factious vassalage.” Meagher and the other “Young Ireland
ers” (an epithet of opprobrium used by O’Connell to describe the young men of The Nation
newspaper), as active Repealers, vehemently denounced in Conciliation Hall any movement towards English political parties, be they Whig or Tory, so long as Repeal was denied.
The “Tail” as the “corrupt gang of politicians who fawned on O’Connell” were named, and who hoped to gain from the government places decided that the Young Irelanders must be driven from the Repeal Association. The Young Irelanders were to be presented as revolutionaries, factionists, infidels and secret enemies of the Church. For this purpose resolutions were introduced to the repeal Association on 13 July which declared that under no circumstances was a nation justified in asserting its liberties by force of arms. The Young Irelanders, as members of the association, had never advocated the use of physical force to advance the cause of repeal and opposed any such policy. Known as the “Peace Resolutions,” they declared that physical force was immoral under any circumstances to obtain national rights. Meagher agreed that only moral and peaceful means should be adopted by the Association, but if it were determined that Repeal could not be carried by those means, a no less honorable one he would adopt though it be more perilous. The resolutions would again be raised on 28 July in the Association and Meagher would then deliver his famous "Sword Speech".
Addressing the Peace Resolutions, Meagher held that there was no necessity for them. Under the existing circumstances of the country, any provocation to arms would be senseless and wicked. He dissented from the Resolutions because by assenting to them he would pledged himself to the unqualified repudiation of physical force “in all countries, at all times, and in every circumstance.” There were times when arms would suffice, and when political amelioration called for “a drop of blood, and many thousand drops of blood.” He then “eloquently defended physical force as an agency in securing national freedom.” Having been at first semi-hostile, Meagher carried the audience to his side and the plot against the Young Irelanders was placed in peril of defeat. Observing this he was interrupted by O’Connell’s son John who declared that either he or Meagher must leave the hall. William Smith O'Brien
then protested against John O’Connell’s attempt to suppress a legitimate expression of opinion, and left with other prominent Young Irelanders, and never returned.
The first meeting of the Irish Confederation took place in the Rotunda, Dublin on the 13 January 1847. The chairperson for the first meeting was John Shine Lawlor, the honorary secretaries being John Blake Dillon
and Charles Gavan Duffy
. Duffy would later be replaced by Meagher. Ten thousand members would be enrolled, but of the gentry there were very few, the middle class stood apart and the Catholic clergy were unfriendly. In view of the poverty of the people, subscriptions would be purely voluntary, the founders of the new movement would bear the cost themselves if necessary.
Young Ireland
Young Ireland was a political, cultural and social movement of the mid-19th century. It led changes in Irish nationalism, including an abortive rebellion known as the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. Many of the latter's leaders were tried for sedition and sentenced to penal transportation to...
movement who had seceded from Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
's Repeal Association
Repeal Association
The Repeal Association was an Irish mass membership political movement set up by Daniel O'Connell to campaign for a repeal of the Act of Union of 1800 between Great Britain and Ireland....
. Historian T. W. Moody described it as "the official organisation of Young Ireland".
Historical background
In June, 1846, Sir Robert Peel’sRobert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
Ministry fell, and the Liberals
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
under Lord John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
came to power. Daniel O’Connell, founder of the Repeal Association
Repeal Association
The Repeal Association was an Irish mass membership political movement set up by Daniel O'Connell to campaign for a repeal of the Act of Union of 1800 between Great Britain and Ireland....
which campaigned for a repeal of the Act of Union
Act of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
of 1800 between Great Britain and Ireland, simultaneously attempted to move the Association into supporting the Russell administration and English Liberalism.
The intention was that Repeal agitation would be damped down in return for a profuse distribution of patronage through Conciliation Hall, home of the Repeal Association. On the 15 June 1846 Thomas Francis Meagher
Thomas Francis Meagher
-Young Ireland:Meagher returned to Ireland in 1843, with undecided plans for a career in the Austrian army, a tradition among a number of Irish families. In 1844 he traveled to Dublin with the intention of studying for the bar. He became involved in the Repeal Association, which worked for repeal...
denounced English Liberalism in Ireland saying that there was a suspicion that the national cause of Repeal would be sacrificed to the Whig government and that the people who were striving for freedom would be “purchased back into factious vassalage.” Meagher and the other “Young Ireland
Young Ireland
Young Ireland was a political, cultural and social movement of the mid-19th century. It led changes in Irish nationalism, including an abortive rebellion known as the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. Many of the latter's leaders were tried for sedition and sentenced to penal transportation to...
ers” (an epithet of opprobrium used by O’Connell to describe the young men of The Nation
The Nation (Irish newspaper)
The Nation was an Irish nationalist weekly newspaper, published in the 19th century. The Nation was printed first at 12 Trinity Street, Dublin, on 15 October 1842, until 6 January 1844...
newspaper), as active Repealers, vehemently denounced in Conciliation Hall any movement towards English political parties, be they Whig or Tory, so long as Repeal was denied.
The “Tail” as the “corrupt gang of politicians who fawned on O’Connell” were named, and who hoped to gain from the government places decided that the Young Irelanders must be driven from the Repeal Association. The Young Irelanders were to be presented as revolutionaries, factionists, infidels and secret enemies of the Church. For this purpose resolutions were introduced to the repeal Association on 13 July which declared that under no circumstances was a nation justified in asserting its liberties by force of arms. The Young Irelanders, as members of the association, had never advocated the use of physical force to advance the cause of repeal and opposed any such policy. Known as the “Peace Resolutions,” they declared that physical force was immoral under any circumstances to obtain national rights. Meagher agreed that only moral and peaceful means should be adopted by the Association, but if it were determined that Repeal could not be carried by those means, a no less honorable one he would adopt though it be more perilous. The resolutions would again be raised on 28 July in the Association and Meagher would then deliver his famous "Sword Speech".
Addressing the Peace Resolutions, Meagher held that there was no necessity for them. Under the existing circumstances of the country, any provocation to arms would be senseless and wicked. He dissented from the Resolutions because by assenting to them he would pledged himself to the unqualified repudiation of physical force “in all countries, at all times, and in every circumstance.” There were times when arms would suffice, and when political amelioration called for “a drop of blood, and many thousand drops of blood.” He then “eloquently defended physical force as an agency in securing national freedom.” Having been at first semi-hostile, Meagher carried the audience to his side and the plot against the Young Irelanders was placed in peril of defeat. Observing this he was interrupted by O’Connell’s son John who declared that either he or Meagher must leave the hall. William Smith O'Brien
William Smith O'Brien
William Smith O'Brien was an Irish Nationalist and Member of Parliament and leader of the Young Ireland movement. He was convicted of sedition for his part in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, but his sentence of death was commuted to deportation to Van Diemen's Land. In 1854, he was...
then protested against John O’Connell’s attempt to suppress a legitimate expression of opinion, and left with other prominent Young Irelanders, and never returned.
Irish Confederation
After negotiations for a reunion had failed, the seceders decided to establish a new organisation which would be called the Irish Confederation. Its founders determined to revive the uncompromising demand for a national Parliament with full legislative and executive powers. They were resolute on a complete prohibition of place-hunting or acceptance of office under the existing Government. They wished to return to the honest policy of the earlier years of the Repeal Association, and would be supported by the young men, who had shown their repugnance for the corruption and insincerity of Conciliation Hall by their active sympathy with the seceders. There were extensive indications that many of the previously Unionist class, in both the cities and among land owners, were resentful of the neglect of Irish needs by the British Parliament since the famine began. What they demanded was vital legislative action to provide both employment and food, and to prevent all further export of the corn, cattle, pigs and butter which were still leaving the country. On this there was a general consensus of Irish opinion according to Dennis Gwynn, “such as had not been known since before the Act of Union.”The first meeting of the Irish Confederation took place in the Rotunda, Dublin on the 13 January 1847. The chairperson for the first meeting was John Shine Lawlor, the honorary secretaries being John Blake Dillon
John Blake Dillon
John Blake Dillon was an Irish writer and Politician who was one of the founding members of the Young Ireland movement....
and Charles Gavan Duffy
Charles Gavan Duffy
Additional Reading*, 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....
. Duffy would later be replaced by Meagher. Ten thousand members would be enrolled, but of the gentry there were very few, the middle class stood apart and the Catholic clergy were unfriendly. In view of the poverty of the people, subscriptions would be purely voluntary, the founders of the new movement would bear the cost themselves if necessary.
External links
- Michael DohenyMichael DohenyMichael Doheny was an Irish writer and member of the Young Ireland movement.-Early life:The third son of Michael Doheny, of Brookhill, he was born at Brookhill, near Fethard, Co. Tipperary, and married a Miss O'Dwyer of that county...
. The Felon's Track, Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son, 1920.
See also
- Joseph Henry Blake
- William Smith O'BrienWilliam Smith O'BrienWilliam Smith O'Brien was an Irish Nationalist and Member of Parliament and leader of the Young Ireland movement. He was convicted of sedition for his part in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, but his sentence of death was commuted to deportation to Van Diemen's Land. In 1854, he was...
- Robert CaneRobert CaneDr. Robert Cane, was born in Kilkenny, Ireland in 1807. He was a member of the Repeal Association and the Irish Confederation. He qualified as an M.D. in 1836, became a member of Kilkenny Corporation and was Mayor twice....
- Michael DohenyMichael DohenyMichael Doheny was an Irish writer and member of the Young Ireland movement.-Early life:The third son of Michael Doheny, of Brookhill, he was born at Brookhill, near Fethard, Co. Tipperary, and married a Miss O'Dwyer of that county...
- Charles Gavan DuffyCharles Gavan DuffyAdditional Reading*, 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....
- D'Arcy McGeeD'Arcy McGeeThomas D'Arcy Etienne Hughes McGee, PC, was an Irish Nationalist, Catholic spokesman, journalist, and a Father of Canadian confederation. He fought for the development of Irish and Canadian national identities that would transcend their component groups...
- James Fintan LalorJames Fintan LalorJames Fintan Lalor was an Irish revolutionary, journalist, and “one of the most powerful writers of his day.” A leading member of the Irish Confederation , he was to play an active part in both the Rebellion in July 1848 and the attempted Rising in September of that same year...
- Terence MacManusTerence MacManusTerence Bellew MacManus was a radical Irish rebel who participated in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. Sentenced to death for treason, he and several other participants were given commuted sentences in 1849 and transported for life to Van Diemen's Land in Australia...
- Thomas Francis MeagherThomas Francis Meagher-Young Ireland:Meagher returned to Ireland in 1843, with undecided plans for a career in the Austrian army, a tradition among a number of Irish families. In 1844 he traveled to Dublin with the intention of studying for the bar. He became involved in the Repeal Association, which worked for repeal...
- John MitchelJohn MitchelJohn Mitchel was an Irish nationalist activist, solicitor and political journalist. Born in Camnish, near Dungiven, County Londonderry, Ireland he became a leading member of both Young Ireland and the Irish Confederation...
- Thomas Devin ReillyThomas Devin ReillyThomas Devin Reilly was an Irish revolutionary, Young Irelander and journalist.-Early years:He was born in Monaghan Town, the son of a solicitor, and completed his education at Trinity College, Dublin...
- Patrick James SmythPatrick James SmythPatrick James Smyth "Nicaragua Smyth" was an Irish politician and journalist.He was educated at Clongowes Wood College where he became friends with Thomas Francis Meagher, with whom he joined the Repeal Association in 1844...