Nationalism in Ireland During the Nineteenth Century

Nationalism in Ireland During the Nineteenth Century

After the Act of Union in 1801 the fate of the Irish people was in the hands of

British M.P.s. They ruled the majority in Parliament and were making all of the decisions

without much regard for the opinion from the people of Ireland. In order for the voices of

the Irish people to be heard there would have to be a new nationalist approach to dealing

with the British Parliament. Leaders such as Daniel O'Connell and Charles Parnell

revolutionized strategies of approaching government. The beginning of the century

belonged to O'Connell and his nonviolent approach, but the second half of the century

belonged to Parnell who was not concerned as much with peace.

At the beginning of the eighteenth century the question at hand was whether or not

Catholics could be trusted, however the early part of the nineteenth century dealt with a

new issue, Catholic Emancipation. The success of the emancipation effort can be

attributed to the political genius of one man, Daniel O'Connell. O'Connell was a

successful lawyer in Ireland and wanted to join his people together to fight for Catholic

Emancipation. Although the penal laws at the end of the eighteenth century had allowed

Catholics to have their own schools, vote at parliament elections and join professions, they

were still banned from sitting in parliament, becoming judges, and holding high offices in

the army and navy. O'Connell realized that in order to receive full emancipation they

would have to join together in a single organized effort. His actions displayed a nationalist

effort that had never been seen before to this caliber before. In 1823 O'Connell started

the Catholic Association. What was differen...

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..., fixity of tenure and fair rents. This land war in

which the farmers successfully stood up to their landlords was a very large and effective

movement. The war in which people fought passionately against landlords lasted from

1879 to 1882 and caused Gladstone to pass a new land act in which the three F's were

acknowledged by the law.

At the end of the century it was clear that the only way to change was to unite.

The genius of leaders like O'Connell and Parnell led to more change than Ireland had ever

seen before. The spirit of the Irish people had been lifted by O'Connell, torn apart by the

famine, and in the end restored by Parnell. Many of the strategies under Parnell's

leadership are still used to this day, and are unfortunately violent. However, the

nineteenth century certainly taught Ireland that in order to change, they must come

together.