Young Ireland

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Young Ireland was a Irish nationalist revolutionary movement, active in the mid-nineteenth century.

Contents

1 Other Orginisations called Young Ireland
2 History
3 1848 Uprising
4 Reasons for failure
5 See also
6 External links

Other Orginisations called Young Ireland

- - a Buy Irish Campaign group in Irish Republic

History

Young Ireland grew out of the weekly the Nation, a journal calling for the restoration of Irish self government by the repeal of the Act of Union, established in 1842 by Charles Gavan Duffy, an experienced young Catholic journalist, and Thomas Davis, a Protestant graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. They followed Daniel O'Connell and his Repeal Association in his demand for repeal, but split over his refusal to use violence and his reliance on the Catholic Church. The former was shown at O'Connell's 'Monster meeting' at Clontarf. This meeting was banned by the British government, and O'Connell cancelled it rather than risk violence. This removes his credibility with the British - they were only prepared to concede when they believed that there was a serious risk of uprisings. Young Ireland thus saw it as their responsibility to take a more violent path towards repeal. Their desire for rebellion was exacerbated by the desperation caused by the famine, and the nationalism caused by the wave of rebellions that swept Europe following the 1848 revolution in France.

1848 Uprising

William Smith O'Brien, the leader of Young Ireland, launched an attempted rebellion in July 1848, in immediate response to British repression. Unfortunately for the rebels, they only managed to rouse 50 supporters, and the rebellion became mockingly known as 'The battle of Widow McCormack's cabbage patch.' It gained this moniker because the rebels tried to commandeer the cabbage patch of a Mrs. McCormack in order to feed the men, but she refused, despite O'Brien's attempts to persuade her, to allow him in. The Royal Irish Constabulary easily suppressed it, and although sporadic resistance continued until 1849, the rebellion was effectively dead.

It was later found at that the majority of the people who turned up for the 'revolution' were merely looking for food. When O'Brien declared war against Britain, most of the Irish peasants left as they realised it was a wasted journey.

Reasons for failure

The time was probably not ripe for rebellion—the majority of the Irish hadn't recovered from the devastating effects of the famine, and were in no condition for an armed uprising. Moreover, O'Brien, a social conservative, put no effort into enlisting the help of the peasant majority. This was not helped by the hostility of the Catholic Church, who opposed insurrection and disliked Young Ireland's Protestant leadership, such as O'Brien himself.

Another reason was that O'Brien was a Protestant landowner who owned estates both in Ireland and Britain. Therefore he was considered out of touch with what the Irish peasants really wanted, and it looked hypocritical for a landowner to call for the revival of the Gaelic culture. This was a language and culture that didn't even include O'Brien.

External links

http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/~Chastain/rz/youngire.htm