Catholic Association
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The Catholic Association was an Irish Roman Catholic political organisation set up by Daniel O'Connell in May 1823 in order to campaign for Catholic Emancipation within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was one of the first mass membership political movements in Europe. Not to be confused with the Catholic Association Pilgrimage of the United Kingdom.
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[edit] Foundation
In 1824, the Catholic Association began to use the money that it had raised in order to campaign for Catholic emancipation. This money was raised by making the members of the Association to pay a monthly subscription of 1 penny a month. This was called the Catholic Rent. This meant that the Catholic Association had a constant source of money so the campaign could be ongoing, unlike other organisations who would only campaign once enough money had been raised.
The Catholic Rent was good for a number of reasons. One, as previously mentioned, was that it gave the Catholic Association a constant source of money which enabled Daniel O'Connell to run a consistent campaign. Another good feature from this was that it was easy to calculate how many people had joined the Association so O'Connell could say with confidence that he had the support of so many people. This was important as it could be used to apply pressure against the British government.
Daniel O'Connell made the subscription deliberately cheap so that anybody could join the Association as they could easily afford the payments. This meant that it was a universal Catholic organisation and effectively giving ownership to the members as it was their money that maintained the running of the Catholic Association. And since it was the member's money that had gone into the organisation it meant that they would be more committed as they would want to have their money's worth, thereby making the members more committed to the cause of Catholic emancipation. Also it was a cheap way for O'Connell to get the message of Catholic emancipation spread throughout Ireland.
The Catholic Association's funds were used for two important things. One was for campaigning for the issue of Catholic emancipation and the other was to support the members of the organisation. The money was used for those who had been evicted from land by the landlords because of their connection to the Catholic organisation, or to those who were boycotting absentee landlords. For the Catholic peasants that were in this situation the future would be grim as they would be unable to continue the boycott without food and money and they would be unable to lease land from any landlord as the peasants would be boycotted against in return. The Catholic Association's funds were used to support these boycotts so that they could continue and live well enough in order to have enough food to survive.
[edit] The strengths of the Catholic Association
The Catholic Association had a number of strengths. One was that Daniel O'Connell was a respectable figure and since he was not associated with any revolutionary groups, despite going into hiding after the United Irishmen were destroyed by Britain. This was important as the organisation had mass support and made it look like a protest group, rather than a revolutionary organisation. This meant that Britain would be less likely to make a move against it.
Another strength was that the aims of the Catholic Association were fairly moderate. Since the organisation would still be loyal to the monarch the British MPs would be more willing to pass Catholic emancipation. Also since it campaigned for one issue only it was obvious to what the Association wanted and since they had no hidden agendas they would be more trustworthy.
Similarly Catholic emancipation had been passed by the House of Commons before when it was passed by a majority of six. However it was rejected in the House of Lords. This meant that the demands of the Catholic Association were not shocking to the government and it would be more willing to pass such a law.
The biggest strength of the Catholic Association was that the Catholic Church helped in the collection of the Catholic Rent. Also Catholic priests held sermons in favour of Catholic emancipation. This meant that it was easy for the members to pay the Catholic Rent and it would attract more members as the message of Catholic emancipation was being spread throughout Ireland. This was the first time the Catholic Church had actively taken part in Irish Nationalism. Even Sir Robert Peel believed the alliance of the Catholic Association and the Catholic Church was a "powerful combination".
From 1826, the Catholic Association began to use its funds to support pro-emancipation MPs in elections. They used its money and manpower to campaign for the candidate to be elected into parliament to pressure the government from within to pass Catholic emancipation.
The turning point was in 1828 for a number of reasons. The first was that the Catholic Church took over the collection of the Catholic Rent and effectively the Catholic Association itself. This created sectarianism when it was associated with Irish nationalism.
Another important factor was that by 1828, Daniel O'Connell's reputation had increased dramatically. O'Connell was an internationally recognised figure and was seen as one of the leading figures in liberal thinking. This meant that he had a lot of influence. Global opinion began to put pressure on the British government to pass a law that enabled Catholic emancipation. This meant that the issue would have to be confronted soon.
[edit] The Catholic Association's campaign from 1828
The year 1828 was important for a number of reasons. In May 1828, the Test and Corporation Acts were repealed. This gave non-conformists greater political freedom and equality in Britain. This was important as it had two effects. One was that it gave the Catholics hope that a similar act would be passed for Catholics as it was the next logical step in the path of reform. The other effect was that it angered some Catholics as they began to question why they were the only religious group in the United Kingdom not to have political freedom and equality.
In May, Huskisson resigned from the cabinet and William Vesey Fitzgerald was chosen as the President of the Board of Trade. According to law there was to be a by-election in his constituency of County Clare. Daniel O'Connell decided to exploit a loop hole in the Act of Union. It stated that Catholics could not sit in Westminster as a Member of Parliament (MP), but there was nothing about them sitting for an election. Therefore O'Connell sat in for the by-election and won. But since he was a Catholic, he could not take his seat in parliament. This meant that his demand rose to allow him to become an MP for County Clare as it did not have representation.
Sir Robert Peel and the Duke of Wellington saw that if O'Connell were not allowed to take his seat, then there could be a potential revolution in Ireland. Despite being a pacifist, O'Connell hinted that he would get more Catholics elected to force the situation and that if they didn't listen to the people of Ireland then the only way to succeed was to kill them. In a speech he said "they must with crush us or conciliate us".
Peel announced his conversion and tried to push through the new Catholic Relief Bill in February 1829. The bill was passed. For O'Connell it was a momentous victory and he became known as 'The Liberator' and the "uncrowned king of Ireland", which was also a title given more famously to the Irish Nationalist Charles Stewart Parnell.
