William Smith O'Brien

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William Smith O'Brien (17 October 1803 – 18 June 1864) was an Irish Nationalist and Member of Parliament (MP) and leader of the Young Ireland movement. He claimed to be able to trace his ancestry back to the eleventh century Ard Rí (High King of Ireland), Brian Boru.

He was the second son of Sir Edward O' Brien, fourth baronet of Dromoland Castle. William took the additional surname Smith, his mother's maiden name, upon inheriting property through her. He was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge.

From April 1828 to 1831 he was Conservative MP for Ennis. He became MP for Limerick County in 1835, holding his seat in the House of Commons until 1848.

Although a Protestant, he supported Catholic Emancipation while remaining a supporter of British-Irish union.

However, in 1843, in protest against the imprisonment of Daniel O'Connell, he joined O'Connell's anti-union Repeal Association. Three years later, disillusioned by O'Connell O'Brien withdrew the Young Irelanders from the association, and in January 1847 founded the Irish Confederation. In March 1848, he spoke out in favour of a National Guard and tried to incite a national rebellion. He was unsuccessfully tried for sedition.^{[citation needed]}

On 29 July 1848, he led peasants in a futile, almost bloodless battle against police at Ballingarry, County Tipperary. The jury in his subsequent trial found him guilty of high treason and he was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered.

Main article: Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848

In Dublin on 5 June 1849, the sentences of O'Brien and other members of the Irish Confederation were commuted to transportation for life to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania).

O'Brien attempted to escape from Maria Island off Tasmania, but was betrayed by a certain Ellis, captain of the schooner hired for the escape, and sent to Port Arthur where he met up with John Mitchel. The cottages O'Brien lived in on Maria Island and Port Arthur remain as they were then to this day. Ellis was tried for this betrayal by Terence MacManus at a lynch court in San Francisco, but freed for lack of evidence.^{[citation needed]}

In 1854, after five years in Tasmania, he was released on the condition he never return to Ireland, and settled in Brussels. In May 1856, he was granted an unconditional pardon and returned to Ireland in July, but played no further part in politics.

There is a statue of him on O'Connell Street, Dublin.

His older brother Lucius O'Brien (1800-1872) was also a Member of Parliament for County Clare.

Contents 1 Quotes 2 Books By Young Irelanders (Irish Confederation) 3 Additional Reading 4 References

[edit] Quotes

"The new Irish flag would be Orange and Green, and would be known as the Irish tricolour."

"To find a gaol in one of the lovliest spots formed by Nature in one of her lonliest solitudes creates a revulsion of feeling I cannot describe." November 1849, when first sighting Maria Island.

[edit] Books By Young Irelanders (Irish Confederation)

• The Felon's Track By Micheal Doheny M.H. Gill &Sons, LTD 1951 (Text at Project Gutenberg)
• The Volunteers of 1782 By Thomas Mac Nevin James Duffy & Sons. Centenary Edition
• An Apology for the British Government in Ireland. By John Mitchel.O Donoghue & Company. 1905
• Jail Journal: By John Mitchel M.H. Gill &Sons, LTD 1914
• Jail Journal: with continuation in New York & Paris. By John Mitchel M.H. Gill & Son, Ltd
• The Crusade of the Period. By John Mitchel Lynch, Cole & Meehan 1873
• Last Conquest Of Ireland (Perhaps). By John Mitchel Lynch, Cole & Meehan 1873
• History of Ireland, from the Treaty of Limerick to the present time. By John Mitchel.Cameron & Ferguson
• History of Ireland, from the Treaty of Limerick to the present time (2 Vol). By John Mitchel James Duffy 1869
• Life of Hugh O'Neil John Mitchel P.M. Haverty 1868
• Thomas Davis Sir Charles Gavan Duffy Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd 1890
• My Life In Two Hemispheres (2Vol) Sir Charles Gavan Duffy T.Fisher Unwin. 1898
• Young Ireland Sir Charles Gavan Duffy Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. 1880
• Four Years of Irish History 1845-1849 Sir Charles Gavan Duffy Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. 1888
• A Popular History of Ireland: from the Earliest Period to the Emancipation of the Catholics,Thomas D'Arcy McGee,Cameron & Ferguson (Text at Project Gutenberg)
• The Patriot Parliment of 1689, Thomas Davis, (Third Edition), T. Fisher Unwin, MDCCCXCIII
• Davis, Poem’s and Essays Complete, Introduction by John Mitchel, P. M. Haverty, P.J. Kenedy, 9/5 Barclay St. New York, 1876.

[edit] Additional Reading

• The Politics of Irish Literature: from Thomas Davis to W.B. Yeats, Malcolm Brown, 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.
• Brigadier-General Thomas Francis Meagher His Political and Military Career,Capt. W. F. Lyons, Burns Oates & Washbourne Limited 1869
• Young Ireland and 1848, Dennis Gwynn, Cork University Press 1949.
• Daniel O'Connell The Irish Liberator, Dennis Gwynn, Hutchinson & Co, Ltd.
• O'Connell Davis and the Collages Bill, Dennis Gwynn, Cork University Press 1948.
• Smith O’Brien And The “Secession”, Dennis Gwynn,Cork University Press
• Meagher of The Sword, Edited By Arthur Griffith, M. H. Gill & Son, Ltd. 1916.
• Young Irelander Abroad The Diary of Charles Hart, Edited by Brendan O'Cathaoir, University Press.
• John Mitchel First Felon for Ireland, Edited By Brian O'Higgins, Brian O'Higgins 1947.
• Rossa's Recollections 1838 to 1898, Intro by Sean O'Luing, The Lyons Press 2004.
• Labour in Ireland, James Connolly, Fleet Street 1910.
• The Re-Conquest of Ireland, James Connolly, Fleet Street 1915.
• John Mitchel Noted Irish Lives, Louis J. Walsh, The Talbot Press Ltd 1934.
• Thomas Davis: Essays and Poems, Centenary Memoir, M. H Gill, M.H. Gill & Son, Ltd MCMXLV.
• Life of John Martin, P. A. Sillard, James Duffy & Co., Ltd 1901.
• Life of John Mitchel, P. A. Sillard, James Duffy and Co., Ltd 1908.
• John Mitchel, P. S. O'Hegarty, Maunsel & Company, Ltd 1917.
• The Fenians in Context Irish Politics & Society 1848-82, R. V. Comerford, Wolfhound Press 1998
• William Smith O'Brien and the Young Ireland Rebellion of 1848, Robert Sloan, Four Courts Press 2000
• Irish Mitchel, Seamus MacCall, Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd 1938.
• Ireland Her Own, T. A. Jackson, Lawrence & Wishart Ltd 1976.
• Life and Times of Daniel O'Connell, T. C. Luby, Cameron & Ferguson.
• Young Ireland, T. F. O'Sullivan, The Kerryman Ltd. 1945.
• Irish Rebel John Devoy and America's Fight for Irish Freedom, Terry Golway, St. Martin's Griffin 1998.
• Paddy's Lament Ireland 1846-1847 Prelude to Hatred, Thomas Gallagher, Poolbeg 1994.
• The Great Shame, Thomas Keneally, Anchor Books 1999.
• James Fintan Lalor, Thomas, P. O'Neill, Golden Publications 2003.
• Charles Gavan Duffy: Conversations With Carlyle (1892), with Introduction, Stray Thoughts On Young Ireland, by Brendan Clifford, Athol Books, Belfast, ISBN 0 85034 1140. (Pg. 32 Titled, Foster’s account Of Young Ireland.)
• Envoi, Taking Leave Of Roy Foster, by Brendan Clifford and Julianne Herlihy, Aubane Historical Society, Cork.
• The Falcon Family, or, Young Ireland, by M. W. Savage, London, 1845. (An Gorta Mor)Quinnipiac University

[edit] References

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Thomas Frankland Lewis	Member of Parliament for Ennis 1828-1831	Succeeded by William Vesey-FitzGerald, 2nd Baron FitzGerald and Vesey
Preceded by Standish Darby O'Grady	Member of Parliament for Limerick County 1835-1849	Succeeded by Samuel Dickson