Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848

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The Young Irelander Rebellion (sometimes called "Famine Rebellion" of 1848 as it took place during the Irish Potato Famine (1845-1849)) was a failed uprising of the Young Ireland political movement, which took place on July 29, 1848 in the village of Ballingarry in the Republic of Ireland (at that time in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland).

1 Origins
2 Rebellion
3 Books By Young Irelanders (Irish Confederation)
4 Additional reading
5 See also
6 Source

[edit] Origins

William Smith O'Brien

1848 was a year of revolutions throughout continental Europe. In February 1848, King Louis-Philippe of France was overthrown and the Second Republic was proclaimed in Paris. This revolution sent political shock waves across Europe, and revolutions broke out in Berlin, Vienna, Rome, Prague, Budapest and Kraków. At least temporarily, absolutist governments were replaced by liberal administrations, near universal suffrage was introduced and elections were held to constituent assemblies to draw up new national constitutions. It was sometimes described as the "springtime of the people."

Michael Doheny

The Young Irelanders, inspired by these events and the success of liberal, romantic nationalism on the European mainland, began to contemplate revolution in Ireland. Leaders William Smith O'Brien and Thomas Francis Meagher led a delegation to Paris to congratulate the new French Republic. Meagher returned to Ireland with the tricolour flag (now the national flag)—a symbol of reconciliation between the Orange and Green.

Thomas Francis Meagher

Since most of the continental revolutions were relatively bloodless, O'Brien believed he could attain similar results in Ireland. He hoped to unite Irish landlords and tenants in protest against British rule. The Young Irelanders prepared for an uprising in the autumn of 1848. The government, however, forced their hand on 22 July 1848 by announcing the suspension of habeas corpus, which meant that the Young Irelanders could be imprisoned on proclamation without trial. O'Brien decided that, rather than let the government arrest the leaders of Young Ireland, he would have to make a stand.

Ballingarry 1848

[edit] Rebellion

From the 23rd to the 29th of July 1848, O'Brien, Meagher and Dillon raised the standard of revolt as they traveled from County Wexford through County Kilkenny and into County Tipperary. The last great gathering of Young Ireland leaders took place in the village of The Commons on July 28. The next day, O'Brien was in The Commons where barricades had been erected to prevent his arrest. His local supporters—miners, tradesmen and small tenant farmers—awaited the arrival of the military and police. As the police from Callan approached the crossroads before The Commons from Ballingarry, they saw barricades in front of them and, thinking discretion the better part of valour, they veered right up the road toward County Kilkenny. The rebels followed them across the fields. Sub-Inspector Trant and his 46 policemen took refuge in a large two-story farmhouse, taking the five young children in the house as hostages. They barricaded themselves in, pointing their guns from the windows. The house was surrounded by the rebels and a stand-off ensued. Mrs. Margaret McCormack, the owner of the house and mother of the children, demanded to be let into her house, but the police refused and would not release the children. Mrs. McCormack found O'Brien reconnoitering the house from the out-buildings, and asked him what was to become of her children and her house.

The Widow McCormack's House

O'Brien and Mrs. McCormack went up to the parlour window of the house to speak to the police. Through the window, O'Brien stated, "We are all Irishmen—give up your guns and you are free to go." O'Brien shook hands with some of the police through the window. The initial report to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland stated that a constable fired the first shot at O'Brien, who was attempting to negotiate. General firing then ensued between the police and the rebels. O'Brien had to be dragged out of the line of fire by James Stephens and Terence Bellew MacManus, both of whom were wounded.

Terence MacManus

The rebels were incensed that they had been fired upon without provocation ,and the shooting went on for a number of hours. During the initial exchange of fire, the rebels at the front of the house—men, women and children—crouched beneath the wall. So great was the pressure of the crowd that one man, Thomas Walsh, was forced to cross from one side of the front gate to the other. As he crossed between the gate piers he was shot dead by the police. During lulls in the shooting, the rebels retreated out of the range of fire. Another man, Patrick McBride, who had been standing at the gable-end of the house when the firing began—and was quite safe where he was—found that his companions had retreated. Jumping up on the wall to run and join them, he was fatally wounded by the police.

Removal of Smith O'Brien under sentence of death

It was evident to the rebels that the position of the police was almost impregnable, and a Catholic clergyman of the parish, Rev. Philip Fitzgerald, endeavoured to mediate in the interests of peace. When a party of the Cashel police under Sub-Inspector Cox were seen arriving over Boulea Hill, the rebels attempted to stop them even though they were low on ammunition, but the police continued to advance, firing up the road. It became clear that the police in the house were about to be reinforced and rescued. The rebels then faded away, effectively terminating both the era of Young Ireland and Repeal, but the consequences of their actions would follow them for many years.

The McCormack family emigrated to the USA about 1853. Since that time, the McCormack house (which was owned by a number of other families after 1848) has always been known locally as the Warhouse. In 2004 the State decided on "Famine Warhouse 1848" as the official name of the house, which has become a national monument.

[edit] Books By Young Irelanders (Irish Confederation)

An Apology for the British Government in Ireland, John Mitchel, O Donoghue & Company. 1905
Jail Journal, John Mitchel, M.H. Gill & Sons, LTD 1914
Jail Journal: with continuation in New York & Paris, John Mitchel, M.H. Gill & Son, Ltd
The Crusade of the Period, John Mitchel, Lynch, Cole & Meehan 1873
Last Conquest Of Ireland (Perhaps), John Mitchel, Lynch, Cole & Meehan 1873
History of Ireland, from the Treaty of Limerick to the Present Time, John Mitchel, Cameron & Ferguson
History of Ireland, from the Treaty of Limerick to the Present Time (2 Vol),John Mitchel,James Duffy 1869
Life of Hugh O'Neil John Mitchel P.M. Haverty 1868
The Last Conquest of Ireland (Perhaps), John Mitchell, (Glasgow, 1876 - reprinted University College Dublin Press, 2005) ISBN I-905558-36-4
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
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
Charles Gavan Duffy: Conversations With Carlyle (1892)
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 life of John Mitchel,William Dillon, (London, 1888) 2 Vols.
Life of John Mitchel, P. A. Sillard, James Duffy and Co., Ltd 1908
John Mitchel, P. S. O'Hegarty, Maunsel & Company, Ltd 1917
Irish Mitchel, Seamus MacCall, Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd 1938
John Mitchel First Felon for Ireland, Edited By Brian O'Higgins, Brian O'Higgins 1947
John Mitchel Noted Irish Lives, Louis J. Walsh, The Talbot Press Ltd 1934
John Mitchel, A Cause Too Many, Aidan Hegarty, Camlane Press
Life of John Martin, P. A. Sillard, James Duffy & Co., Ltd 1901.
The Politics of Irish Literature: from Thomas Davis to W.B. Yeats, Malcolm Brown, Allen & Unwin, 1973.
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.
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.
Thomas Davis: Essays and Poems, Centenary Memoir, M. H Gill, M.H. Gill & Son, Ltd MCMXLV.
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
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