Question 1
Evaluate the interpretations in both of the two passages and explain which you think is more convincing as an explanation of the importance of O’Connell during the period of Catholic
Emancipation.
Passage A
O’Connell’s greatest success was undoubtedly the passing of the Roman Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829, which stemmed directly from his strategy of contesting the County Clare by-election in the summer of 1828. The Act not only remedied an old grievance and injustice, but, by granting Roman Catholics virtually full civil and political rights, led gradually but inevitably to the destruction of the power of the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. More immediately it led directly to the emergence of an Irish party in the House of Commons. Historians have also emphasised the importance of the methods pursued by O’Connell via the Catholic Association. He appealed consciously to all classes in Ireland, and aimed deliberately at the peaceful organisation of mass opinion to change the law. By his use of such devices as popular fundraising, large-scale public meetings, national organisation and leadership, and the involvement of local activists, the Catholic Association was the forerunner of modern pressure groups and parties.
However, O’Connell’s success needs to be seen in the wider context, which worked to his advantage. The opportunity was opened for him by Wellington’s decision to appoint Vesey Fitzgerald to a government post. Presumably Wellington assumed that since Fitzgerald was pro-emancipation his re-election was a formality; this was a major mistake. Even so, the pressure that then mounted on Wellington and Peel to concede emancipation was arguably as much related to the majority support for it in the House of Commons as to O’Connell’s campaign. Had majority opinion in both houses been overwhelmingly against Emancipation in 1828 – as it was against repeal in the 1840s – the outcome might have been different.
Adapted from: P. Adelman and M. Byrne, Great Britain and the Irish Question 1774–1923 published in 2016.
Passage B
The exclusion of Catholics from Westminster provided the ammunition for the greatest Irish radical of the entire period – the landowner and barrister, Daniel O’Connell. His Catholic Association raised the political temperature in Ireland so much that when he won the County Clare by-election in 1828 he sent a message to Westminster that could not possibly be ignored. If he were denied the right to take up his seat there would be a risk of extensive disturbances.
Catholic Emancipation was also an important catalyst for further political change. In Ireland it put a new construction on to politics. O’Connell’s campaign had therefore radicalised the Catholic vote and provided the Church with a role which transcended class barriers. The question now arising was to what further use force would be put. Certainly O’Connell had no intention of bringing about any social upheaval. He did not campaign on behalf of the peasantry, of whom he remained suspicious. His focus was very much on political reform, although his precise motives were not always clear. He was not a nationalist as such and did not base his particular appeal on any Irish cultural or historic tradition. As a middle-class radical he was no democrat, and the early 1830s were spent looking for a precise political role. In fact, he found himself in a position of unusual influence at Westminster with 39 O’Connellite MPs.
Adapted from: S. Lee, Aspects of British Political History 1815–1914, published in 1994.
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Answer
