February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
As part of that victory, O’Connell found himself a member of the British Parliament. Many thought his political career would be a brief one, owing to hostility on the part of the British establishment. O’Connell, however, had other ideas.
Not long after taking his seat in the House of Commons, O’Connell introduced a bill to repeal the Act of Union and restore the Irish parliament that had been abolished in 1801. But even the MPs who supported his earlier demand for Catholic Emancipation viewed repeal as far too radical and rejected it. O’Connell took stock of his situation and decided he could accomplish more for Ireland if he set aside the repeal issue (for the time being anyway) and instead joined forces with the liberal Whig party. It proved a very successful strategy and through the 1830s he prodded the Whig-dominated government to enact many significant reforms in Ireland. For example, through his efforts Irish Catholic tenant farmers were freed from the obligation to pay annual tithes to the Protestant Church of Ireland. At O’Connell’s urging, the Whigs also built a system of national schools throughout Ireland, a program that led to a steady increase in literacy for generations to come.
Although modest in comparison with his ultimate goal of repeal, these and other reforms made O’Connell a hero among his people. It gave them hope that slowly but surely their situation was improving. His example likewise inspired a group of middle-class nationalists who called themselves Young Ireland. Comprising both Catholics and Protestants, Young Ireland promoted the idea of an Irish identity that recognized no religious differences and instead celebrated an Irish national culture that was distinct from and superior to British culture. O’Connell’s goal of repeal and home rule, they believed, would help foster this Irish identity, leading eventually — the more radical Young Irelanders hoped — to complete independence.
They were thus delighted when the repeal issue reemerged in 1840. In that year, O’Connell saw that the Whigs were about to be turned out in favor of a Tory government he was sure would be less sympathetic in its policies toward Ireland. Accordingly, he decided the time had come to renew the campaign for repeal and founded the Loyal National Repeal Association. The name is significant, for O’Connell was not an advocate of Irish independence, but rather of greater Irish self-rule under the British crown. He hoped the word “Loyal” would allay the fears of the incoming Tory administration, but his hopes proved overly optimistic.
Drawing on the same tactics developed in the Catholic Emancipation movement, O’Connell established a grassroots network of repeal associations across Ireland. He also turned to political action and in 1841 was elected lord mayor of Dublin. By 1843 O’Connell’s “Repeal rent” totaled