OCR Specification focus:
‘Young Ireland, the Fenians and the Land League sustained radical opposition in the 1840s–1880s.’
Radical Irish nationalism evolved through Young Ireland, the Fenians, and the Land League between the 1840s and 1880s, each adapting methods to oppose the Union and British authority.
Young Ireland and Revolutionary Nationalism in the 1840s
Origins and Ideology
Young Ireland emerged in the 1840s as a breakaway faction from Daniel O’Connell’s Repeal Association, disillusioned with his strictly constitutional methods. Founded by figures such as Thomas Davis, Charles Gavan Duffy, and John Mitchel, Young Ireland advocated a more assertive and nationalist ideology, inspired by the European Romantic nationalist movements of the time.
Young Ireland: A nationalist movement formed in the 1840s promoting Irish cultural revival and independence, often favouring insurrection over constitutional means.
They sought to rekindle Irish national identity through:
Revival of Irish language, literature, and history to foster national consciousness.
Promotion of independence by moral force, but with openness to physical force if peaceful means failed.
Opposition to O’Connell’s emphasis on gradualism and reliance on British political structures.
The 1848 Rebellion
The revolutionary fervour of 1848 — part of a wave of European uprisings — inspired Young Ireland to attempt a rising. Leaders like William Smith O’Brien sought to mobilise nationalist sentiment into action.
Signal fires blaze across Slievenamon during the Young Irelander Rebellion (1848), depicting how insurgents relayed messages and gathered support. The lithograph foregrounds the terrain and mobilisation methods referenced in the 1848 rising. Produced by N. Currier, it is historically accurate but includes romanticised colouring typical of the period. Source
However, the rising was:
Poorly organised, lacking arms, planning, and mass support.
Crippled by the devastating Great Famine, which left the rural population impoverished and demoralised.
Quickly suppressed by British forces, culminating in the failed “Battle of Ballingarry.”
Although the insurrection collapsed, Young Ireland’s legacy endured. They demonstrated that Irish nationalism could be radical, cultural, and militant — paving the way for later revolutionary movements.
The Fenians and the Rise of Republicanism (1850s–1860s)
Formation and Ideological Foundations
The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), known as the Fenians, was founded in 1858 by James Stephens in Dublin and John O’Mahony in the United States. The term “Fenian” evoked heroic Irish warriors from mythology, symbolising a militant nationalist tradition.
Fenians: Members of a revolutionary nationalist organisation (the IRB) founded in 1858 committed to establishing an independent Irish republic by force.
Key characteristics included:
A republican ideology, rejecting constitutionalism and seeking complete independence.
A transatlantic network, with significant support from the Irish diaspora in America.
Secretive, oath-bound membership, which allowed for coordinated conspiracies and evasion of British surveillance.
The 1867 Fenian Rising and British Response
The Fenians planned a coordinated rebellion in 1867, but internal divisions, inadequate preparation, and effective British infiltration thwarted the effort.
Contemporary press engraving of the Fenian Rising (1867), associated with the attempted mobilisation around Tallaght, County Dublin. Such images shaped British and American public perceptions of the rising’s scope and outcome. Layout and captions reflect nineteenth-century journalistic conventions and may compress multiple moments into a single scene. Source
Key outcomes:
The failure highlighted the challenge of organising a mass uprising in Ireland under British rule.
Harsh British repression, including arrests and executions, created Fenian martyrs, such as the Manchester Martyrs (1867), which galvanised nationalist sentiment.
Despite military failure, Fenianism transformed Irish nationalism by embedding physical-force republicanism into its tradition.
The Irish Republican Brotherhood continued as an underground force, influencing future movements, including Sinn Féin and the Easter Rising of 1916.
The Land League and the Agrarian Dimension (1870s–1880s)
Context: Land and Tenant Agitation
By the 1870s, Ireland’s agrarian structure was a source of profound social and political discontent. The land question centred on the dominance of Anglo-Irish landlords and the insecurity of tenant farmers, who faced eviction and lacked ownership rights.
The Tenant Right movement of the mid-19th century had raised demands for the “Three Fs”:
Fair rent
Fixity of tenure
Free sale of holdings
The Irish National Land League
Founded in 1879 by Michael Davitt, with support from Charles Stewart Parnell, the Irish National Land League transformed agrarian protest into a national political campaign. Its aims extended beyond tenant rights to challenging the broader Unionist landholding system.
Irish National Land League: An organisation established in 1879 campaigning for tenant farmers’ rights and land reform, linking agrarian issues with Irish nationalism.
The League’s strategies included:
Mass meetings and rallies to mobilise tenant farmers.
Boycotting landlords and agents who evicted tenants, giving rise to the term “boycott” after Captain Charles Boycott.
Coordinating rent strikes and collective resistance to evictions.
Leveraging media and public opinion to pressure the British government.
British Government Response and Land Acts
The British government, initially resistant, responded with both coercion and concession:
Coercion Acts enabled suppression of unrest and imprisonment of leaders.
Land Acts (notably in 1870 and 1881) introduced limited reforms, addressing some tenant demands but leaving many issues unresolved.
The Land League was suppressed by 1882, but its influence persisted. It laid the groundwork for future agrarian reform and demonstrated how nationalist opposition could harness social and economic grievances.
The Continuity of Radical Opposition
Shared Features Across the Movements
Despite differences in tactics and context, Young Ireland, the Fenians, and the Land League shared fundamental traits that sustained radical opposition to the Union across four decades:
Commitment to Irish self-determination and resistance to British control.
Rejection of purely constitutional methods, favouring direct action — whether insurrectionary or social.
Mobilisation of mass support by linking nationalism to cultural, political, or economic grievances.
Creation of nationalist symbols, myths, and martyrs that fuelled subsequent movements.
Legacy and Impact
These organisations profoundly shaped Irish nationalism:
Young Ireland reinvigorated nationalist ideology through cultural revival and readiness for insurrection.
The Fenians institutionalised physical-force republicanism and influenced later revolutionary groups.
The Land League demonstrated the power of mass political mobilisation and linked nationalism to the social realities of land and class.
Together, they ensured that radical opposition remained a persistent and evolving force in Irish political life from the 1840s to the 1880s, laying crucial foundations for the struggles that would culminate in the early 20th century.
FAQ
Irish diaspora communities, especially in the United States, were vital to the Fenian movement’s organisation and funding. Many Irish emigrants, angered by British rule and motivated by nationalist sentiment, provided substantial financial backing to the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB).
The Fenian Brotherhood in America raised funds, purchased weapons, and coordinated plans for uprisings in Ireland. Some Irish-Americans even participated directly in the 1867 rising.
Diaspora influence also shaped strategy, with leaders like John O’Mahony and Thomas Clarke Luby advocating a transatlantic revolutionary approach that extended beyond Ireland itself.
Although militarily unsuccessful, the 1848 rising left a significant ideological legacy. It demonstrated that Irish nationalism could be infused with cultural revival, romantic patriotism, and readiness for physical force.
Future movements, including the Fenians and Sinn Féin, drew on this tradition, blending cultural identity with revolutionary aims. The rising also created martyrs and symbols that inspired later generations, such as Thomas Davis’s writings and John Mitchel’s radical journalism.
Furthermore, it exposed the need for better organisation, planning, and mass support, lessons that shaped later strategies for nationalist resistance.
The Land League’s base was primarily tenant farmers, smallholders, and rural labourers suffering under exploitative landlordism. Many faced insecurity, eviction, and poverty, particularly after the Great Famine.
This broad support was significant because:
It gave the League mass political power, transforming agrarian discontent into a national movement.
It linked social and economic issues directly to the nationalist cause, broadening its appeal beyond intellectual and political elites.
It pressured British governments to enact land reforms, showing that grassroots mobilisation could achieve tangible political results.
In addition to arrests and executions, British authorities relied heavily on infiltration and intelligence gathering. The use of informers and spies within the Irish Republican Brotherhood frequently sabotaged plans before they could materialise.
They also launched propaganda campaigns portraying the Fenians as dangerous extremists, aiming to alienate moderate nationalists and the Catholic Church.
Legislation such as the Suspension of Habeas Corpus (1866) allowed the detention of suspects without trial, weakening the movement’s leadership. These combined tactics significantly limited the Fenians’ ability to mount sustained uprisings.
The Land League’s emphasis on mass mobilisation, boycotts, and public campaigns set a template for later nationalist politics. Its success showed that combining social and political grievances could challenge British authority effectively.
Movements such as the Irish Parliamentary Party and later Sinn Féin adopted similar grassroots methods to build widespread support.
The League also demonstrated the value of media engagement, using newspapers and speeches to sway public opinion. This fusion of agrarian protest with political nationalism influenced the strategy of Irish self-determination movements into the 20th century.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (2 marks)
Identify two key aims of the Irish National Land League founded in 1879.
Mark Scheme:
1 mark for each correct aim identified (maximum 2 marks).
Accept any two of the following:
To secure fair rent for tenant farmers.
To ensure fixity of tenure (security against eviction).
To allow free sale of holdings by tenants.
To challenge the dominance of the Anglo-Irish landlord system.
To link agrarian reform with Irish nationalism.
Question 2 (6 marks)
Explain how the methods of Young Ireland and the Fenians differed in their opposition to British rule.
Mark Scheme:
Level 1 (1–2 marks): Basic description of one or both groups with limited or no comparison of methods. May be generalised or descriptive.
Example: “Young Ireland tried to fight against British rule. The Fenians also wanted independence.”
Level 2 (3–4 marks): Clear explanation of methods used by both groups, with some limited comparison. Some accurate detail but uneven coverage.
Example: “Young Ireland focused on cultural revival and moral force but attempted a poorly organised rebellion in 1848. The Fenians, however, were a secret revolutionary group formed in 1858 and sought to overthrow British rule through a coordinated rising in 1867.”
Level 3 (5–6 marks): Well-developed explanation showing clear understanding of how their methods differed, supported by detailed and accurate evidence. Balanced treatment of both groups and explicit comparison.
Example: “Young Ireland initially focused on reviving Irish culture and national identity through literature and history and supported constitutional methods, though they attempted an insurrection in 1848 that was quickly suppressed. In contrast, the Fenians were committed from the outset to physical-force republicanism, organised as a secret oath-bound society, and sought to coordinate a planned rising in 1867 with transatlantic support. Their use of clandestine networks and sustained revolutionary strategy marked a significant departure from Young Ireland’s more open, ideologically driven movement.”
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