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CSO/RP/CA/1828/22

Memorandum providing eye-witness account of a meeting of the ‘New Catholic Association’, held at the Corn Exchange, Dublin, chaired by Counsellor [William Francis] Finn, with verbatim transcription of speeches. Outlines subscriptions to the catholic rent, including lists of names, locations and amounts, including those submitted by Rev John Cantwell, Kilbeggan, [County Westmeath], and D P Ronayne, Youghal, [County Cork], who also acknowledged a sum of £40 donated by the association to the Youghal School. Remainder of proceedings relate to heated debate between Finn and [A Carew] O’Dwyer concerning a decision at a separate meeting of catholics the previous day to forward an address to catholics in the north of Ireland ‘recommending them to be peaceable and tranquil on the coming 12th of July’. O’Dwyer argued that the address would be given more weight if was officially sent from the Roman Catholic Association, while Finn stated that it was an affront to the members of the committee of the separate meeting, of which he was part, to assume that their decisions were less important than those of the association. Various arguments made both against and in favour of O’Dwyer’s motion, while R [Richard] O’Gorman stated that it did not matter which catholic body sent the address as ‘the people of the Country know that we are obliged to assume a different form… the effect will be the same’. Following repeated pleas by Finn to be given leave to stand down as Chair so that he may oppose O’Dwyer on the floor, O’Dwyer withdrew the motion. Also notice of a motion to be given by O’Gorman the following Saturday that church wardens around the country be instructed to report on any persecution of freeholders by their landlords following the recent elections.

5 Jul 1828

1828

CSO/RP/CA/1829/1

First 2 pages of a memorandum providing eye-witness account of a ‘Meeting of the friends of Civil & Religious Liberty of the United Parishes of St Andrew St Peter & St Ann’, held at the Corn Exchange, 12 Burgh Quay, Dublin, chaired by Bernard Mullins. Requisition read by Secretary [Christopher] Eiffe, calling the meeting for the purpose of adopting ‘immediate measures for the formation of a fund to pay a national tribute to Daniel O’Connell Esq whom the Empire is mainly indebted for the success of the great question of Catholic Emancipation’. Requisition contained more than 44 signatories [remainder of item not present]. Signatories include: Bernard Mullins; Michael O’Loghlin; Richard [Lalor] Sheil; John Maher; John Murphy [Catholic Bishop of Cork]; John Comerford; Patrick Hayes; AH [Archibald Hamilton] Rowan; Robert White; Francis White; J Malone; John Charles Lyons; P March; Matthias Kelly; [Rev] FJ [Francis J] L’Estrange; C & L Toole & Co.; MM Collier; Richard Barrett; William Woodhouse; Dr James Callanan; John Cruise; John Burke; Michael Staunton; Christopher Eiffe; Alexander McCarthy; John Ennis; John McDonagh; Cornelius Rooney; Matthew Donnolly; K[ ] Smith; PJ Hart; John Whelan; PR Griffiths; George E Hogan; Thomas Nugent; John Murphy Jr; William Hanlon; Thomas Meara; John Kelly; Joseph Byrne; Francis Morgan; Patrick Morgan; Michael H Connolly; and P Moylan.

24 Apr 1829

1829

CSO/RP/CA/1831/1

Handwritten file cover for the year 1831 for 'M.S. Reports of Political (Radical) Meetings held in Dublin in Jan - April'.

1831

1831

CSO/RP/CA/1831/2

Memorandum providing eye-witness account of a meeting held at the Parliamentary Intelligence Office, Dublin, chaired by John Redmond Esq, with verbatim transcription of speeches. Lengthy speech by [Daniel] O’Connell commenting that the catholics of Ireland remained ‘pitiful slaves’ as long as the Algerine act [Unlawful Societies (Ireland) Act, 1825] was in place, and calling for the repeal of the union. Oulined that he had recently formed the ‘General Association of Ireland’ for this purpose, but it had been quickly suppressed by a proclamation from the Lord Lieutenant, the Marquis of Anglesey [under the Dangerous Assemblies (Ireland) Act, 1829]: ‘Good God!... they assail[ed] the Society before it has done any one act whatsoever… they would not wait to catch us in the act… here is a new act of despotism’. Becoming increasingly vehement, he argued against nepotism in the new administration, stating that the new Prime Minister, Charles Grey [2nd earl of Grey], had surrounded himself with 13 members of his family, and remarked ‘they call themselves Whigs forsooth… [they] have always disappointed their friends, delighted their enemies and disgraced themselves’. Continually quoting from the proclamation, he commented ‘altho[ugh] they may trample on me, they shall even under their heels hear my tongue protest against it’. He argued that while England had ‘put country after country in a blaze’, other colonies in Canada and Australia had been granted their own parliaments, and it was only Ireland where the union was so rigidly enforced: ‘look what a pretty union it is’. He announced that ‘as the Lord Lieutenant will not allow me to have an association, Daniel O’Connell shall do it by himself’, and stated that he would stand in place of the association as Anglesey did not have the power to ‘dissolve and disperse’ an individual. Motioned that 2 new bodies be formed: the first, a ‘General Election Club’ to ensure that only anti-unionist candidates be put forward for election; and the second, an association to oversee the repeal of the union. He acknowledged that petitioning for the repeal of the union would be considered ‘dangerous’ by the authorities, but stated that he would ‘exercise it notwithstanding’. Noting that he must be careful of his comments before the press, [Thomas] Steele reported that the people of Ireland dispersed their various assemblies in 1828 at the request of O’Connell and the Catholic Association, and not at the request of Anglesey as he had claimed; they ‘minded the word of O’Connell much more than all the bullets they could fire at [them]’. [John] Lawless dismissed the proclamation, and remarked that if it were to be acted upon, ‘they would arrest some of us…’ O’Connell ended the meeting by calling for 3 cheers for the repeal of the union. Contains unidentified handwritten annotations throughout the text, highlighting particularly politically radical passages by O’Connell, Steele and Lawless.

10 Jan 1831

1831

CSO/RP/CA/1831/3

Memorandum providing eye-witness account entitled ‘Proceedings at a Dinner at Hayes’ Hotel’, Dawson Street, Dublin, with verbatim transcription of lengthy speech by Chair [Daniel] O’Connell continuing discussion from meeting held the previous day relating to a proclamation by the Lord Lieutenant, Marquis of Anglesey [under the Dangerous Assemblies (Ireland) Act, 1829], which prohibited catholic meetings over breakfast at Home’s [Hotel in Dublin]. O’Connell argued that this was ‘another exceedingly foolish exhibition of despotic authority’, as meetings could easily be held at any other venue around Dublin, including his own home, while [Christopher] Fitzsimon thanked Anglesey, ‘for instead of having a miserable coffee breakfast which I don’t much like I have had a most excellent dinner.’ In defiance of the ‘illegal’ and ‘unconstitutional’ proclamation, O’Connell motioned that a meeting be held every other day, and warned the administration that ‘there is a bound beyond which it is not safe to exasperate’. In ridicule of a recent remark by Anglesey in relation to his ‘fostering government’, O’Connell joked that he wished he had ‘a little talent for caricaturing… [to] put up [a] fostering nurse with Paddy Mahony sucking at one breast and Paddy Murphy at the other… then it would be a fostering government’. Speeches by various attendees arguing against the underrepresentation of Ireland in parliament and making repeated calls for the repeal of the union, as ‘in the course of 30 years we have added some millions to our population and detracted some millions from its revenue’. O’Connell declared that there was no act of parliament that could suppress the Catholic Association: ‘you may as well talk of putting down the winds of heaven or chaining the ceaseless tides of the ocean… [it is not] a corporal being, capable of being quashed by the arm of the law… the Catholic Association is the people of Ireland. Its spirit is caused by the grievances of the Nation and its seat is in the bosom of seven millions of its inhabitants. It is… idle to talk of putting [it] down… except by removing the causes to which the Catholic Association owes its existence’. Noting the success of the dinner, O’Connell stated that Anglesey would know the following day that his proclamation had only doubled their numbers. He outlined that a number of years previously, he ‘was actually obliged to pull by the skirts of the Coats 2 young priests in order to make up the ten to read my plan of the Catholic Rent’, but the association now numbered 14000. Contains transcription of a song relating to ‘the union of the orange and green’, sang by Mr [Corry]. Various toasts made to the people of Ireland; the king of England; to the President and people of America; to the repeal of the union; and to the health of O’Connell. Contains unidentified handwritten annotations throughout the text, highlighting any politically radical passages, in particular those by O’Connell.

11 Jan 1831

1831

CSO/RP/CA/1831/4

Memorandum providing eye-witness account entitled ‘Proceedings at a Meeting of the Requisitionists to appoint three to select thirty one to make arrangements for the aggregate Meeting of the Citizens of Dublin to petition Parliament for a repeal of the Union’, held at the Arena, [Lower Abbey Street], Dublin, chaired by Thomas Steele, with verbatim transcription of speeches. [Daniel] O’Connell continued discussion from meetings held in the previous days. He stated that a requisition calling the meeting for the purpose of discussing the repeal of the union had 10000 signatures, and that ‘there never was such a requisition in Ireland before’. He commented on the recent ‘foolish prosecution’ brought against him as ‘one of the agitating spirits of the Catholic Association’. In ridicule of the Lord Lieutenant, the Marquis of Anglesey, he remarked that the flattery he received from corporations and universities was not enough, so that Anglesey had begun to praise himself, stating that he was ‘the finest fellow in the world… nobody loves Ireland but me, I am the most disinterested zealous patriotic noble minded generous man that ever existed.’ He joked that Anglesey was afraid to let them meet over breakfast ‘lest the inspiration of the tea, toast and eggs should set them so intoxicated’. He mused that ‘if we were to flatter Lord Anglesey a little he would condescend to let us meet’, and warned that if they didn’t, he would surely issue another of his proclamations. He noted that the buildings in Dublin were not big enough to accommodate their meetings and proposed that a site be allocated on the outskirts of Dublin, at which hundreds could meet in the open air; speeches could be made from a stage; each man would wear a green and orange bow in his button hole; and cheers could be given for ‘old Ireland, the King, and the repeal of the Union and possibly for Daniel O’Connell’. Referring to a recent comment in ‘The Globe’ newspaper in London that ‘the Irish have very little to complain of’, O’Connell summarised Irish grievances, namely that £240 million of Irish money had left the country since the union; that the woollen, linen and cotton trades had been abolished, while the silk trade was in a state of ‘beggary’; that the country had been ‘desolated by the subletting act’; and that a country that produced 5 times as much food as its inhabitants, world leaders in the production of beef, pork, mutton, corn and ‘potatoes I need not say’, remained overcrowded with ‘the famishing the perishing and the fever seized people… the English… would be quite satisfied… [if we] lay down in the ditches and die[d] without complaining’. Dr Sheridan, Counsellor [Stephen] Coppinger and John Redmond appointed to a committee to choose 31 requisitionists.

12 Jan 1831

1831

CSO/RP/CA/1831/5

Memorandum providing eye-witness account entitled ‘Proceedings at a Breakfast at Hayes’ Hotel’, Dawson Street, Dublin, with approximately 50 attendees and verbatim transcription of speech by Chair [Daniel] O’Connell, continuing discussion from meetings held in the previous days. Referring to his previous call for a large meeting in the open air to discuss the repeal of the union, he stated that it was better that such a gathering be held indoors in order to deter riots. Motion carried that the meeting take place the following Tuesday, with an admission price of 6d, at either the Rotunda or Arena meeting halls in Dublin depending on availability. O’Connell commented that the administration treated the Irish as ‘a degraded and inferior people… if we were negroes we would be treated better… we would be considered as property to preserve, whereas now we are but a pitiful petting farm to extract the last farthing out of, and let our people die in the ditches and starve in the lanes of our towns and cities’. He then outlined the precise details of the ‘Law of Proclamation’ [the Dangerous Assemblies (Ireland) Act, 1829], stating that no meeting was illegal in itself, unless 2 magistrates attended to read a formal proclamation, after which time the attendees had 15 minutes to disperse before they faced prosecution. Shortly afterwards, two magistrates, Alderman Darley and Mr Graves, entered the room and requested that the breakfast be dispersed. O’Connell declared that ‘the present meeting is not connected with any other’, and requested that the formal proclamation requesting dispersal be read. Following the reading, O’Connell announced the time as 10 minutes past 11 o’clock, declared that the meeting was now illegal in the eyes of the law, and warned the attendees they had 15 minutes to leave the room. Meeting dispersed with three cheers for repeal and ‘a groan for despotism’.

15 Jan 1831

1831

CSO/RP/CA/1831/6

Memorandum providing eye-witness account entitled ‘Proceedings at a Meeting of the Parishioners of the Parish of St Thomas’’, held at the Arena, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin, chaired by Henry Grattan, with an attendance of between 4000 and 6000. Contains verbatim transcription of speeches outlining a number of resolutions relating to the repeal of the union. At the beginning of the meeting, Grattan was presented with a sash to wear for the duration, which was ‘emblematic of the happy union of orange and green’. A considerable number of speakers noted that they had never before addressed a public meeting; P Nolan observed that ‘finding my county reduced to the State she is I can no longer suppress my indignation’. Majority of proceedings relate to the economic and civil difficulties experienced in Ireland since the union, which itself was ‘engendered by bribery and corruption and carried by the Bayonet and musket’. [Daniel] O’Connell spoke at length, referring to discussions at previous meetings. He asked the assembly to imagine an Irish parliament at College Green and remarked ‘if I were going tomorrow to my grave or to the scaffold for Ireland I should bequeath as the first inheritance to my children perpetual hatred to the Legislative union’. He declared that the Lord Lieutenant, the Marquis of Anglesey, and the Chief Secretary, [Edward Geoffrey Smith] Stanley, sought to ‘muzzle the mouths of the Irish people, first from expressing their grief and next from consuming that food that grows plentifully about them’. To the amusement of the assembly, [Thomas] Steele explained how Stanley had earned the nickname ‘Solomon Stanley’; it was said that Stanley’s maid, who was accused of stealing a pound of mutton chops, blamed their disappearance on the cat, in response to which Stanley weighed the cat on a set of scales and proved that she was being untruthful, and when Anglesey heard of this he said that he must be his Solomon in Ireland, ‘for Solomon himself in his great judgement never devised anything more ingenious’. O’Connell dismissed the meeting with three cheers for Grattan and the repeal of the union, and to the further amusement of the attendees, issued a ‘proclamation’ that they disperse quietly within 2 minutes. Contains unidentified handwritten annotations throughout the text, highlighting particularly politically radical passages by O’Connell.

17 Jan 1831

1831

CSO/RP/CA/1831/7

Memorandum providing eye-witness account entitled ‘Proceedings at a Meeting of the Inhabitants of the Parish of Saint Audeons’, held at the School House, Cooke Street, Dublin, chaired by John Reynolds Esq, with verbatim transcription of speeches outlining a number of resolutions relating to the repeal of the laws affecting public meetings [Unlawful Societies (Ireland) Act, 1825 and Dangerous Assemblies (Ireland) Act, 1829]. Reynolds stated that he had been arrested that morning, along with several others, including [Daniel] O’Connell, [John] Lawless, [Thomas] Steele and [Richard] Barrett, and had been ‘liberated’ just half an hour previously from police headquarters. He explained that they had been charged under the Alergine Act [Unlawful Societies (Ireland) Act, 1825] for attending meetings to discuss the repeal of the union, and asked ‘can this be Ireland?’ O’Connell subsequently entered and addressed the assembly, confirming that he was arrested that morning at his home ‘in the presence of the Mother of my children’. He reassured them that he spurned offers of gifts and the highest offices, and stated that he was thankful to the authorities for his arrest as ‘it proves that they recognise the sincerity of my affections for the people of Ireland’ and had made him more determined in his efforts. He noted that several men, including an individual identified as Andrew Ennis, had offered to pay his bail. He proposed the establishment of a society to promote abstinence from consuming excisable articles, including alcohol, as ‘the man who consumes anything that pays a tax is supporting the Enemies of his Country’. He declared that he had been given a mission from God that could only be accomplished ‘with the assistance of men’. He warned the assembly against ribbonism and other illegal societies; he requested the people of Ireland not to violate the law and remarked ‘there is but one way of preventing the Repeal of the Union that is making another foolish and wicked Rebellion explode’.

18 Jan 1831

1831

CSO/RP/CA/1831/8

Memorandum providing eye-witness account entitled ‘Proceedings at a Meeting of the Inhabitants of the Manor of Grange Gorman’, held at the School Room, Phibsborough, Dublin, chaired by Mr McDonnell, with verbatim transcription of speeches outlining a number of resolutions relating to the repeal of the union. McDonnell remarked that recent proclamations by the Lord Lieutenant [under the Dangerous Assemblies (Ireland) Act, 1829] had created rather than supressed public assemblies, evident in the formation of the current meeting as well as the meeting of inhabitants of the parish of St Audeons held the previous day. In reference to his recent arrest under the act, [Daniel] O’Connell stated that his only crime was contriving not to commit a crime, and recounted his arrest in the presence of his wife: ‘for once in her life a tear occasioned by me stood upon her eye – Oh Lord – Anglesey I swear by that virtuous woman’s tear – do you know the value of a virtuous woman’s tear?... I swear by that tear… [Anglesey] will stand for impeachment for issuing that warrant’. He remarked further that his wife had made him who he was: ‘[she] has made me a Patriot for I do assure you that often and often when my heart flagged at the base ingratitude of the Catholic Aristocracy it required her still and cheering voice to tell me I must succeed’. He summarised the 4 recent proclamations made by the ‘hair-brained’ Lord Anglesey, which prohibited the display of orange and green flags and ribbons; the use of the catholic rent to aid the tenants of Ireland ‘ground down’ by absentee landlords, rack rents, tithes, cesses and ‘Grand Jury Jobbing’; political meetings held over breakfast [at Home’s Hotel, Dublin]; as well as all past, present and future ‘dangerous’ societies. He argued that these were illegal actions, and noted that no such proclamations had been issued in Newark in England when its people plotted to murder the Duke of Newcastle [Henry Pelham Fiennes Pelham Clinton, 4th Duke of Newcastle]. In reference to the meeting’s venue, he commented that the education of children, who possess ‘the natural instinct of Reason’, was vital in ‘putting an end to the contest between Catholic and Protestant… bringing all within one bound and teaching them that knowledge is rational power and that Education is the first branch of the Sacredness of holy Religion’. He mused that Ireland ‘was once the Repository of Learning – the Island of Saints’, and expressed a hope that such days would return to the country, and that a domestic parliament would sit in College Green, protecting catholics, protestants, Orangemen and presbyterians ‘equally and impartially’. He stated that the question of repeal was the ‘last trial’ of the Irish – ‘let us act as Christians... let there be no illegal meetings, no illegal oaths, no secret societies, no violence… this is but a small storm, let me steer the helm of Irish liberty and I promise you there is a beacon light before me’. Also speech by [Thomas] Steele, describing O’Connell as ‘something more than human’ and referring to his ‘transcendent superiority’. Also speech by Mr Stokes, who outlined his fear that Ireland was not yet ready to rule itself as its people remained deeply divided. O’Connell responded that the call for repeal had nothing to do with religious dissention, nor did the repeal of the union mean absolute separation from England. Contains unidentified handwritten annotations throughout the text, highlighting particular passages where individual words were omitted from transcription. [Appears as if page[s] of transcription of O’Connell’s speech are missing; pages consecutively numbered 46 and 47 do not appear to correlate].

19 Jan 1831

1831