Nationalism in Ireland during the Nineteenth Century After the Act of Union in 1801 the fate of the Irish people was in the hands of They ruled the majority in Parliament and were making all of the decisionswithout much regard for the opinion from the people of Ireland. In order for the voices ofthe Irish people to be heard there would have to be a new nationalist approach to dealingwith the British Parliament. Leaders such as Daniel O’Connell and Charles Parnellrevolutionized strategies of approaching government. The beginning of the centurybelonged to O’Connell and his nonviolent approach, but the second half of the centurybelonged to Parnell who was not concerned as much with peace. At the beginning of the eighteenth century the question at hand was whether or notCatholics could be trusted, however the early part of the nineteenth century dealt with anew issue, Catholic Emancipation. The success of the emancipation effort can beattributed to the political genius of one man, Daniel O’Connell. O’Connell was asuccessful lawyer in Ireland and wanted to join his people together to fight for CatholicEmancipation. Although the penal laws at the end of the eighteenth century had allowedCatholics to have their own schools, vote at parliament elections and join professions, theywere still banned from sitting in parliament, becoming judges, and holding high offices inthe army and navy. O’Connell realized that in order to receive full emancipation theywould have to join together in a single organized effort. His actions displayed a nationalisteffort that had never been seen before to this caliber before. In 1823 O’Connell startedthe Catholic Association. What was different about the Association than any other priormovement groups was that it included everyone. It was not aimed solely at the wealthy. This mass of people included the Catholic Clergy who became trusted leaders of localagitations. ...
