1848 is frequently referred to as ‘the year of revolutions’ or, less prosaically, the ‘springtime of the peoples’. Yet, despite the widespread challenge to the status quo throughout Europe, historians as diverse as G.M. Trevelyan and A.J.P. Taylor long ago averred that ‘History failed to turn’.¹ Other historians have shown how, following an initial flurry of revolutionary activity, order was quickly restored and conservative governments and monarchies were re-installed.² Consequently, as Jonathan Sperber has noted, ‘The European revolutions of 1848 have not always received the kindest of treatment at the hands of historians. Gentle mockery, open sarcasm and hostile contempt...

Political debate in Ireland in the first half of the nineteenth century was dominated by the imposing figure of Daniel O’Connell (1775–1847), a Catholic barrister from County Kerry. For three decades, he controlled Irish nationalist politics and his activities had significant repercussions not only on British political developments, but also within Europe and the United States. O’Connell used his oratorical and legal skills to maximum advantage within the hostile climate of Westminster, outlasting and outwitting a number of British political opponents. The timing of his birth was significant, enabling him to benefit from the relaxation of the Penal Laws...

In 1845 an event occurred that, in the short term, pushed Repeal to the back of the political agenda and, in the longer term, transformed the social and demographic profile of Ireland. It also changed the political relationship between Ireland and Britain. In September of that year, a previously unknown blight appeared on the potato crop in Ireland and within a few months it had destroyed approximately half of the harvest. Food shortages were not unknown in Ireland, but the scale and longevity of this one made it unique. Many nationalists believed that if Ireland had been independent such a...

Following the harvest of 1846, the deteriorating famine conditions in many parts of Ireland not only dominated Irish and British news, but were reported by the international press. The winter months were particularly awful, with the public works exacerbating rather than relieving the problems for many of the poor. The intentionally low wages meant that food prices remained out of the range of those employed on the scheme, which included an increasing number of women and children. At the same time, many merchants were making large profits, helped by the high demand for foodstuffs throughout Europe and a buoyant export...

At the beginning of 1848, the likelihood of either reuniting the Repeal movement or of achieving a Repeal of the Union appeared doubtful. Divisions had hardened between Old and Young Ireland, with the death of O’Connell reinforcing, rather than healing, the rift. Moreover, although the Irish Confederation had won some popular support via the clubs, it had made little impact at the General Election and its attempts at wooing Irish landowners had been largely unsuccessful. Yet disillusionment with the British government remained high as Ireland endured its third consecutive year of famine, and the government was determined to make all...

Regardless of the draconian legislation being put in place by the government, and the fact that Mitchel, Meagher and O’Brien were awaiting trial for sedition, throughout April and May the language and behaviour of the three men became ever more militant and reckless. Rebellion was openly talked about, although the majority of the Confederates preferred that no uprising should take place until harvest.¹ In the interim, the clubs were encouraged to acquire arms and to practise military drilling. And, according to the informer John Balfe, Eugene O’Reilly and Richard O’Gorman were travelling to Paris to learn military tactics.² Nonetheless, the...

The potato blight reappeared in Ireland in July 1848, but its arrival was overshadowed by political unrest throughout Europe.¹ Within Ireland, an uprising appeared inevitable. The transportation of Mitchel had energized the Repeal movement, opening up the possibility of a reunion with the faltering Repeal Association that for two years had proved to be elusive. At this stage, Conciliation Hall was not doing well and Repeal subscriptions, which were a telling financial barometer, had fallen to almost zero.² In contrast, Mitchel’s removal from Ireland had revitalized O’Brien, both personally and politically. However, managing a fast-growing movement whose members had been...

The trials of the state prisoners commenced a month after their capture. During this time, they were imprisoned in Kilmainham, Richmond or Newgate jails in Dublin, or in the Old Gaol at Clonmel. Apart from being bored and lonely, a number of them were sick, at one point Duffy fearing that he had contracted cholera. The prisoners communicated with each other by letter, some surreptitiously carried by their visitors, to avoid being read by the authorities. With so many men on the run, in prison, or under threat of arrest, women played an important role in visiting the men in...

The decision not to execute the leaders immediately following their conviction in October 1848 was taken for pragmatic reasons, the government preferring to create fools rather than national martyrs.¹ In July 1849, on the eve of Queen Victoria’s visit to Ireland, the death sentence on the four leaders of the 1848 uprising was commuted and they were transported to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania). This island had been utilized initially as a penal colony to relieve the pressure on Port Jackson in Botany Bay (Australia). Because of its remoteness and lack of internal development, it was viewed as ideal for ‘the...

In 1861, on the eve of Queen Victoria’s third and penultimate visit to Ireland, the LondonTimeswrote an article suggesting that now, forty years since George IV had visited the country, Ireland was no longer a source of ‘trouble and anxiety’, but had become ‘an increasing hope of union and prosperity’. The character and leadership of Queen Victoria were praised for contributing to this change but, according to the paper:

The turning point was reached in the abortive rebellion of 1848 . . . The rebellion of Smith O’Brien exposed and exploded the corresponding sham of a baseless political...