The Land League and the rise of Irish nationalism

Abstract

This thesis examines the connection between Irish nationalism in the late nineteenth century and the earlier struggle for land ownership waged by the Irish National Land League. It is the main contention of this work that the ownership of the soil was the true basis for Irish nationalism, for it was the only issue that could arouse the interest of the Irish peasants and enlist their active support. The movement conducted by the Land League proved to be a movement of the people, a real nationalist movement, for it included Irishmen of all political and religious beliefs both within and outside of Ireland. The paper beings with a general discussion of the iniquitous land system of Ireland, describing its main features and its effects on the Irish people. A summary of the early nationalist movements conducted in Ireland during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries deals with the main revolutionary societies such as the United Irishmen, the Young Irelanders and the Fenians as well as the constitutional organizations lik the Tenant Right League and the Home Rule Party. It examines their aims and activities as well as the reasons for their failure to obtain national independence. The emphasis of the study then shifts to a discussion of the men most responsible for the land movement -- James Fintan Lalor and Michael Davitt. Lalor, a member of the Young Irelanders organization, was a true revolutionary thinker of his day, for he maintained that the land issue rather than the political issue, was the real basis of Irish nationalism. Writing during the days of the Great Famine, Lalor was not able to put his theory into practice since the Irish people, suffering from hunger and disease, could not be stirred into action. This responsibility was left to his spiritual heir, Michael Davitt, who, thirty years after Lalor's death founded the Land League based on the principles which had been expounded by Lalor. The theories and works of these men are discussed at length in the thesis. Excerpts from Lalor's contributions to the revolutionary organs such as "The Nation" and "The United Irishmen" and Davitt's "The Fall of Feudalism in Ireland," comprise the basic source material of the paper. Although the study views Lalor and Davitt as the most important figures in the development and activities of the League, the part of Charles Stewart Parnell as a leader of the agrarian movement is also examined throughout the work. An extensive portion of the study is concerned with Land League including its formation by Michael Davitt, its main principles and aims and its importance as a political issue. Emphasis is placed upon the elements that made it a true nationalist movement such as the unifying effect it had on the Irish people and the goals and aspirations of the men who headed the League. The concluding section of the paper deals with the demise of the League and the effect that it had on the future of Ireland. Although the League's existence was short it had a profound impact on later events. The League was responsible for the passage of certain land acts which are discussed briefly in the thesis and which eventually gave the soil of Ireland to the people of Ireland. Once this was accomplished, the Irish people were in a position to concentrate on the achievement of their ultimate aim -- national independence.