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328 Stephen Dunford: The Journey of The IrIsh
At first O’Connell was both proud and pleased to have the support and assistance of these remarkable and enthusiastic individuals, but after a short time this joy turned to dis- pleasure when he discovered that this particular group were of an independent turn. Not only that, he further discovered that they did not believe in his constitutional policy, and re- fused to put their trust in those on whom he chiefly relied. Thinking for themselves, instead of allowing O’Connell to do their thinking for them and following him blindly, they were also willing to go farther against England than he was. Furthermore, the speedy success and influence of their paper, the Nation also alarmed him. The paper became so popular throughout the land that ‘Nation Clubs’ were formed for the purpose of purchasing it and reading aloud in company the spirited essays, the fiery poems and ballads, and the vigorous propaganda, after which the contents would be commented and debated on. The price of the paper was sixpence.
In a short time the Nation became an effective power all over Ireland and as a result, the editors, writers, and contributors were firmly established in the hearts and minds of the people. When at length O ‘Connell came to the realization that the influence of this group of individuals was growing rapidly and as a consequence, appropriating some of his power, and that, especially after the arrival of John Mitchell to their ranks, they began advocating physical opposition to England through armed rebellion, he determined to distance himself from them and by doing so, entice the ordinary people away also. So it came to pass that a split between O’Connell’s movement and the Young Irelanders occurred when in 1847, at a meeting of the Repeal Association in Conciliation Hall, proposals which were after- wards known as the Peace Resolutions-resolutions re-affirming the (English) law-abiding and peace principles on which O’Connell founded the Association, and to which every member must now subscribe to, were put forward. Unsurprisingly the Young Irelanders offered staunch resistance to the proposals. The debate lasted for two days and reached its climax when Thomas Francis Meagher delivered his famous inflammatory speech since known as the ‘Sword Speech,’ in which he stated:-
“The soldier is proof against an argument, but he is not proof against a bullet. The man who will listen to reason let him be reasoned with; but it is the weaponed arm of the patriot that can avail against battalioned despotism...Be it for the defence, or be it for the asser- tion of a nation’s liberty, I look upon the sword as a sacred weapon. And if, my lord, it has sometimes reddened the shroud of the oppressor, like the anointed rod of the high priest, it has, at other times blossomed into flower to deck the free man’s brow.”
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