An O’Connellite Empire? Irish Nationalism, British Imperial Trouble, and the Limits of Anti-Imperialism in the Age of Reform

Abstract This article explores the way Irish nationalists in the 1830s and 1840s understood and condemned British imperial policy in times of trouble, which led to increasing tensions within Irish nationalism itself. It does so in two ways. First, it explores how Daniel O’Connell’s Irishness shaped his vision of the British Empire, its role in the world, and the contours of reform. This O’Connellite understanding of empire is critical because O’Connell was central not only to the radical politics of the 1830s and 1840s, but also to global humanitarian efforts on the one hand, and to the Whig governance of the 1830s on the other. O’Connell’s unique position was reinforced by Ireland’s incongruent place within the political union. Secondly, the article traces how British imperial entanglements in Canada, Afghanistan and China put O’Connell in perilous political waters that exacerbated relationships with English radicals, while also undermining his place within Irish nationalism. As O’Connell’s vision of the British Empire became clearer, it was increasingly challenged by a group of younger Irish nationalists (so-called ‘Young Ireland’) who articulated a strident anti-imperialism and drew inspiration from anti-colonial struggles as they mused on what shape the Irish struggle for justice should take. These ideological differences about British imperialism prefaced wider disagreements within Irish nationalism that would come to light during the Irish Famine and continue in the nineteenth century.