Britain & Ireland in the early 19th Century

19th Century Irish History

By Professor Peter Gray. Produced by Simon Brown, published 12th August 2015

Union, Emancipation and Political Activism

In this podcast Professor Peter Gray of Queen's University Belfast looks at the origins of the demands for a change to the constitutional relationship between Britain and Ireland in the early 19th century and the factors that were leading to division between the Catholic and Protestant communities in this period.

1. Introduction to early 19th century Britain and Ireland - The Act of Union between Britain and Ireland.
2. Land Reform, Stagnation and the Catholic Emancipation Movement.
3. Daniel O'Connell - emancipation, nationalism and wider political objectives.
4. Engaging in electoral politics. Constitutional crisis forces Peel and Wellington to sign Catholic emancipation into law.
5. The foundations of the constitutional nationalist tradition.
6. Peel backlash and O'Connell imprisonment.
7. O'Connell: criticism and legacy


In order to access the full content of the podcasts please Login or Join the HA.