1828 - 1830 AD

1828 AD January: Viscount Goderich, resigned as the British Tory Ascendancy Prime Minister in England, as he could not handle the office, so George IV who was now the German Hanoverian British King, who was also anti - Catholic, was forced to choose another Ministry, and to suite his ends, he appointed Sir Arthur Wellesley the first Duke of Wellington, as his new British Tory Conservative Ascendancy Prime Minister until 1830 AD and he also appointed Robert "Orange" Peel as the British Conservative Ascendancy Home Secretary, as he was well aware that both of these men were opposed to any chance of Catholic Emancipation. Although Catholic Emancipation was still not to be brought forward in any shape or form in Britain, Lord John Russell was nevertheless allowed to bring forward a Bill to repeal the "Religious Test" and Corporation Acts for non - Catholics who were Dissenters only, which was then also passed by the Conservative Ascendancy unelected but controlled British House of Lords. Sir Arthur Wellesley / Wellington was moved to state publicly that, "Exclusion of the Catholics, from power, has not succeeded in restricting their social power," and little did he realise that shortly, in the very near future, he would be the one responsible for Catholic Emancipation, although he was to be vehemently and personally opposed to any extension of the Catholic franchise. (The right to vote or be represented in the Parliament.)

May: Huskisson, and his supporters, pulled out of the British Conservative Ascendancy Tory Government Ministry, that was now under Sir Arthur Wellesley / Wellington, who was forced to appoint an Anglo - Irishmen, Vesey Fitz Gerald who was the non - Catholic M.P. for Co. Clare in the north - west of the Munster Province who was at this time up for re - election to the position of President of the Board of Trade as he was also a very popular Land Lord in Ireland, who unbeknown to Sir Arthur Wellesley also supported Catholic Emancipation. 

June 30th: Daniel O Connell "The Liberator," in Ireland, although he was a Catholic Irish man was now put forward to be elected as an M.P. by the Catholic Association, for the seat of Ennis in Co. Clare in the north - west of the Munster Province. which would become known as "The Banner County," and he was also supported by Thomas Steele a non - Catholic landowner, and O Gorman - Mahon a merchant from Ennis, but as a Catholic Irish man, it was illegal under British Law for him to represent any of the population in Ireland in the Westminster Parliament. Despite this Thomas Wyse, once again organized the 40 / - shilling / 2 pound freeholders, who still had the right to vote, to support his candidature and after 5 days of campaigning, Vesey Fitz Gerald the non - Catholic M.P. saw which way the wind was blowing, and he withdrew from the poll altogether, and Daniel O Connell was declared elected, and although he was at first also declared illegal as a Catholic under British Law, he would eventually be successful becoming the M.P. there until 1830 AD. This successful immediate action would later finally lead on to the beginnings of Catholic Emancipation, but at this time although elected he would still not be allowed under British Law to take up his rightful democratic place in the Westminster Parliament, simply because he was a Catholic,  while Another stranglehold that had been imposed on all the Catholic voters, was that they were disallowed from voting in the election unless they produced written evidence, that they had taken the Oath of Allegiance to George 1V the German Hanoverian King of Britain. Despite these illegalities under British Law, the vast celebrations that were now brought on by the success of Daniel O Connell in this instance broke out all over Ireland, which further alarmed the British Conservative Ascendancy Tory Government who were now under the leadership of Sir Arthur Wellesley / Wellington. Although all Catholics in the British Isles and Ireland were denied the right to represent or be represented in the British Parliament at Westminster, Daniel O Connell "The Liberator" would eventually become the first Catholic M.P. elected to the British Westminster Parliament  would later also be elected to represent, not only Co. Clare, but also Co. Waterford, Co. Kerry and Co. Cork, which were all in the Munster Province, and also Co. Dublin in the north - east of Southern Leinster. Daniel O Connell "The Liberator" would also become the first Irish Catholic Lord Mayor of Dublin, since the time of total Ascendancy control after James 11 the last Catholic Stewart King of England. 

      The Catholic Association in Ireland, were to eventually raise 45,400 pounds towards the cause of Catholic Emancipation, and the Conservative British and Anglo - Irish Ascendancy was now finally on its way out, as Sir Arthur Wellesley / Wellington and Robert "Orange" Peel read the signs, and knew that the Ascendancy was now in real trouble and they were now forced to approach George IV the German Hanoverian King of Britain, and advise him that it was going to be Catholic Emancipation or Civil War, and he finally had to give in. A "Repealed Religious Test" and Corporation Act was passed by the Ascendancy British Westminster Parliament.

     William Smith - O Brien, the Anglo - Irish non - Catholic M.P. and Land Lord, who was born at Dromoland Castle in Co. Clare in the north - west of the Munster Province, who was a direct descendent of *105. Brian Boru the Heberian Dal gCais 175th High King of Ireland, had previously graduated from Cambridge in Englandand he had then been admitted to the bar and subsequently elected to the Westminster Ascendancy Parliament also and had previously alternated the Ennis Borough in Co. Clare with Vesey Fitz Gerald, and he now let it be known publicly that he was a member of the Catholic Association. 

     John Henry Newman, at this time was the Ascendancy Church of England Vicar of St. Mary's at Oxford in England, but he too would eventually play a major role in Catholic education in Ireland, when he would become a Catholic.

   The Abbots from Cong Abbey in Co. Mayo in the mid - west of the Connacht Province despite the ongoing religious oppression in Ireland had continued to live there still, to attempt to guard the lovely embellished Cross of Cong, which was then to be given to the parish church, and eventually create a great controversy later on.  

   Joseph Gillis Biggar was born this year who was a non - Catholic from Belfast in Co. Antrim in the north - east of the Ulster Province who was to grow up to be a great Irish Nationalist, until his death in 1890 AD after becoming a Catholic in 1877 AD.

   This year 19 people were drowned at Annaghdown to the north of Galway on the eastern side of Lower Loch Corrib after their boat sunk while carrying them and their sheep to a fair at Galway in the Connacht Province and the renowned harpist "Blind" Raftery / Ua Raeachtaire would write a lament to their memory as he was also from a Co. Mayo Sept there.

1829 AD The Catholic Emancipation / Relief Act, was finally passed in the Ascendancy British Westminster Parliament to remove the remaining effects of the Irish Penal Laws, but only for the upper and middle classes in Ireland. (The Irish National Anthem at this time was still O Paddy Dear / The Wearing of the Green.)

February: George IV, the German Hanoverian British King, made a speech confirming that Catholic Relief / Emancipation Act would be introduced into the Ascendancy Westminster Parliament in the future, which was now due to the previous ongoing persistance of Daniel O Connell " The Liberator" and his many supporters throughout Ireland.

March: The Catholic Relief  / Emancipation Bill was introduced into the Ascendancy Westminster House of Commons, where it was passed for all Catholics not only in Ireland but also in the United Kingdom, and the Catholic Irish Penal Laws were also repealed, on which Edmund Burke the Anglo - Irish Statesman who had been educated at a Quaker school, who was a non - Catholic, but whose mother and wife were Catholic, had previously commented, "A machine, as well fitted for the oppression, impoverishment and degradation of a people and the debasement in them of human nature itself, as ever proceeded from the perverted ingenuity of man."

April: During the debate on introducing Catholic Emancipation in the Conservative Ascendancy unelected controlled British House of Lords, Lord John Beresford, who was the Ascendancy Church of England Archbishop of Armagh in the south - east of the Ulster Province, and the richest man in Ireland, opposed the Bill on the grounds that, "It would encourage the Catholics if they gained this right to gain other rights." Sir Arthur Wellesley / Wellington told them once again that it was either, "Catholic Emancipation or Civil War."

     The Catholic Relief Bill, received Royal Assent, and all of the Catholics in the British Isles and Ireland were now eligible for all offices of state, except for British Regent, British Lord Lieutenant and Lord Chancellor of Britain, with the reorganization of the Oath taking away the religious Supremacy as a condition, which was replaced by a denial of the Pope to hold civil authority, with no intention of subverting the Ascendancy Established Church of England. A further great overall side effect of all of this, was that the English, Welsh and Scottish Catholics, who were still hanging in there, being 1 in every 14 of the British population, were to also receive their Emancipation, and were finally allowed to enter their own British Parliament in England with the right to hold civil and military offices. This particular most important reform of all had now been secured just by the previous election of Daniel O Connell "The Liberator" in Ireland, who was then re - elected legally under British Law, for the seat in Co. Clare, and with this common democratic right now being "legal" under British Law, he then began immediately his campaign for the Repeal of the Immoral Union, and for further reforms in Ireland and he also took on the continuing imposition of the "enforced" Ascendancy Church of England Tithes on the majority Catholic Irish, and the other non - Conformist Dissenters there in Ireland.   

     Sir Robert "Orange" Peel, the British Tory appointed Home Secretary in Ireland, now wanted a re - organized and neutral Irish Police Force, but this was opposed in the Westminster Parliament, and in a desperate further backward bid to save the Land Lords, and pay back those who had been involved in securing Catholic Emancipation, he now got rid of the 40/- shilling / 2 pound voters, and  raised their right to have the vote fivefold to Ten pounds, which naturally excluded the poorer tenants in Ireland, and as he had intended, the number of Irish Catholics, who were now eligible to vote, dropped from 216,000 to only 37,000. Also in anticipation of circumventing any problems over this, Lord Anglesly the British Tory appointed Lord Lieutenant in Ireland, was given powers to suppress all new Irish Associations and Sir Robert ""Orange" Peel, also banned and dissolved the successful Irish Catholic Association run by Daniel O Connell, but public office was now open to Catholics if they took an Oath of Allegiance to George 1V the British German Hanoverian King. The oppressive Tithes to the Ascendancy Church of England remained, and were still an unacceptable burden on the whole population in Ireland, while the "Ribbon Society" was also founded who were also against the previous Immoral Union, but although Catholic Emancipation had now been finally passed in the British Isles, public office still remained a non - Catholic monopoly, but the Catholic middle class was now increasing, and Catholic churches were now finally allowed to also have steeples and towers, and Catholics were even allowed now to have 2 story houses. The result of obtaining some of these normal common valid rights for the Catholics in Ireland, was to frighten those Presbyterians, who were still involved in a "siege mentality" state, that they would now be outnumbered by their previous allies who were in reality the majority of the population in Ireland, the Irish Catholics. This was to allow the Conservative Ascendancy to use this deep - seated mind - set to their own advantage once again and many more times from now on, whenever the opportunity was to arise, to suite their individual agendas, and would cause a great loss of human life, and further untold human misery in the future in Ireland.

    The Catholic Rent of the Catholic Association was now termed the "O Connell Tribute," but his political association with the Whigs in the Westminster Parliament while trying to gain more reform, if they should eventually get iback nto Government in Britain, did not sit too well with the population in Ireland, and this began to effect his personal prestige and the result of this was that the income from this source was to slowly dwindle away to almost nothing over the years that lie ahead. 

     Thomas Francis Meagher's father, who was a merchant, descended from the 85.Cian, and who was also in the Catholic Association was elected the first Catholic Mayor of Waterford in Co. Waterford in the south - east of the Munster Province, and eventually he was also to sit in the British Westminster House of Commons in 1833 AD and he sent his son, Thomas Francis Meagher / Maher to be educated by the Jesuits at Clongowes Wood in Co. Kildare in Central Southern Leinster who would later grow up to play a part in both Irish and American history.

     The Doneraile Conspiracy, occurred this year in Co. Cork in Southern Munster, with 4 alleged attempts on the Landed Gentry there, where they lived in fear of their tenants, but the charges were not proven, but there was a packed Court held, and the tenants there were "condemned to death" in batches until they were all to be saved by Daniel O Connell "The Liberator" from being hanged, who after finding out about the dilemma rode all through the night from his home in Derrynane in Co. Kerry to represent them.

      Also by now many of the Land Lords who held Estates in Ireland, were having economic Encumbrance problems due to the economic oppression by the merchants in the British Westminster Parliament, and many of them also due to their previous wasteful way of life, with one particular example of this being, Lord Audley who by now owed 25,000 pounds, which was more then his Estates were actually worth at Skibbereen and Skull in Co. Cork in Southern Munster. 

   J.J. Callinan, who was born in 1795 AD the poet, died this year.

1830 The "Tithe Wars," were to begin to occur from now on until 1838 AD, that were to start initially in Graigue in Co. Kilkenny in the south - west of Southern Leinster, against the continuing imposition of the Ascendancy Church of England / Ireland enforced Tithes on the tenants' crops and other property.

   The population in Ireland had also nearly doubled during the previous 100 years, with the biggest increase occurring since 1780 AD, with National schools and workhouses being constructed in the towns of Ennis, Kilrush, Scariff and Ennistymon, and another later on at Tulla, with all of these in Co. Clare in the north - west of the Munster Province and there was also a severe outbreak of Cholera this year, and in the 10 years that lay ahead the potato crop was to fail in 8 of them, and 200,000 people from Ireland were tomigrate to live in Liverpool in England to try and survive up until 1835 AD, as the fares to there were to be cheaper during that period.  

     The General Elections were held for the British Westminster Parliament in England, and among these were 30 M.P.s for ""Repeal of the Immoral Union," and because of this Daniel O Connell was to give his support to Earl / Charles Grey who was to be the newly elected Whig Prime Minister in England until 1834 AD, to try and bring about further reform in Ireland and from now on until then, he was also to continue to hold mass rallies in support of reform in Ireland, until he was to finally achieve a massive 750,000 crowd at Tara in Co. Meath in the north - east of Northern Leinster, which frightened the hell out of the Conservative Ascendancy Establishment. One of his supporters, Thomas Wyse, was now to be the elected M.P. for Co. Tipperary in the north - east of the Munster Province until 1832 AD while another M.P. William Plunkett, who had continued to support Catholic Emancipation after the death of Henry Grattan, was appointed the British Lord Chancellor in Ireland, by the British Whig Government, and Stanley the English Earl of Derby was appointed the British Whig Chief Secretary in Ireland until 1833 AD.   

     Rural violence was increasing over the ongoing continuing payment of the "enforced" Tithes to the Ascendancy Church of England / Ireland, which had previously begun in Southern Leinster, and spread throughout Ireland, while the Catholic Irish were still continuing to struggle to gain any further reforms in Ireland and the new British Whig Government also tried to intervene in the "enforced" Tithe collection, while the Land Lords and the tenants in Ireland on their Estates were still also in conflict over the enormous rents, which only continued to bring about further evictions, murders and the usual hangings that followed on from this. The "Whiteboys" and the "Cork Boys," were also still active on behalf of the tenant farmers, while the enforced Tithes to the Ascendancy Church of England / Ireland was also upsetting the Presbyterian Society, as the Dublin Castle's R.I.C. police and the British Military forces were being used by the British Whig Dublin Castle authorities to collect these Tithes during the "Tithe Wars."

     Millions of pounds of the rent money that was collected from the tenant farmers in Ireland, was continued to be sent and spent in England by the "Absentee" - Landlords, and their empty Mansions were everywhere, while their agent's also collected their commissions, which were amounts made up of any extra money that they could squeeze out of the Land Lord's tenants also and thiss was to prompt Daniel O Connell to try and introduce further radical legislation into the British Westminster Parliament in England to bring an end to all of these particular problems.  

     Meanwhile the "Orange Order," had been previously left untouched, when the Catholic Association was banned, as their Grand Master was the Duke of Cumberland, who was a brother to George 1V the German Hanoverian British King and they too were now also banned, as they had grown so cocky as to try to replace William IV the new German Hanoverian British King, with their own hardline anti - Catholic the Duke of Cambridge.

   William IV, the German Hanoverian British King, was to donate animals to the newly opened Dublin Zoo, which is now the second oldest Zoo in the World.

    This year also at Bunmahon in Co. Waterford in the south - east of the Munster Province, a Gaelic College was opened to save the Irish language.

   The Trappist monks had arrived from France, and settled on the slopes of Mount Mellaray at Knockmealdown also in Co. Waterford after being driven out of their own country at La Trappe near Orme in Normandy, by the latest French Revolution.

    Lucius Smith - O Brien who was now the non - Catholic Lord Inchiquin, who was heavily into horse racing, named Newmarket on the River Fergus, in anticipation of introducing the sport there, and had also built Dromoland Castle near the Mooghaun Fort site, further north off the Ennis road in Co. Clare in the north - west of Munster. (He was a brother to William Smith - O Brien the M.P. who had supported Catholic Emancipation. )

   Phil Sheridan / Ua Sirideain, who was from a Literary Family who had been an Erenagh Sept in Co. Longford in the north - west of Northern Leinster, who was later on to become the Commander - in - Chief of the American Army was born this year, 5 mile north - east of Virginia in Co. Cavan in Southern Ulster.

   The parish priest at the Cong Church in Co. Mayo in the mid - west of the Connacht Province, sold the "Cross of Cong" for 100 pounds to Professor Mac Cullagh to obtain enough funds to repair the church, who then gave it to the National Museum in Dublin were it still is and later on another parish priest from the Cong Church removed the Cross of Cong from Dublin, to return it to its rightful place, but it was eventually retrieved and returned to Dublin. 

   Achill Island, the largest island off of the Irish coast, composed of over 36,000 acres in Co. Mayo in the mid - west of the Connacht Province, was leased by The Church Missionary Society this year, who founded schools there using the Irish language, in a further attempt to convert the Irish Catholics there on the island, to become non - Catholics.

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