Peel and the Irish Problem
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Peel and Ireland
• Peel had plenty of experience in Irish Affairs
when he came to power in 1841.
• He had been Chief Sec. for Ireland 1812-18 and
was Home secretary in Wellington’s government
when Catholic Emancipation was passed in 1829
• The Irish nationalist Daniel O’Connell possibly
unfairly nicknamed Peel ‘Orange Peel’ –
associating him with protestant opinion in Ireland
O’Connell’s Repeal Movement
• On coming to power Peel was faced with a movement
for the repeal of the 1800 Act of Union between
England and Ireland which had made Ireland part of
the UK.
• This was led by the ageing Irish nationalist Daniel
O’Connell.
• O’Connell was an peaceful protestor – however there
was also a growing ‘Young Ireland’ movement
committed to independence for Ireland using any
means. Some historians have suggested that Peel’s
policy in Ireland indirectly resulted in the growth of
such ‘Fenianism’ (militant Irish nationalism)
How Effectively did peel deal with the
Repeal Movement?
• O’Connell and his supporters hoped that
Chartism would provide a distraction for the
British whilst their campaign progressed
• Peel showed he had no intention of being
distracted when in 1843 ne passed a Coercion Act
which banned O’Connell’s proposed mass
meeting for repeal at Clontarf
• O’Connell was arrested on a charge of conspiracy
and Peel turned his attention to the Irish Problem
Consequences of Clontarf
• Irish nationalism started to move away from
O’Connell’s peaceful constitutional means
towards more violent means – the British
government had shown its colours!
• Peel introduced a number of measure in an
attempt to appeal to moderate opinion in
Ireland and improve the lot of Irish peasant
farmers
Economic Problems
• Except for a few in the North there were no industries in Ireland
and very few raw materials
• Population was rising quickly and the vast majority had to live off
the land – (5 million to 8.25 million 1800-1845)
• Most of the land was owned by the English or Anglo Irish
protestants – the Irish had to rent land to farm it at excessive rents
and with short and unextendable leases.
• Farming was unprogressive and almost medieval – tiny small
holdings, no crop rotation, highly labour intensive
• Living conditions were just about the worst in Europe. The majority
of the population lived in single room huts (constructed of mud)
and the staple diet was the potato as this was all that could be
grown in sufficient bulk to feed the population – this single crop
reliance meant that when the potato blight of 1845 arrived a
famine occurred which killed over 1 million Irish peasants
Peel’s Policy Pre-Famine
• Peel as a Conservative wanted to ‘conserve’ or
keep the Union between England and Ireland.
• To achieve this he introduce measures to;
1. Improve the lives of ordinary Irish peasant
2. Win over moderate Catholic opinion
3. Resist by coercive measures if necessary
movements for Irish nationalism violent or
peaceful
The Devon Commission 1843
• In 1843 Peel appointed Lord Devon to set up a committee to
investigate the problem of land tenure in Ireland with the intention
of legislating on his recommendations
• Devon identified 3 main problems
1. Leases – British landlords leased the land to the Irish peasants on
very unfavourable terms – high rents, short leases – there was
therefore no incentive for those who farmed the land to make
improvements in their methods
2. Low Prices - Irish agriculture had been in recession since 1815 –
prices were low and much farming little more than subsistence
3. Population growth and lack on industry meant that a rapidly
growing population had to be sustained by the land
Small holdings, high rents, insecure leases, low prices and rising
population all led the Irish to a reliance on the crop which could
sustain life the easiest – the potato
Peel’s Defeat over Devon Commission
• In the light of the Devon Commission Peel
attempted to pass a law which whilst leaving
the terms of existing leases intact would offer
financial incentives to tenant farmers who
either innovated in farming methods or
introduced improvements on their farms.
• The Bill was rejected overwhelmingly by the
Tory Lords
Governance for Ireland
• Peel’s next policy was to introduce a form of
separate administration for Ireland – he hoped
that this would be more responsive to Irish needs
• Lord Heytesbury was appointed Lord Lieutenant
of Ireland and given considerable local powers
over infrastructure, transport, the administration
of the Poor Law etc.
• Heytesbury was instructed to listen to and grant
concessions to moderate Catholic opinion – a
partial success and certainly an improvement on
what went before
Irish (Provincial) Colleges Bill 1844
• Peel’s idea was to improve relations between
Catholics and Protestants by introducing non
sectarian approach to education.
• He introduced 3 new Colleges fore Queens
College which were to be open to all Irishmen
regardless of religion. These were set up in
Belfast, Cork and Galway.
• The measure was resisted furiously by both sides
of the divide – Anglicans and ultra Tories saw it as
a ‘betrayal’ and O’Connell and the Catholics
labelled them as ‘Godless Colleges’
The Maynooth Grant 1845
• This was a further attempt by peel to win over
moderate catholic opinion.
• Maynooth College was the place where Irish catholic
priests were trained.
• In 1845 Peel granted them an extra 30,000 pounds
• This was clever – peel saw the crucial role the
priesthood had in Ireland
• Despite a rebellion of 149 Tory M.P’s the bill was
passed and the grant given
• Peel was again subject to accusations of betrayal by
Anglicans and Tories
The Famine
• The greatest human tragedy of the 19th century – I million dies and
0.5 million emigrated
• The famine pushed Peel into repealing the Corn Laws during the
struggle for which he argued that no human foodstuff should be
taxed in such circumstances.
• The repeal of the CLs had little impact on famine, the causes of
which were structural and based on the settlement of Ireland in the
16th century by the English, the appropriation of all the land, the
short leases and high rents, rising population and ultimate reliance
on one crop.
• Arguably as a direct result of the Famine and the inadequate
response to it by the British, Irish nationalism moved away from the
peaceful constitutional approach permanently – indeed there
followed a period of violent revolts in Ireland and terrorist attacks in
England between 1865-7 called the ‘Fenian Outrages’
Coercion Bill and Peel’s resignation
• Post the Repeal of the CLs Peel’s last act as PM
was an attempt to restore order in Ireland by
introducing a Coercion Bill which would have
allowed for emergency special powers in
Ireland.
• The Bill was defeated by an alliance of ultra
Tories still smarting from the CLs, the whigs
and the Irish M.P.s and Peel resigned.