The ''United Irishman'' was a nationalist weekly newspaper published by

John Mitchel John Mitchel ( ga, Seán Mistéal; 3 November 1815 – 20 March 1875) was an Irish nationalist activist, author, and political journalist. In the Great Famine (Ireland), Famine years of the 1840s he was a leading writer for The Nation (Irish n ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

in 1848. It was suppressed by the

British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

the same year.

History

From 1845,

had been invited by

Charles Gavan Duffy Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, KCMG, PC (12 April 1816 – 9 February 1903), was an Irish poet and journalist (editor of '' The Nation''), Young Irelander and tenant-rights activist. After emigrating to Australia in 1856 he entered the politics o ...

, co-founder and first editor of ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's ''The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'' (a paper supporting

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

Repeal Association The Repeal Association was an Irish mass membership political movement set up by Daniel O'Connell in 1830 to campaign for a repeal of the Acts of Union of 1800 between Great Britain and Ireland. The Association's aim was to revert Ireland to th ...

) to write for that paper. He became part of the

Young Ireland Young Ireland ( ga, Éire Óg, ) was a political and cultural movement in the 1840s committed to an all-Ireland struggle for independence and democratic reform. Grouped around the Dublin weekly ''The Nation'', it took issue with the compromise ...

movement and after the schism in the Repeal Association, he formed the Irish Confederation, with

Thomas Reilly Thomas Francis Reilly (born February 14, 1942) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 45th Massachusetts Attorney General. He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts to Irish immigrant parents. He was one of three candidates who ...

William O'Brien William O'Brien (2 October 1852 – 25 February 1928) was an Irish nationalist, journalist, agrarian agitator, social revolutionary, politician, party leader, newspaper publisher, author and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of ...

and led by Thomas Meagher. Dissatisfied with his lot at ''The Nation'', he favoured a more "vigorous policy against the English government" and resigned in 1847. From his office at 12 Trinity Street, Dublin, he printed and published the first issue of the ''United Irishman'' on 12 February 1848. Other Young Ireland contributors included John Martin,

Thomas Devin Reilly Thomas Devin Reilly ''(Tomás Damhán Ó Raghailligh)'' (30 March 1824 – 5 March 1854) was an Irish revolutionary, Young Irelander and journalist. Early life and Young Ireland Thomas Devin Reilly was born in Monaghan Town on 30 March 1824, t ...

and the nationalist Roman Catholic priest, John Kenyon. The contents included articles and letters citing public grievances (which were discussed in Parliament), promoting Irish independence, and reporting the general European unrest of the time, including the Chartist movement in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. On 24 February, Edward Smith-Stanley, then known as Lord Stanley, highlighted the ''United Irishman'' in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

and quoted Mitchel's published "letter" to the

Earl of Clarendon Earl of Clarendon is a title that has been created twice in British history, in 1661 and 1776. The family seat is Holywell House, near Swanmore, Hampshire. First creation of the title The title was created for the first time in the Pee ...

, George Villiers, which he claimed fomented sedition. On 21 March, O'Brien and Meagher were charged with making seditious speeches and Mitchel was charged with publishing three seditious articles in the ''United Irishman''. Mitchel's words - saying that he was guilty of sedition and wanting to overthrow the Government - were quoted by

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, G ...

in the first reading of the Crown and Government Security Bill in

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

on 7 April. An article by Gavan Duffy in ''The Nation'' was quoted in the same speech as being of seditious nature. Mitchel was finally arrested. In the

U.K. Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

, a new crime of

treason felony The Treason Felony Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 12) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Parts of the Act are still in force. It is a law which protects the King and the Crown. The offences in the Act we ...

had been proposed and royal assent granted in April. Mitchel was duly charged with this crime. In the Commission Court on 22 May, after the Clerk of the Crown queried the foreman of the jury who said the bill against Mitchel was for "Sedition". The foreman replied, to laughter, "For treason, felony or whatever it is - I know not." On Friday, 26 May, Mitchel was found guilty and was the following day sentenced to transportation for 14 years to

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...

. Sixteen issues of the ''United Irishman'' had been printed. The last was on 27 May 1848 and covered at length Mitchel's court case and conviction. It included Mitchel's final contribution, penned in

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, ...

. After that issue, the Government seized the printing materials and suppressed further publication of the paper. In June, Martin printed and published

The Irish Felon The Irish Felon was a nationalist weekly journal printed in Dublin in 1848. Only five issues were published before its suppression by the British Government. History The '' United Irishman'' was a republican journal printed and published by ...

, a successor newspaper from the same Dublin office, honouring subscriptions to its predecessor. Martin suffered the same fate as Mitchel on 18 August.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:United Irishman Defunct newspapers published in Ireland Publications established in 1848 Defunct weekly newspapers Young Ireland 1848 disestablishments in Ireland