From: "Edmundo Murray"
Subject: Irish to Argentina Lists

Dear Friends,

Some news from the Irish Diaspora Studies in Argentina web site:
http://mypage.bluewin.ch/emurray

The list 'Irish Passengers to Argentina' has been improved and
augmented,
reaching 7,159 records. Early twentieth-century arrivals were added
thanks
to the cooperation of Alicia Bernasconi from CEMLA, Buenos Aires, and
Mike
Geraghty. Also, a new list has been included, 'Irish Settlers in
Argentina',
from Coghlan 1987, with 4,348 records. My acknowledgment in this case
goes
to the generosity of Martha Coghlan and Margarita O'Farrell de Coghlan.
As
usual, the Département d'histoire démographique in Geneva was incredibly

helpful to input data.

In addition, the articles 'The Irish Road to Argentina:
Nineteenth-Century
Travel Patterns from Ireland to the River Plate' and 'From Kilrane to
the
Irish Pampas: The Thriving Story of John James Murphy' received changes
in
consideration of new documents found.

I hope you enjoy this new material. Best regards... Edmundo

Edmundo Murray
Université de Genève
Maison Rouge
1261 Burtigny Switzerland
+41 22 739 5049
edmundo_murray[at]hotmail.com
Irish Diaspora Studies in Argentina: http://mypage.bluewin.ch/emurray
---------------------------------------------
>>>IMPORTANT NOTICE >>> Should you need to send photos or files larger
>>>than
>>>200K (in total), please send them to edmundo.murray[at]wto.org
THANK YOU!

From: McCaffrey
Organization: Johns Hopkins University


Paddy,

I found the following very interesting especially in the light of recent

discussions on Irish behavioural patterns. I cut and pasted it from
today's Irish Independent.

Carmel


Greying of the green as birth rates take nose dive


THE age profile of Irish people is rising, they are more likely to live
in urban areas, and more of them are opting not to have children than
ever before, according to the latest analysis of the 2002 census.

Almost 6pc of the population is made up of non-nationals, according to
demographic results released by the Central Statistics Office yesterday.

A surge in immigration figures in recent years has also had implications

for religion, with the proportion of Roman Catholics down from 91.6pc of

the population in 1996 to 88.4pc in 2002. The number of Muslims in the
country has more than quadrupled to 19,000, while the long-term decline
in the numbers recorded as belonging to the Church of Ireland,
Methodist, and Presbyterian churches has been reversed.

Over two million people, or over 50pc of the population, now live in
Leinster. The number of separated/divorced people in the country has
increased from 87,800 in 1996 to 133,800 in 2002, while the number of
divorced people has more than trebled to 35,100, reflecting the
legalisation of divorce in 1997.

The population aged by a year to an average of 35.1 between 1996 and
2002, but we're still the youngest nation in the EU.

The average family size has dropped from 2.2 children to 1.6, while the
number of couples living together, whether married or unmarried, who do
not have children has jumped by 40pc from 1996 to 2002, the census
found.

Cohabiting couples accounted for 8.4pc of all family units last year -
up from less than four per cent in 1996.

The number of gay couples recorded as living together increased from 150

to 1,300 last year.

Reports and analysis:

Marese McDonagh

From Email Patrick O'Sullivan

The latest issues of 2 of our important journals are now being
distributed...

Irish Historical Studies, XXXIII, No. 130, November 2002, edited by
David Hayton and John McCafferty, is its usual authoritative self - I
would call special attention to Niall O Ciosain's review of Housyton,
Madness and Society in C18th Scotland.

Irish University Review, 33, 1, Spring/Summer 2003, is a special issue
edited by Anne Fogarty - New Perspectives on the Irish Literary Revival.
It is an interesting and useful collection. I particularly welcome
Brian O Conchubhair on the Gaelic Font Controversy - an article which,
for me, fills a long felt need. A need felt since reading Lynam, The
Irish Character in Print, a long time ago - I remember ordering the book
up, thinking, Oh Heck, more about the Stage Irishman. But, no, a very
satisying book about print technologies...

Irish University Review is distributed top all members of IASIL. I do
find it frustrating that there is no easy way of getting hold of the
Table of Contents of these 2 important journals for onward distribution
- - the TOCs must exist on someone's computer, somewhere. Scanning TOCs
is time-consuming, and actually very difficult - the green cover of IHS
is impossible to scan.

P.O'S.


- --
Patrick O'Sullivan
Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit

Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Personal Fax 0044 (0) 709 236 9050

Irish-Diaspora list
Irish Diaspora Studies http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/diaspora/
Irish Diaspora Net Archive http://www.irishdiaspora.net

Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Department of Social Sciences and Humanities
University of Bradford
Bradford BD7 1DP
Yorkshire
England

From: "MacEinri, Piaras"
To: "'irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk'"
Subject: RE: Ir-D Closure of Irish Centre for Migration Studies 10

Dear friends and colleagues

A quick word, after several days of silence, to say, on my own behalf
and that of colleagues Jason King, Aki Stavrou and Jennifer O'Riordan,
that we are most deeply appreciative of all the messages of support
which have come to me directly, or which were posted to the list, or
which appeared in the columns of the Irish national newspapers
yesterday. The response has been truly humbling. Whatever happens, it
matters very much to know that such strong support exists in so many
quarters and that we are a part of such a farflung and powerful
community.

For reasons which I am sure you will all understand I am precluded at
present from commenting on matters of substance, including the very
pertinent points made about such issues as the future of Irish migration
studies and Irish studies generally on this and other campuses and the
lack of interest in some quarters in both the Irish Diaspora and new
migrant communities in this country. But I hope that this debate
continues and helps to influence attitudes and thinking on these
questions.

I have no idea what will happen next, but I will keep the list informed
of developments to the maximum possible extent.

With heartfelt thanks,

Piaras Mac Einri

From:
To: irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk
Subject: Re: Ir-D From Piaras Mac Einri

Does 'yesterday', in relation to newspaper columns, mean Saturday, and
do these newspapers include The Irish Times? If so, where, exactly?

I only have Saturday's IT so would be grateful if anyone could tell me
where I might find the piece. Thank you.

I look forward to the time when Piaras himself can 'go public' on this
scandal...


Ultan Cowley


< Subject: RE: Ir-D Closure of Irish Centre for Migration Studies 10

<
< Dear friends and colleagues
<
< A quick word, after several days of silence, to say, on my own behalf
< and that of colleagues Jason King, Aki Stavrou and Jennifer
O'Riordan, < that we are most deeply appreciative of all the messages
of support < which have come to me directly, or which were posted to
the list, or < which appeared in the columns of the Irish national
newspapers < yesterday. The response has been truly humbling. Whatever
happens, it < matters very much to know that such strong support exists
in so many < quarters and that we are a part of such a farflung and
powerful < community. <
< For reasons which I am sure you will all understand I am precluded at
< present from commenting on matters of substance, including the very <
pertinent points made about such issues as the future of Irish migration
< studies and Irish studies generally on this and other campuses and
the < lack of interest in some quarters in both the Irish Diaspora and
new < migrant communities in this country. But I hope that this debate
< continues and helps to influence attitudes and thinking on these <
questions. <
< I have no idea what will happen next, but I will keep the list
informed < of developments to the maximum possible extent. <
< With heartfelt thanks,
<
< Piaras Mac Einri
<
<

From: "MacEinri, Piaras"
To: "'irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk'"
Subject: closure of ICMS

In my last note I omitted to thank Paddy O'Sullivan for his own
indefagitable work and for providing an essential point of contact for
all with an interest in Irish migration and Irish diaspora studies. The
fact that such powerful support could be mobilised so quickly in our own
case is in itself a tribute to the effectiveness of the list.

I would also particularly like to thank those individuals who did so
much work in drafting material and contacting people about this matter.

Piaras

From: "MacEinri, Piaras"
To: "'irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk'"
Subject: RE: Ir-D UCC closure of centre condemned

Hello Paddy

I have no wish to test the patience of list members who must by now be
growing weary of this saga. I would much rather that the Centre and all
working in it were not the story, but rather that we could get on with
our work, which I do believe is worthwhile and important. However,
matters have now reached the point where the university authorities have
chosen to put a deliberate spin of a grossly misleading and inaccurate
kind on the Centre's funding and on the manner in which it was decided
to close it. The Examiner report is a good piece of work but contains
two misleading statements (no fault of the journalist, who was misled).
I have issued the statement below. It may give list readers some
impressions about the manner in which matters have been handled here.

Regards to all,

Piaras

TO THE IRISH EXAMINER...

I refer to the report in today's Examiner of the proposed closure of the
ICMS. In the course of an otherwise excellent report two statements are
made which require correction or clarification. The statements are
attributed to a spokesperson of UCC and are seriously inaccurate and
misleading. As I am mentioned by name in the report and both statements
could have implications for my professional reputation and integrity, I
wish to exercise a right of reply on these matters and I would be
grateful if the Examiner could publish these corrections with a degree
of prominence comparable to the original story.

In the fourth paragraph of the published report the university's
spokesperson is quoted as saying 'the centre had not generated any
income for a considerable amount of time'. This is untrue. The Centre
has raised very substantial funding since its inception and has
continued to do so. Funders for the period 2001-2003 have included the
British Council, the Department of Family and Social Affairs, Cork City
Partnership, Cork City VEC, Cork City Development Council, Cork County
Development Board, FÁS, the Ireland Funds, the European Commission, the
Higher Education Authority, the Task Force on Emigration, the Royal
Irish Academy and the National Consulative Committee on Racism and
Interculturlism. Grants and awards have varied from EUR3,000 to
EUR35,000.

Paragraph eight of your report says that the decision to close the
centre 'was based on advice from the board of the centre, of which
centre director Piaras Mac Éinrí is secretary'. The reader might be
forgiven for concluding from the foregoing that I was a party to the
decision. In fact, as the other members of the Board of the Centre were
aware, I was out of the country as an invited speaker at an
international conference in the USA at the time. The recommendation to
close 'as soon as possible' came without warning and without
consultation. Proposals which had been made by me, and which would have
had the effect of insulating UCC from any further minor operating
deficits, were not taken into consideration and the proposal to close
the Centre was not debated in any of the relevant College bodies e.g.
faculty or academic council.

The Centre has achieved a consistently high research output and, while
small, has been able to attract Irish and international scholars and
researchers, often bringing their own funding (e.g. EU Marie Curie
Fellowship, Government of Ireland postdoctoral award, US George Mitchell
scholarship etc). This has enabled us to provide a uniquely focused
approach to a related set of issues (Irish emigrant experiences, asylum
and immigration issues in Ireland today and in the future) of central
importance to the nation today.

From Email Patrick O'Sullivan

This is an exciting announcement...

The June 2003 issue of the Journal of American History is now being
distributed - information at...
http://www.indiana.edu/~jah/

The JAH articles are nowadays usually available on the web through the
History Cooperative system - but this new issue has not yet made it
through that process.

In the Journal of American History
June 2003
Volume 90, No. 1

There is a

Special Essay

Diaspora and Comparison: The Global Irish as a Case Study

Kevin Kenny

ABSTRACT
How do immigration and ethnicity fit into the recent efforts of American
historians to write transnational history? Surveying studies of Irish
immigration, Kevin Kenny evaluates current scholarly efforts to put
migration in global context. Diasporic approaches examine the movement
of people, capital, and ideas across national and regional boundaries,
and they highlight reciprocal interactions and a common sensibility in a
globally scattered population. But the concept of diaspora obscures the
emergence in countries of settlement of nationally specific ethnicities
that differentiate an ostensibly unitary people, be they Irish, Italian,
or African. Understanding American immigration and ethnicity in global
context thus requires a powerful and flexible framework of inquiry that
combines both cross-national comparison and diasporic history.

We will all want to read this essay...

Patrick O'Sullivan


- --
Patrick O'Sullivan
Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit

Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Personal Fax 0044 (0) 709 236 9050

Irish-Diaspora list
Irish Diaspora Studies http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/diaspora/
Irish Diaspora Net Archive http://www.irishdiaspora.net

Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Department of Social Sciences and Humanities
University of Bradford
Bradford BD7 1DP
Yorkshire
England

From: Brian Lambkin
To: "'irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk'"
Subject: RE: Ir-D Query, Proposed Closure of ICMS

Irish Times and Irish Independent, Friday 20 June 2003
Brian

- -----Original Message-----
From:
To: irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk
Subject: Re: Ir-D From Piaras Mac Einri

Does 'yesterday', in relation to newspaper columns, mean Saturday, and
do these newspapers include The Irish Times? If so, where, exactly?

I only have Saturday's IT so would be grateful if anyone could tell me
where I might find the piece. Thank you.

I look forward to the time when Piaras himself can 'go public' on this
scandal...


Ultan Cowley

<

The following item has been forwarded to us...

P.O'S.

- -----Original Message-----

FROM..
http://www.examiner.ie/

23/06/03
UCC closure of centre condemned

By Catherine Shanahan
LEADING academics and immigrant support groups have condemned the
decision by University College Cork (UCC) to close the Irish Centre for
Migration Studies.

A spokeswoman for the university confirmed the centre, which carries out
research on migration and asylum seeker issues for academic, government,
EU and non-governmental agencies, is likely to close in October.

The spokeswoman said the decision was based on financial grounds. "Given
the current financial constraints it was not possible for the funding to
continue," she said.

She said the centre had not generated any income for a considerable
amount of time. However, executive chairwoman of the Immigration Council
of Ireland Sr Stanislaus Kennedy slammed the decision.

"We are taken aback because the centre was providing an invaluable
service in terms of good accurate information on immigration and
migration," she said.

She said the role the centre had played in terms of raising public
awareness of immigration and migration issues could not be
under-estimated.

She also said no education centre should be expected to operate on a
business model, generating income.

A spokeswoman for UCC said the decision by the president of the college
to close the centre was based on advice from the board of the centre, of
which centre director Piaras Mac Éinrí is secretary.

Mr Mac Éinrí was out of the country on Friday and could not be
contacted.

Sr Stanislaus has called for a reversal of the closure.

Her call is supported by academics worldwide, including director of the
London-based Institute for the Study of European Transformations
Professor Mary Hickman; Chair in Canadian-Irish studies in Concordia
University Montreal Prof Michael Kenneally and director of the
Irish-Scottish studies programme at Victoria University, Wellington Dr
Brad Patterson.

In a protest letter last week 60 international academics said closing
the centre would negate the pioneering work done by Mr Mac Éinrí and
would deprive academic policy, NGOs and statutory communities of a vital
source of research and knowledge.

The centre has lobbied in the past for better treatment of asylum
seekers

From Email Patrick O'Sullivan


Forwarded on behalf of...

Dr. Nicola Nixon
History Department
University of Melbourne
nnixon[at]unimelb.edu.au

CALL FOR PAPERS

13TH IRISH-AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE
MELBOURNE, 29 SEPT. - 1 OCT. 2004

Irish Spaces: Homeland and Asylum, Empire and Diaspora

This international Irish Studies conference welcomes papers relating to
Ireland, to the Irish abroad and to the Irish in Australia, in areas
such as, literature, language, critical theory, history, politics,
religion, gender, migration, geography, economics and music. Topics that
COULD be addressed include:

New Emigrants from Ireland: Professionals and Backpackers
New Immigrants to Ireland: Returning Emigrants and Asylum Seekers
The Irish, Empire and Indigenous Peoples
The Irish, the Scots and the Scots-Irish: Celtic Friends or Foes
Irish Catholicism: its Rise and Fall?
Celtic Spirituality
The Celtic Tiger: Endangered Species?
Northern Ireland: Whither the Peace Process?
The Irish, War and Terrorism
The Irish Language Abroad
The Irish Contribution to Folk and Traditional Music
'Irishmen and Irishwomen': Gender in Ireland and/or the Diaspora
The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing: an Appraisal
Revising Patrick O'Farrell's History of Irish Australia
Irish Poetry and Drama in the Diaspora/Irish-Diaspora Poetry and Drama
James Joyce in Australia and New Zealand
Irish Studies: their Future in the 21st Century

The conference will be based at the University of Melbourne. A website
containing a programme and registration form, plus information on travel
and accommodation, will be set up later this year.

Inquiries and offers of papers, with a title and a 100-word synopsis,
should be sent before 1 October 2003 to:

Professor Elizabeth Malcolm
Department of History
University of Melbourne
Parkville, Victoria, 3010
Australia

Phone: +61-3-8344 3924
FAX: +61-3-8344 7894
Email: e.malcolm[at]unimelb.edu.au

From: Dr Joan Allen
To: irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk
Subject: RE: Ir-D Treason Felony Act 2

otherwise known as the Crown and Security Act- prompted by a growing
tide of
Irish unrest which was associated in the minds of the government with
Chartism and the wave of revolutionary activity across Europe. Davis
says that
the 'purpose of the bill was to introduce a new category of offence-
that of
'open and advised speaking' in what might be deemed a treasonable
fashion'.
those were the days...
best
Joan

===== Original Message From irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk =====
>
>Young Irelanders?
>
>Spell it out for me please, Paddy!
>
>James.
>

Lecturer in Modern British History
School of Historical Studies
University of Newcastle
NE1 7RU
Tel 0191 222 6701

From Email Patrick O'Sullivan

The Treason Felony Act 1848 has a special place in Irish history, of
course... Well, you don't have to worry about it any more...

P.O'S.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,985915,00.html

Guardian vindicated in treason case

Clare Dyer, legal correspondent
Friday June 27, 2003
The Guardian

Advocating the abolition of the monarchy in print is lawful and no one
can be prosecuted for it, despite a 19th-century act still on the
statute book that bans it, five law lords confirmed yesterday.
Judges in the Lords said the Guardian had acted lawfully in its campaign
calling for a referendum on whether Britain should become a republic.

Lord Scott said the paper, which challenged the lawfulness of the
Treason Felony Act 1848, could regard the law lords' unanimous endorse
ment as "a successful outcome to their litigation"...

From Email Patrick O'Sullivan

I know that some members of the Ir-D list are interested in the career
of Gareth Peirce (note the spelling - though you do see it spelt in all
sorts of ways). She was played by Emma Thompson in the 1993 movie In
the Name of the Father - a film which decided that the complexities of
English law were too complex for moviegoers. Maybe fair enough - given
the complexities of the case, outlined in this item below, which started
Gareth Peirce on that specialised career...

P.O'S.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/story/0,3605,983665,00.html

'It never feels a triumph'

Gareth Peirce has fought some of the most important appeals against
miscarriages of justice. Next week, the case that launched her career
comes back to the court of appeal for the sixth time. In a rare
interview she speaks to Bob Woffinden

Tuesday June 24, 2003
The Guardian

Next week, one of the most remarkable cases in the history of English
criminal justice will go back to the court of appeal for the sixth time.
The Luton post office murder case was to launch Gareth Peirce on her
career as a celebrated righter of miscarriages of justice and to become
a battleground between the executive and the judiciary. The two men
convicted of the murder, David Cooper and Michael McMahon, were
eventually released by order of the home secretary, in 1980, but they
died in the 1990s, their convictions still unquashed despite five
appeals. Now, posthumously, they may get justice at last.

From Email Patrick O'Sullivan

Eric G.E. Zuelow's
Nationalism Project is turning into a useful resource - opinionated, but
all the better for that...
http://www.nationalismproject.org/index.htm

Eric Zuelow himself is writing on Tourism and National Identity in
Ireland.

The Nationalism Project houses and leads to a number of items of
interest... For example...

http://www.nationalismproject.org/articles/Pero/title.html
Competing National Ideologies, Cyclical Responses:
The Mobilisation of the Irish, Basque and Croat National Movements to
Rebellion Against the State
By
Peter Anthony Ercegovac

http://www.nationalismproject.org/articles/packerland.html
PACKERLAND AS FATHERLAND: The Making of Wisconsin as a Nation, as
demonstrated in the Green Bay Packers 1997 Super Bowl Victory
By Zoltan Grossman

Links to other sites include...
http://www.kie.berkeley.edu/people/foley/thesis.html
Irish Nationalism in California

P.O'S.

From:
Subject: Re: Ir-D Treason Felony Act 1848
To: irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk


Young Irelanders?

Spell it out for me please, Paddy!

James.

--- irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk wrote:
>
> From Email Patrick O'Sullivan
>
> The Treason Felony Act 1848 has a special place in Irish history, of
> course... Well, you don't have to worry about it any more...
>
> P.O'S.
>

From: Elizabeth Malcolm
Subject: Re: Ir-D Treason Felony Act 3


Yes, and my understanding also is - I don't have books to hand - that
John Mitchel was the first to be convicted under the act in May 1848.
He was transported to Van Diemens Land for his newspaper articles
attacking the monarchy. This of course was before the rebellion.
Smith O'Brien was then convicted under the act as well, after the
rebellion. His actions, on the face of it, would seem to qualify as
high treason, warranting execution, not 'merely' treason felony,
warranting transportation. But, interestingly, the British government
appears to have been most reluctant to execute Young Irelanders. It
was certainly less squeamish before about Irish rebels, and after.
(If Mitchel had advocated a referendum, rather than a rebellion,
would that have saved him from transportation, as it appears to have
done the editor of 'The Guardian'??)

Elizabeth Malcolm



>From: Dr Joan Allen
>To: irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk
>Subject: RE: Ir-D Treason Felony Act 2
>
>otherwise known as the Crown and Security Act- prompted by a growing
>tide of Irish unrest which was associated in the minds of the
>government with Chartism and the wave of revolutionary activity across
>Europe. Davis says that
>the 'purpose of the bill was to introduce a new category of offence-
>that of
>'open and advised speaking' in what might be deemed a treasonable
>fashion'.
>those were the days...
>best
>Joan
>
>===== Original Message From irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk =====
> >
> >Young Irelanders?
> >
> >Spell it out for me please, Paddy!
> >
> >James.
> >
>
Dr Elizabeth Malcolm
Gerry Higgins Professor of Irish Studies
Deputy Head
Department of History
University of Melbourne
Parkville, Victoria, 3010
AUSTRALIA

Telephone: +61-3-8344 3924
FAX: +61-3-8344 7894
Email: e.malcolm[at]unimelb.edu.au
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------

From: "Bronwen Walter"
To:
Subject: Irish 2 Project

Dear Paddy,

An update on the Irish 2 Project. This can be followed on the website
www.anglia.ac.uk/geography/progess/irish2/
which has copies of the newsletters and the final report to the ESRC.

Sarah Morgan and I had a feedback and discussion sessions with Coventry
participants in June and will be visiting Manchester, Banbury and London
in September/October. Joe Bradley will do the same in Scotland.

The first publication appeared in the Scottish Geographical Journal
118.3:210-217 (abstract below)and others are in the pipeline.


Family stories, public silence: Irish identity construction amongst the
second generation in Britain

ABSTRACT

Formal narratives of history, especially that of colonial oppression,
have been central to the construction of national identities in Ireland.
But the diasporic community in Britain has been cut off from the
reproduction of these narratives, most notably by their absence from the
curriculum of Catholic schools, as result of the unofficial
'denationalisation' pact agreed by the Church in the nineteenth century
(Hickman 1995). The reproduction of Irish identities is largely a
private matter, carried out within the home through family accounts of
local connections, often reinforced by extended visits to parent/s
'home' areas. Recapturing a public dimension has often become a personal
quest in adulthood, 'filling in the gaps'. This paper explores
constructions of narratives of nation by a key diasporic population,
those with one or two Irish-born parents. It places particular emphasis
on varying regional/national contexts within which such constructions
take place, drawing on focus group discussions and interviews for the
ESRC-funded Irish 2 Project in five locations - London, Glasgow,
Manchester, Coventry and Banbury.



All the best

Bronwen Walter

-------------------------------------------------------
Bronwen Walter
B.Walter[at]apu.ac.uk
-------------------------------------------------------

From: "Bryan P. McGovern"
Organization: University of Missouri
Subject: Re: Ir-D Treason Felony Act 4

Not only was Mitchel the first convicted under the treason felony act,
the law was passed to ensure his conviction. It was an ex post facto
law. The British government had already planned to arrest Mitchel on
the charge of sedition for articles he had written in the United
Irishman. However, William Smith O'Brien and Thomas Francis Meagher had
already been tried and acquitted for sedition, and the British
Parliament wanted to ensure that Mitchel, deemed the most dangerous man
in Ireland, was convicted for his "crimes." Thus, the treason-felony
act applied to Mitchel's acts before the law was passed.

I would assume that one reason Mitchel was not executed was the dubious
nature of the law itself. Perhaps more importantly, rebellions had just
broken out in France a couple months earlier, and I'm sure the British
government realized that the execution of a man like Mitchel would be
counter-productive in their attempts to quell rebellious sentiment in
Ireland, especially in Dublin where Mitchel was tried. Mitchel's
conviction caused a great deal of furor as it was, even in places like
Manchester and London where the Chartists and Irish exiles had begun to
cooperate to some degree. There are clearly other reasons -- Mitchel's
class, religious, and education status; the fact that he had not
actually caused or led a rebellion; etc.

Dr. Bryan McGovern
Visiting Assistant Professor
History Department
Quincy University

From: patrick maume
Sender: P.Maume[at]Queens-Belfast.AC.UK
To: irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk

From: Patrick MAume
One point about the Act which aroused much comment was precisely
that the offence was defined as a felony - i.e those convicted
were to be treated as ordinary criminals and not political
prisoners. Ths led to some of Mitchel's supporters producing a
short-lived journal, THE IRISH FELON, and to the Fenian-era
ballad which proclaimed "The felon's cap's the noblest crown/ An
Irish head can wear".
Best wishes,
Patrick

>
> From: Elizabeth Malcolm
> Subject: Re: Ir-D Treason Felony Act 3
>
>
> Yes, and my understanding also is - I don't have books to hand - that
> John Mitchel was the first to be convicted under the act in May 1848.
> He was transported to Van Diemens Land for his newspaper articles
> attacking the monarchy. This of course was before the rebellion.
> Smith O'Brien was then convicted under the act as well, after the
> rebellion. His actions, on the face of it, would seem to qualify as
> high treason, warranting execution, not 'merely' treason felony,
> warranting transportation. But, interestingly, the British government
> appears to have been most reluctant to execute Young Irelanders. It
> was certainly less squeamish before about Irish rebels, and after.
> (If Mitchel had advocated a referendum, rather than a rebellion,
> would that have saved him from transportation, as it appears to have
> done the editor of 'The Guardian'??)
>
> Elizabeth Malcolm
>
>
>