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bloodshed, and this acquiesce resulted in the dwindling of his
influence. In spite of the failed constitutional system,
O’Connell remained throughout the nineteenth century a hero
for moderate nationalists, upholding parliamentary reforms,
Jewish emancipation, and the abolition of slavery (Connolly,
1998: 399-400; Ruckenstein & O’Malley, 2003: 304-305).
Also involved in Repeal movements was Young Ireland, a
nationalist group active in the 1840s that was comprised
mainly of middle-class graduates from both Catholic and
Protestant backgrounds. Disappointed by the Liberator’s
retreat and critical of his constitutional methods, Young
Irelanders tackled O’Connell’s sectarian stance, supporting
political separation from England and identifying cultural
activity as the true course of a more ecumenical nationhood.
They founded the
Nation
in 1842, which published essays
concerning the Irish language, literature, history, and music,
and advocating political autonomy and cultural revival for a
nonsectarian Ireland (Connolly, 1998: 602-603; Kiberd, 1996:
22; Ruckenstein & O’Malley, 2003: 450). The group’s
principal figure was Thomas Davis. Convinced that it was
essential to reverse the Anglicization of Irish culture, Davis
argued for the revival of the Irish tongue, accentuated Irish
cultural self-reliance, and attempted to foster a nationality
uniting the Irish of all religious persuasions. His influence on
cultural nationalism persisted long after his death in 1845,
providing later leaders of the Celtic Revival with many crucial
ideas (Connolly, 1998: 137; Ruckenstein & O’Malley, 2003:
103-104).
The most important figure in post-Famine Ireland was
undisputedly Charles Stewart Parnell, who dominated Irish
political landscape in the last quarter of the nineteenth century.
The Protestant, Anglo-Irish leader, like the Catholic O’Connell,
pursued a purely constitutional campaign for Home Rule.
Through obstruction tactics in Parliament, he obtained the