MAHELELAINE ANIS

LLCER M2 PARCOURS ANGLAIS (CEMU)

(M2ANG12) EC3 Civilisation anglophone

MAHELELAINE ANIS
 Ulster Opposition to Catholic Emancipation, 1828-9 is an article written by Suzanne T.
Kingon that discusses the opposition to the Catholic Emancipation in Ulster, a region in Ireland.
The opposition to the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 granted Catholics in the United
Kingdom the right to sit in Parliament and hold public office. This Act was passed in response
to growing demands for Catholic emancipation, or the end of discrimination against Catholics
in the UK, which had been in place since the 16th century. This process was opposed by many
Protestant members of the Anglican Church in Ireland, who formed the Ulster Opposition to
Catholic Emancipation. The Ulster Opposition was particularly strong in the northern province
of Ulster, where many Protestants feared that Catholic emancipation would lead to the loss of
their political and economic dominance. They argued that Catholics were not fit to hold political
office or participate in the political process because they were loyal to the Pope and the Catholic
Church, rather than to the state.

The Ulster Opposition was led by prominent Protestant politicians such as Henry Joy
McCracken and Thomas Steele, who organized a petition campaign and held public meetings
to rally support against Catholic emancipation. They also formed the Protestant Association, a
political organization dedicated to opposing Catholic emancipation and preserving Protestant
dominance in Ireland. Despite the efforts of the Ulster Opposition, Catholic emancipation was
eventually passed into law in 1829, largely due to the efforts of prominent politicians such as
Daniel O'Connell and the support of the British government. This marked a significant step
forward in the process of improving civil rights for Catholics in the United Kingdom, but it also
contributed to ongoing tensions between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland.

There was a popular opposition to Catholic relief, and this opposition was led by the
aristocracy and gentry. Petitioning and organized meetings were used as part of the campaign
against Catholic emancipation, petitions were usually parochial in nature, there was a lack of
elite leadership in organizing county-wide petitions. The exception was County Fermanagh,
where a county meeting was held to draw up a petition against Catholic claims, and where the
Orange Order; a Protestant military organization that had helped to secure Protestant privileges
in the late 18th and early 19th centuries; was involved in the campaign against Catholic
emancipation. Also, the divided views on Catholic emancipation among the Ulster aristocracy
and gentry, and the potential for sectarian violence as a factor in their reluctance to become
actively involved in opposing it. The political Catholic Association did not pose a direct threat
to lower-class Protestants in the way that the Defenders, a militant group that emerged in Ireland
in the late 18th century, had in the 1790s. However, the events of the 1820s had jeopardized the
"sectarian moral economy," which was a popular consensus that granted Protestants superior
political and economic status over Catholics.

The Catholic Association's campaign for emancipation prompted a great deal of alarm in the
Irish Protestant press, but there was initially little action taken in response. The Protestant
political classes were hesitant to support extra-parliamentary agitation, and preferred to
maintain a conciliatory stance towards the Catholic Association. Lower-class Protestants,
however, were deeply committed to the "sectarian moral economy," which granted them
superior political and economic status over Catholics and a special relationship with Protestant
landlords. The foundation of the Orange Order and the yeomanry in the late 1700s had secured
and consolidated this special relationship, but it was again threatened by the Catholic
Association's campaign for emancipation.

The Ulster Brunswick Constitutional Club was formed in September 1828 by the Ulster
Protestant elite in response to the Catholic Association's campaign for emancipation and the
perceived threat to Protestant privileges. The formation of the club was motivated by events on
the national stage, including the victory of Daniel O'Connell in Clare, which increased fears of
government concessions, and the formation of the Brunswick Constitutional Club of Great
Britain and the Brunswick Constitutional Club of Ireland. The Ulster Brunswick Club was led
by the aristocracy and gentry, while the anti-Lawless forces at Ballybay and Armagh were led
by plebeian Protestants. The club intended to extend branch societies throughout Ulster. The
Ulster Brunswick movement had two levels: county clubs and local clubs. County clubs were
more exclusive and had a higher subscription fee, and were largely led by the Church of Ireland
clergy. Local clubs were often led by the gentry and had a mix of clergy and secular leaders,
and sought to appeal to all classes of Protestants in order to create a united front against
Catholics. Members of the Protestant elite justified their opposition to Catholic demands on the
grounds of self-interest and the belief that Catholicism posed a threat to Protestantism and the
constitutional liberties established in 1688. The Brunswick clubs were seen as a "clerical
agitation" by the Northern Whig newspaper, but they had a solid secular leadership and were
supported by many members of the ascendancy. Its main goals were propaganda and
petitioning, and it sought to raise funds for legal protection for those who were harassed by the
Catholic Association. The movement spread quickly throughout Ulster and was supported by
the Church of Ireland clergy, as well as by a number of influential gentry and other prominent
figures. It was particularly active in urban areas and played a key role in the mobilization of
Protestant opposition to Catholic emancipation. The movement justified its exclusion of
Catholics from political office by claiming to be upholding the constitutional guarantees of civil
and religious liberty against Catholic fanaticism and tyranny.

The movement recruited widely among Protestant classes and sought to control lower-class
Protestants in order to prevent sectarian violence and sought to present itself as respectable and
independent-minded, in contrast to the supposedly misguided followers of the Catholic
Association. The movement portrayed Catholic leaders as the real enemies of the Catholic
peasantry, and emphasized the importance of civil society in relations between Protestants and
Catholics. The movement saw itself as upholding the principles of the Glorious Revolution,
including liberty, Protestantism, and limited religious toleration, and often identified itself with
the Old Whiggery of the time. The Motto of the Brown Square Brunswick Club was “religious
toleration and political liberty”.

Professor Jacqueline Hill conducted a study on the politics of Protestants in Dublin, and
recognized that the label of "Tory" did not fully capture the beliefs of those opposed to reform
in Dublin, Ireland. Instead, their principles were more closely aligned with those of the Old
Whigs. These opponents were primarily concerned with the alliance between the church and
state, and saw the threat to this alliance as a major issue. In Ulster, where there was a large
population of Dissenters, the emphasis was more on the civil and religious liberties afforded to
Protestants under the British constitution. Loyalty to the British monarchy and government was
also a key aspect of the anti-Catholic rhetoric in Ireland. This was demonstrated through the
toasts and songs of the Brunswick Clubs, which were organizations formed to oppose Catholic
emancipation, and was explicitly stated by speakers at the foundation of these clubs. Local
authorities also recognized the anti-Catholic focus on loyalty, with one chief constable noting
that Protestant political associations often drew a distinction between loyal members and those
of the Catholic faith as disloyal.

It is difficult to determine the exact level of popular support for the patrician appeal made in
the autumn of 1828 in Ireland, as newspaper reports of attendance at meetings are unreliable
and often conflicting. While the Protestant press tended to report high levels of attendance at
meetings, the liberal Northern Whig newspaper often claimed that these meetings were failures
in terms of turnout. When the Northern Whig did provide figures, it often sought to discredit
the caliber of the attendees. Despite these inconsistencies, there is evidence to suggest that there
was a general impression of large popular turnouts at Brunswick Club foundation meetings,
including a report from Lord Gosford and Major D'Arcy of large crowds at meetings in Ulster.
There was also considerable enthusiasm among lower-class Protestants for the elite leadership
offered by the patrician appeal, as demonstrated by the common practice of carrying the
chairman and his son on shoulders after meetings. However, the anti-Catholic sentiment
continued to be strong and was expressed through large county petitioning meetings that often
included elements of pageantry and parading. Some of these meetings were attended by armed
individuals and there was often a significant Orange presence. These meetings were held in
various counties in Ireland, including Tyrone, Londonderry, Fermanagh, Donegal, Cavan, and
Armagh. There were reports of shots being fired, although it was stated that they were fired
with blank cartridges.

It seems that the attitude of Ulster Protestants towards the government before February 1829
was one of uncertainty and mistrust. While some saw the Duke of Wellington and Peel as allies
in the fight against Catholic emancipation, others were not convinced of their commitment to
the cause and feared betrayal. The Brunswick campaign was seen as a way to show the
government the strength of Protestant support and to encourage them to stand firm against the
Catholic Association. However, there was also a sense of frustration with the government's
official neutrality on the issue and a belief that more needed to be done to protect Protestant
interests. This mistrust of the government was compounded by the perceived leniency of the
Irish executive towards the Catholic Association, leading to animosity towards the Dublin
administration.

After the announcement of the government's plans to legislate for Catholic relief, Ulster
Protestants loudly cried betrayal and demonized Wellington and Peel. However, there was a
lack of large-scale anti-Catholic activity in Ulster in early April 1829, and even hardline
supporters of the Protestant cause acknowledged that submission was their duty as the relief
bill was now part of the law of the land. Despite their hostility to the government, Ulster
Protestants did not distinguish between loyalty to the crown and loyalty to the particular
government in 1829 and only called for legal and constitutional methods of resistance, such as
a dissolution of Parliament and a general election. In the aftermath of Catholic relief, the
aristocracy and gentry retreated from public displays of Protestantism, but for lower and some
middle-class Protestants, the local "sectarian moral economy" took precedence and Orange
parades remained a way to declare their territorial supremacy over Catholics in their
neighborhoods. Sectarian violence broke out on a large scale on July 13, despite the
recommendation of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland to avoid public processions. Some
members of the middle classes and clergy still participated in these parades, as they had less to
lose from government disfavor and their faith in the government had been shattered. These
declarations of local supremacy became more appealing in this context.

the Brunswick movement was a failure as it lacked the necessary popular British support to
put pressure on the government. However, the formation of a Protestant alliance focused on the
goal of opposing Catholic relief, although brief, harbored much for the future. Elite and plebeian
Protestants had different priorities, but lower-class Protestants were willing to uphold their
dominance over Catholic neighbors through the Orange parading tradition, even without the
support of the elite.

To conclude, The Ulster position on Catholic emancipation refers to the opposition of certain
Protestant groups in Ulster, to the granting of equal political rights to Catholics in the early 19th
century. At the time, Catholics in Ireland were largely excluded from political power and
discriminated against in various ways. The issue of Catholic emancipation, or the granting of
equal rights to Catholics, was a controversial and divisive issue in Ireland and the United
Kingdom. Many Protestant groups in Ulster opposed Catholic emancipation, fearing that it
would lead to the erosion of their own privileges and status. The opposition of these groups
played a significant role in the debate and eventual passage of the Catholic Emancipation Act
of 1829, which granted Catholics the right to hold political office.