The United Irishman lasted a mere three and a half months before it was suppressed by the government. Still it was phenomenally popular as Mitchel succinctly and clearly set out Young Ireland policies:

It is easy to misunderstand or to misinterpret John Mitchel’s contribution to the history of Irish Republicanism.  Every writer (including of course the present one) has his own viewpoint.

The Rev John Mitchel died in Feb 1840 and thereafter (as before) his son John had the strong support of his mother Mary…

Mitchel’s travels in Ireland during the Famine had a huge and lasting effect on him, cementing his determination to champion the people of no property.

‘ … husband and wife fought like wolves for the last morsel of food in the house; families, when all was eaten and no hope left, took their last look at the sun, built up their cottage doors, that none might see them die or hear their groans .. ‘

A new leader of considerable stature soon emerged. James Fintan Lalor argued that the Irish Confederation had to focus on the land issue to win greater support for Repeal.

Every one’s personal and political philosophy will mature dependent on the influence of other like-minded individuals and groups and of political developments of the time. The early Young Ireland group included landlords…

In the early 1840s there was much political discontent and turmoil all over Europe. Kings, emperors and aristocrats, returned to power after Waterloo, were facing growing unrest and even open rebellion. The popular ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity …

Perhaps the most potent political force, today as it has been for  millennia past, is Nationalism. When combined with foreign occupation, a deep sense of injustice and a  prevailing mood of liberalism, it can become the prime political motive force in any country, uniting individuals of otherwise disparate opinions and interests.