The Party Processions Act 1850 ( 13 & 14 Vict. c. 2), also known as the Party Processions (Ireland) Act 1850 was an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which prohibited open marching, organised parades and sectarian meetings in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in order to outlaw provocative movements in the wake of the Dolly's Brae fighting of 1849. Written on 8 February, the act was assembled against people "in the practice of assembling and marching together in procession in Ireland in a manner calculated to create and perpetuate animosities between different classes of Her Majesty's Subjects, and to endanger the public peace."1850 (34) Party Processions. (Ireland) A bill to restrain party processions in Ireland. House of Commons Parliamentary Papers. Actions such as using banners, emblems and flags constituted an offence, as did music "calculated or tend to provoke animosity". Violation of the act was classed as a

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

. The act was strongly supported by

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...

however opposed by other politicians such as Lord Claude Hamilton who argued that religious parades would also be outlawed, yet posed no threat. The Party Emblems Act 1860 was passed to further support this measure following further riots at Derrymacash. The act was "grudgingly" accepted by the Orangemen, however both the

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

, the

Young Ireland Young Ireland (, ) was a political movement, political and cultural movement, cultural movement in the 1840s committed to an all-Ireland struggle for independence and democratic reform. Grouped around the Dublin weekly ''The Nation (Irish news ...

movement,"Great Debates on Party Processions," The Nation 25 February 1865. and related

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. They were secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

movements were less placated. William Johnston of Ballykilbeg led a radical Orangemen group in defiance of the act during the 1860s, and was imprisoned – prompting strong demand for its repeal in 1867, which succeeded in 1872.Connolly, p. 161, 455. The issue and repeal of the act is viewed as an important milestone by nationalist historians of Ireland, and is said to be an example of Irish suppression by the "English" government. Peel, however, was one of a number of Members of Parliament who viewed the act as a necessity to prevent

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

in-fighting rather than

Irish nationalism Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

as a whole. Traditional, revisionist and post-revisionist historians have subsequently supported either viewpoint and the act remains a controversial one.

Background

On 12 July 1849, Orangemen marched from

Rathfriland Rathfriland () is a market town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is north-east of Newry town centre. History In older documents written in English, the town's name was usually spelt ''Rathfylan'' or ''Rathfrilan''.

to Tollymore Park in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, Ireland to celebrate the anniversary of the

Battle of Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...

, where William of Orange defeated the Catholic King

James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

. While passing through Magheramayo, which was predominantly Catholic, the group exchanged shots with a number of

Ribbonmen Ribbonism, whose supporters were usually called Ribbonmen, was a 19th-century popular movement of poor Catholics in Ireland. The movement was also known as Ribandism. The Ribbonmen were active against landlords and their agents, and opposed "Ora ...

.Connolly, p. 161. Ribbonism was a strongly Catholic Irish independence movement loosely associated with areas of

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

and northern

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

. The Orangemen proceeded to attack Catholic houses within the town, and roughly 30 Catholic people were killed. The event was subsequently known as Dolly's Brae. In the previous years, unrest in Ireland had been rising during the Great Famine which had reduced Ireland's population by over a quarter – it was perceived by anti-Union movements including Young Ireland and the fenians to have been poorly handled by the English government. Liberal policies of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

government, manifesting in the Catholic emancipation of 1829 and other reforms spurned by the efforts of

Daniel O'Connell Daniel(I) O’Connell (; 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 mobilisation of Catholic Irelan ...

were marginalising and polarising the Irish Protestant population. The Protestant Orangemen in particular utilised elaborate parades, with banners, music and flags, to facilitate an anti-Catholic agenda."Orange Demonstrations and Soiree in Portadown," ''The Belfast News-Letter'', 16 November 1867. The British government viewed these events with trepidation – while much of the English media exhibited a blend of confusion and amusement. As a result, a bill to "restrain party processions in Ireland" was put forward on 8 February 1850, in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

and amended by the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

The act

The act itself, entitled "An Act to Restrain Party Processions in Ireland" stated:

"Whereas Numbers of Persons have been in the Practice of assembling and marching together in procession in Ireland in a Manner calculated to create and perpetuate Animosities between different Classes of Her Majesty's Subjects, and to endanger the public Peace: Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords, Spiritual and Temporal, and the Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the ''passing of this Act'' all Assemblies of Persons in Ireland who shall meet and parade together or join in procession, and who shall bear, wear or have amongst them or any of them any fire-arms or other offensive Weapons, or any Banner, Emblem, Flag or Symbol, the Display whereof may be calculated or tend to provoke Animosity between different Classes of Her Majesty's Subjects, or who shall be accompanied by any Person or Persons playing Music which may be calculated or tent to provoke Animosity between different Classes of Her Majesty's Subjects, shall be unlawful Assemblies, and every person present thereat shall be guilty of a Misdemeanor, and upon Conviction thereof shall be punished accordingly."

William Johnston of Ballykilbeg was imprisoned in the 1860s for violating the Party Processions Act 1860, and on 12 July 1867 a number of Orangemen partaking in celebration of the Battle of Boyne received summons for prosecution under the act, which earned them local media notoriety. An 1864 mass-rally for the memory of O'Connell, who had died in 1849, included several banners, flags, colours and songs prohibited by the act,"Public Notices," ''The Nation'', 30 July 1864. which prompted discussion in the House of Lords and the House of Commons regarding the appropriate inclusion of such events in February 1865. Lord Hamilton claimed to have collated reports of 60,000 to 80,000 strong parades violating the particulars of the act however without once resorting to language or behaviour constituting any

breach of the peace Breach of the peace or disturbing the peace is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries and in a public order sense in the United Kingdom. It is a form of disorderly conduct. Public order England, Wales and Norther ...

. Peel retorted that the law was created to prevent conflict between Catholic and Protestant groups, and that it did not marginalise peaceful marches. Johnston's imprisonment generated, by 1867, strong calls for the act to be repealed along with its accompanying Party Emblems Act 1860. It was repealed in 1872.

Notes

References

Primary *1850 (34) Party Processions. (Ireland) A bill to restrain party processions in Ireland. House of Commons Parliamentary Papers. *"Great Debates on Party Processions," ''The Nation'' 25 February 1865. *"Orange Demonstrations and Soiree in Portadown," ''The Belfast News-Letter'', 16 November 1867. Online * Secondary printed * * * * * * * * {{Authority control United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1850 1850 in Ireland March 1850 History of Ireland (1801–1923) Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Ireland Parades in Ireland Riots and civil disorder in Ireland Robert Peel

Background

The act

See also

Notes

References