The Irish Felon was a nationalist weekly journal printed in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1848. Only five issues were published before its suppression by the

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

History

The '' United Irishman'' was a republican journal printed and published by

John Mitchel John Mitchel (; 3 November 1815 – 20 March 1875) was an Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist writer and journalist chiefly renowned for his indictment of British policy in Ireland during the years of the Great Famine (Ireland), Great Famin ...

from February 1848. Mitchel had written for ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'', which supported

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 ...

Repeal Association The Repeal Association was an Irish mass membership political movement set up by Daniel O'Connell in 1830 to campaign for a repeal of the Acts of Union of 1800 between Great Britain and Ireland. The Association's aim was to revert Ireland to ...

, but resigned to create his more radical paper, advocating sedition. Another member of

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 ...

, John Martin, contributed to Mitchel's paper. Mitchel was arrested, initially charged with sedition but was then charged with the new crime of treason felony and on 21 May was sentenced to 14 years in

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

. Martin aimed to carry on Mitchel's political message. The gap for a more radical publication was first filled by ''

The Irish Tribune ''The Irish Tribune'' was a short-lived nationalist newspaper printed weekly in Dublin in 1848. Five issues were published until its suppression by the British Government. History It was founded during the atmosphere of the revolutions of 1848 ...

'', which appeared on 10 June and contained a memoir of Mitchel, however the first issue also contained an advertisement for Martin's new journal with a claim that it was the "successor to the ''United Irishman''" and would be assisted by two other Young Irelanders, Thomas Devin Reilly and

James Fintan Lalor James Fintan Lalor (in Irish, Séamas Fionntán Ó Leathlobhair) (10 March 1809 – 27 December 1849) was an Irish revolutionary, journalist, and “one of the most powerful writers of his day.” A leading member of the Irish Confederation (Yo ...

. It was also stated that the journal would be "selected and compiled in the same manner as the ''United Irishman''" and that "subscribers to the ''United Irishman'' will be supplied with "The Irish Felon" to the expiration of their respective Terms of Subscription." ''The Irish Felon'' duly appeared on 24 June. Martin also established The Felon Club, one of many nationalist clubs. Reilly had previously provided articles for the ''United Irishman'' and Lalor had been a regular contributor to ''The Nation''. Articles continued to cover the revolutionary unrest in Europe of the period. Martin, like Mitchel, printed and published the paper himself from the same address, 12 Trinity Street. Members of 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 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 ...

debated concerns about the

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

, failed prosecutions for sedition, so-called "monster meetings" and Irish revolutionary opinion in general, including its effect on

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. The ''Crown and Government Security Bill'' had gone from its first reading to law in the month of April, mentioning Mitchel and resulting in the Act of Parliament under which he had been charged. A seditious article of Lalor's from ''The Irish Felon'' was quoted on 22 July by the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, John Russell, who additionally referred to ''The Nation''. Lalor was quoted by the Marquess of Lansdowne and Baron Kerry, Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, two days later in the House of Lords, after which the ''Habeas Corpus Suspension (Ireland) Bill'' was passed. Martin had handed himself in on 8 July 1848 after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Kevin Izod O'Doherty Kevin Izod O'Doherty (7 September 1823 – 15 July 1905) was an Irish Australian politician who, as a Young Irelander, had been transported to Tasmania in 1849. He was first elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in 1867. In 1885 he ret ...

and Richard D'Alton Williams, two proprietors of The Irish Tribune, were arrested two days later. The press was stopped and the type and press seized on 28 July and future publication suspended. Martin was charged with treason felony. Lalor wrote to the Under-Secretary saying that he had written the articles which had been used as evidence against Martin. His appeal was rejected and he himself was arrested. Martin was given a 10-year sentence in Van Diemen's Land on 18 August. Lalor suffered from ill health in prison and was released some months later. He died the following year from

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

. Reilly escaped arrest and fled to the US.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish Felon, The Defunct newspapers published in Ireland Newspapers established in 1848 Publications disestablished in 1848 Defunct weekly newspapers Young Ireland 1848 establishments in Ireland 1848 disestablishments in Ireland Irish republican newspapers Mass media in Dublin (city)