ABSTRACT
The summer o f 1843 marked the height o f Daniel O ’Connell’s political power in Ireland. Towards the end he seems to have been engaged in a war o f nerves with Peel. Apparently confident that the Prime Minister would not suppress the Repeal movement, O ’Connell seemed to think that he could replay his success o f 1828 and 1829, when, presented with a fa it accompli (the election o f Roman Catholics to Parliament) Peel and Wellington had been forced to enact Catholic Emancipation. The situation in 1843 was different, however. In 1828, liberal opinion in Britain supported granting civil rights to Catholics. On the other hand O’Connell’s subsequent demand for the repeal o f the Act of Union had little support in Britain. Peel was under no pressure at home to give in to O ’Connell.
