ABSTRACT
The duke had no inkling of the consequences of appointing Vesey Fitzgerald to the Board of Trade. A popular Irish landlord and a supporter of Catholic claims who also enjoyed the confidence of the Protestant landlords, there was no reason to doubt that Fitzgerald would be safely returned for County Clare. But just ten days before the polls opened Daniel O’Connell announced that he would be a candidate in order to challenge what seemed like the extinction of Catholic hopes with the departure of the Canningites from the ministry. This unprecedented candidacy of a Catholic threw the whole of Ireland into a state of excitement. Thousands of troops were assembled in the neighbourhood of the poll, though the election turned out to be remarkably quiet as the priests marched the Catholic voters into Ennis in perfect order. The outcome was a foregone conclusion and when O’Connell was ahead by 2057 to 982 after five days, Fitzgerald abandoned the hopeless contest. But this was just the beginning of the problem. While there was no legal prohibition against candidacy, no Catholic could sit in Parliament. O’Connell, revelling in his new role and the embarrassment it caused the government, was in no hurry to claim his seat and decided to wait until 1829 rather than enlivening the dying days of the present session.
