Author: Prof. Christine Kinealy
In July 1848 a nationalist uprising took place in Ireland. Unlike the revolutions that were sweeping through Europe in that year, the Irish rebellion was located not in a capital city or major town, but in a private house near to the small village of Ballingarry in County Tipperary. It was over within a few hours, the insurgents being defeated by a small local police force. Moreover, there were few casualties; initially, two deaths were reported but one of the men later turned out to be very much alive and, only a few years later, founded the Fenian movement. The leaders of the 1848 rising, though unsuccessful in achieving their aims, provided an important link between the insurgents of 1798 and those of 1916. Through their idealism and non-sectarianism they presented a vision of a united, non-sectarian, Ireland that has remained elusive up this day. The 1848 rising may have lasted only a few hours, but its legacy has resonated into the early twenty-first century.
