William Smith O'Brien
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For other people named William O'Brien, see William O'Brien (disambiguation).
William Smith O'Brien (17 October 1803 – 18 June 1864) was an Irish Nationalist and Member of Parliament (MP) and leader of the Young Ireland movement. He claimed to be able to trace his ancestry back to the 11th century Ard Rí (High King of Ireland), Brian Boru.
He was the second son of Sir Edward O' Brien, fourth baronet of Dromoland. William took the additional surname Smith, his mother's maiden name, upon inheriting property through her. Educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1825 he became Conservative MP for Ennis, moving to become MP for County Limerick in 1835, holding his seat in the House of Commons until 1848.
Although a Protestant, he supported Catholic Emancipation while remaining a supporter of British-Irish union. However, in 1843, in protest against the imprisonment of Daniel O'Connell, he joined O'Connell's anti-union Repeal Association. Three years later, disillusioned by O'Connell's unwillingness to support violent protest, O'Brien withdrew the Young Irelanders from the association, and in January 1847 founded the Irish Confederation to campaign for additional famine relief. In March 1848, he spoke out in favour of a National Guard and tried to incite a national rebellion. He was unsuccessfully tried for sedition.
On 29 July 1848, he led peasants in a futile, almost bloodless battle against police at Ballingarry, County Tipperary. This later became known as the "battle for widow McCormack's cabbage patch", due to the farcical nature of the uprising. The jury in his subsequent trial found him guilty of high treason and he was sentenced to death, but this was commuted to transportation for life to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania).
O'Brien attempted to escape from Maria Island off Tasmania, but was betrayed by a certain Ellis, captain of the schooner hired for the escape, and sent to Port Arthur where he met up with John Mitchel. The cottages O'Brien lived in on Maria Island and Port Arthur remain as they were then to this day. Ellis was tried for this betrayal by Terence MacManus at a lynch court in San Francisco, but freed for lack of evidence.
In 1854, after five years in Tasmania, he was released on the condition he never return to Ireland, and settled in Brussels. In May 1856, he was granted an unconditional pardon and returned to Ireland in July, but played no further part in politics.
There is a statue of him on O'Connell Street, Dublin.
His older brother Lucius O'Brien (1800-1872) who was also a Member of Parliament for County Clare.
[edit] Quotes
"The new Irish flag would be Orange and Green, and would be known as the Irish tricolour."
