Catholic Association

Irish history

Also known as: New Catholic Association

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June 24, 2026

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The Catholic Association was an organization founded in Ireland in 1823 by Daniel O'Connell and Richard Lalor Sheil. Its primary goal was to advocate for Catholic emancipation, which aimed to remove civil and political disabilities faced by Roman Catholics in Britain and Ireland. The association mobilized hundreds of thousands of members, utilizing mass meetings to petition for these rights. This movement was instrumental in pressuring the British government, ultimately leading to the passage of the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829, which allowed Roman Catholics to hold public office and seats in Parliament.12

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Robert Peel
Early political career
…with the formation of the Catholic Association. Its growing strength culminated in the victory of Daniel O’Connell, the Irish “Liberator,” at a by-election for County Clare in 1828. Convinced that further resistance was useless, Peel proffered his resignation and urged the prime minister to make a final settlement of the…
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…with the formation of the Catholic Association. Its growing strength culminated in the victory of Daniel O’Connell, the Irish “Liberator,” at a by-election for County Clare in 1828. Convinced that further resistance was useless, Peel proffered his resignation and urged the prime minister to make a final settlement of the…
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Daniel O’Connell
…Lalor Sheil (1791–1851) founded the Catholic Association, which quickly attracted the support of the Irish priesthood and of lawyers and other educated Catholic laymen and which eventually comprised so many members that the government could not suppress it. In 1826, when it was reorganized as the New Catholic Association, it…
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…Lalor Sheil (1791–1851) founded the Catholic Association, which quickly attracted the support of the Irish priesthood and of lawyers and other educated Catholic laymen and which eventually comprised so many members that the government could not suppress it. In 1826, when it was reorganized as the New Catholic Association, it…
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United Kingdom
The political situation
…Roman Catholic lawyer, founded the Catholic Association, the object of which was to give Roman Catholics in Ireland the same political and civil freedoms as Protestants. Employing pioneering techniques of organization, involving the mobilization of the large numbers of the poor and the excluded in great open-air demonstrations, O’Connell introduced…
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…Roman Catholic lawyer, founded the Catholic Association, the object of which was to give Roman Catholics in Ireland the same political and civil freedoms as Protestants. Employing pioneering techniques of organization, involving the mobilization of the large numbers of the poor and the excluded in great open-air demonstrations, O’Connell introduced…
Read More