James Fintan Lalor

Lalor's writings were to exert a seminal influence on later Irish leaders such as Michael Davitt, James Connolly, Pádraig Pearse, and Arthur Griffith.

[2] James was, according to Tomás Ó Néill one of his biographers, a fine healthy baby when born, but as the result of an accident as an infant, was left semi-crippled.

While in college he became a member of the Apollo Society, where literature and music were studied, his favourite author at the time being Lord Bolingbroke.

An atmosphere of patriotism in the college was encouraged, and this was shown later, not just in James Fintan's later life, but in that of students such as John O'Leary, Richard D'Alton Williams and Maurice Leyne.

Another account put forward for this period is that he left the hospital because of a "disappointment in love.” It is then suggested that James intended to sail to France.

[2] However, T. F. O’Sullivan's account of his life, in The Young Irelanders, states that he did in fact go and lived there for a couple of years, being supplied with money by his mother.

Supported by his family, Patrick at a public meeting in Portlaoise, said he intended to give up paying tithes to a foreign faith.

As a result of this declaration, Arthur Moore Mosse, who was the secretary of the Grand Jury, asked Patrick to call off his campaign offering to give him a receipt for the year's tithe, but he refused.

As a result of this, the sheep had to be placed on a boat for Liverpool, but even there no one would bid for them, so they were then driven to Manchester and then to Leeds: most died on the road.

In 1832 Patrick Lalor, was called to give evidence before a Select Committee, having been recognised as one of the leaders in Daniel O'Connell's Repeal Association.

During the elections of this year, Patrick was to come in ahead of Sir Charles Coote, the Tory Party candidate winning the seat, and this was seen as a major victory for the cause.

During the campaign the Tory paper, the Leinster Express, attempted to destroy Patrick's character, claiming he himself was a tyrant.

He thought O'Connell's whole policy was flawed, and wrote a letter to Robert Peel the head of government, calling for it to be suppressed.

The final event was an article Fintan Lalor was to write in January 1844 about the aims of the Irish Agricultural Society.

His friend John Marnell introduced him to William Blood, who ran a bank come pawn shop, where the poor could get loans at reasonable rates.

[2] The Great Irish Famine led him into direct action: he attempted to found tenant-right societies and organise rent strikes.

On 11 January 1847, Fintan Lalor began to publish a series of "stirring and controversial letters and articles to newspapers such as The Felon and The Nation".

[5] Writing from Tenakill, his family home, Fintan Lalor put forward his views on current affairs and in particularly on land reform.

T. F. O’Sullivan commented that “the journal realise that a new force had arisen in the political world.” In the first letter, Fintan Lalor stated that contrasted with the question of the land, Repeal “was a petty, parish question.” On this he was quite emphatic “I will never contribute one shilling, or give my name, heart or hand for such an object as the simple Repeal.” [6] Commenting on the Irish Confederation, which was about to be formed he advocated that its policy should be one of “national independence.” He then proceeded to outline the policy he would approve on obtaining independence, “in what form of words you please; but denounce nothing—proscribe nothing, more especially of your own freedom of action.

All pined and wasted, sickened and drooped; numbers died—the strong man, the fair maiden, the infant—the landlord got his rent… The 8,000 individuals who are owners of Ireland by divine right and the grant of God, confirm (by themselves) in sundry successive acts of parliament have a full view of these coming results [i.e. Ireland would become a pasture ground once gain.

and its agricultural population would decay or vanish and become extinct at once] and have distinctly declared their intention of serving notice to quit on the people of Ireland…The landlords have adopted the process of depopulating the island and are pressing it forward to their own destruction, or to ours…” Fintan Lalor's view was that the Landlords were “enforcing self-defence on us.” [6] In September 1847, Fintan Lalor, along with Michael Doheny, organised at Holycross, in County Tipperary, for the purpose of putting forward his views on land reform.

T. F. O’Sullivan was to describe Fintan Lalor's writing as “powerful” of which three were included later in the indictment against, Martin for Treason Felony.

I challenge them as founded only on the code of the brigand, and enforced only by the sanction of the hangman.” [6] In another letter in the Irish Felon titled “The First Step—The Felon Club,” which was published on 1 July, Lalor addressing the Government wrote “We hold the present existing government of this island and all existing rights of property in our soil, to be mere usurpation and tyranny, and to be null and void as of moral effect; and our purpose is to abolish them entirely, or lose our lives in the attempt.

We owe no obedience to laws enacted by another nation without our consent, nor respect to assumed rights of property which are starving and exterminating our people…” Outlining his intentions he wrote “We have determined to set about creating, as speedily as possible, a military organisation, of which the Felon office shall be the centre and citadel.

As a first step of proceeding, we are now founding a Club which, it is intended, shall consist of one, two or more persons from each parish throughout Ireland who are to be in immediate connection and correspondence with this office.

Who wins a wreath that will be green forever?” [6] Six days later Lalor was arrested under the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, and kept in prison for some months, after which he was released owing to the bad health which had been affected by his imprisonment.

At Cappoquin, in September, Savage and Brenan attacked the police barracks but the other leaders did not have sufficient forces at their command to take aggressive action in the districts in which they were working, and the insurgents had to separate.

[7] The bronze statue of Lalor holding a pamphlet aloft was sculpted by Mayo-based artist Rory Breslin.

The soil of Ireland for the people of Ireland.’Michael Davitt considered Lalor "the only real Irish revolutionary mind in the '48 period".

In 1854 Peter led immigrant gold miners in an armed uprising at the Eureka Stockade, Ballarat going on to become a Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly (1856–1887).