A Discourse Perspective on Daniel O'Connell's Repeal Movement

There is no doubt that Daniel OConnell can be hailed as a towering figure of nineteenth-century Irish politics. In this book, however, a different angle is taken on OConnells centrality to Irish public discourse. Thus, rather than adding to the vast body of research works on OConnells politics or the history of Catholic Emancipation and Repeal, this study provides a discourse perspective on the Liberators oratorical skills, along with the general perception of OConnell as shaped by the press of his age. What rhetorical strategies did OConnell implement in order to persuade the Catholics of Ireland that he was the man to make their voice heard by the British authorities?; How were OConnells figure, his followers and his ideology assessed by nationalist and unionist print media? The volume addresses these research questions by combining the study of public speaking with news discourse within an integrated approach to the Irish public sphere in the early 1840s.