[1829] - Catholic Relief Act

The Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829 was the culmination of a popular movement for Catholic emancipation which began with the founding of the Catholic Association in May 1823 by the Irish lawyer Daniel O’Connell. For centuries a body of legislation had curtailed the civic and political rights of Catholics, preventing them from holding public office. With the support of the Duke of Wellington, O’Connell led a campaign that resulted in the repeal of anti-Catholic legislation. Despite vigorous opposition from George IV and the House of Lords, the Home Secretary Robert Peel drew up the Catholic Relief Bill. Although a long-standing opponent of Catholic toleration, Peel, fearing a revolution in Ireland, helped to guide the bill through parliament. It received royal assent on 13 April.

Useful Links and Further Reading

• The Victorian Web, ‘Catholic Emancipation’,
  http://www.victorianweb.org/history/emancipation2.html
• University College Cork, Ireland, ‘The Emancipation Bill’,
  http://multitext.ucc.ie/d/The_Emancipation_Bill
• www.legislation.gov.uk, ‘Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829’,
  http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo4/10/7/contents
• Richard W. Davis, ‘Wellington and the “Open Question”: The Issue of Catholic Emancipation, 1821–1829’, Albion, 29.1 (1997), 39–55,
  http://www.jstor.org/pss/4051594
• R. V. Comerford, ‘O’Connell, Daniel [known as The Liberator] (1775–1847)’, ODNB, online edn, http://www.oxforddnb.com/
• G. I. T. Machin, ‘Resistance to Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, 1828’, Historical Journal, 22.1 (1979), 115–39
• Oliver MacDonagh, O’Connell: The Life of Daniel of O’Connell, 1775–1847 (London, 1991)
• Richard W. Davis, ‘The House of Lords, the Whigs, and Catholic Emancipation, 1821–1829’, Parliamentary History, 18.1 (1999), 23–43