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The Loyal National Repeal Association (commonly referred to as the Repeal Association) was an Irish political party formed by Daniel O'Connell in 1840 to campaign for the repeal of the Acts of Union of 1800 between Great Britain and Ireland.[1]
The Association sought to restore the Irish Parliament and achieve the level of legislative independence briefly attained in the 1780s under Henry Grattan and his patriots, with the addition of Catholic emancipation, made possible by the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, and the expanded francise of the Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1832, in addition to responsible government, making Ireland a separate kingdom in a personal union with Great Britain on equal footing. It advocated a peaceful and constitutional path to repeal while maintaining loyalty to the British Crown.
Although O'Connell began calling for repeal in the early 1830s, the formal Association was only established in 1840. Prior to this, candidates supporting repeal contested the 1832 United Kingdom general election and between 1835 and 1841, formed an electoral pact with the Whigs. Repealer candidates, unaffiliated with the Whigs also contested the 1841 and 1847 general elections.
Following the movement's decline in the late 1840s, nationalists, including members of the Young Ireland movement, emerged from its ranks.
The seats figure in brackets is the position after election petitions and by-elections consequent upon election petitions, had been decided. There were 105 Irish MPs in the period.
Votes in 1835 and 1837 are included in the Liberal totals in Rallings and Thrasher's tables.
Sources: Walker and Rallings & Thrasher.