Nonetheless

Nonetheless, revolutionary nationalism’s weak leadership and chaotic methods greatly reduced the impact of the revolutionary cause. This is evident in the revolutionary nationalist group ‘young confederation’ led by John Mitchell which largely consisted of disgruntled young Ireland members after the split between young Ireland and Daniel O’Connell in 1846. The arrest of John Mitchell and other leading members such as Gavin Duffy in 1848 left the group without a leader, thus demonstrating poor leadership and disorganisation. Furthermore, the humiliating rebellion in 1848 led by young Ireland dubbed ‘the battle of widow McCormack cabbage pack’ was a huge disaster for revolutionary nationalism; their actions were small in scale (only attracted small support mainly from young and literary people as well as middle class farmers) with the police immediately crushing the rebellion. Most importantly the revolt did not have a lasting impact on the Irish question, leading to the Irish confederations swift exit from the scene, showing the temporary failure of revolutionary nationalism during this period. However, in spite of such failures, it could be argued that the achievement of their own newspaper ‘the united Irishmen’ was a fundamental success for revolutionary nationalism as it helped spread their aims and popularity, thus securing more followers and greatly increasing the recognition of the cause.