Davis, Thomas

Davis, Thomas (1814–45), Young Irelander. Son of an English army surgeon and an Irish Protestant mother, Davis was born in Mallow, Co. Cork, and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. Influenced by Thomas Carlyle and other Romantic writers, he first enunciated his ideas of Irish nationality to the Dublin Historical Society in 1839 and subsequently in the Citizen and Morning Register newspapers. He joined the Repeal Association in 1841 and was a founder of the Nation. His charisma and powerful articles made him the undisputed leader of the Young Ireland group, and he sought to bring their sense of nationality to a mass public through his popular ballads. Convinced that it was vital to reverse the Anglicization of Irish culture, he argued for the revival of the Irish language, and attempted to foster a nationality of the spirit uniting the Irish of all religious traditions. Though personally loyal to O'Connell, he was disappointed by his movement away from repeal in 1844–5 and angered by criticisms of the Nation from Catholic O'Connellites. His support for the Queen's Colleges led to a public clash with O'Connell at the Repeal Association in May 1845, in which Davis, always a poor speaker, was reduced to tears. Despite a subsequent reconciliation, Davis remained a target for Old Ireland polemicists. He died suddenly of an attack of scarlet fever in September 1845.

Peter Gray